Enlarge Image

Kerry King of Slayer (not taken at the July 27th show) (SUPPLIED)

I dunno which band I liked better at this triple-band thundering metal gig – I just dug the whole thrashed speegroove shebang!

It was a last minute thing for me, so I had zero expectations, and the resultant enormity of the entire experience was a big, and so far, LASTING BLASTING surprise.

I love Exodus, so I rushed to get to the MTS Centre, arrived at 7 p.m. and caught a couple of crazy heavy speed numbers from the ’dus, including a classic version of Bonded by Blood which, all-in-all, was not enuff, but better than nothing.

During the 20-minutes plus it took for stagehands to ready the upcoming Zombie assault, we were treated to intermittent PA tunes from Johnny Cash and a duet with June Carter truly signifying the Hell On Earth aspect of the tri-bill theme.

Then, at 10 to eight, the intro to the next set sounded, and the near half-capacity crowd at MTS Centre went berserk for Jesus Frankenstein and the ensuing 66-minute set by Rob (Bob Cummings) Zombie.

This was a killer performance – much better and more energetic than his previous MTS gig with Alice Cooper in 2010 — largely due to new drummer Ginger Fish (ex-Marilyn Manson).

Ahhhh… the Bob Cummings Multi-media Maniacal Mind Meltdown – this was the best time I’ve seen it. Animatronic stage monsters, spasmodic lighting, metal minstrels in makeup, giant vid screens with thousands of snippets from oodles of Hollywood and indie productions (including Zombie’s own). It was a lot of fun trying to demulch what movies the plethora of vid excerpts were from: 1970s Planet of the Apes-stylized B&W scenes, Russ Meyer’s titillating Mondo Topless, and Frankenstein excerpts were melded into a non-stop barrage of public domain psychotronica.

Then there were the half-dozen flame pods blasting 10-foot tall pillars of fire, gyrating robots, snappy skeletons, chains, a beheaded effigy of Alice Cooper – wait, that lastone wasn’t in there!

Zombie’s set was a non-stop cranial orgy of pop cult visuals, stage trickery, and incendiary performance – a satanic blender of visual chaos and mulching cartoon metal which included Superbeast, Scum of the Earth, Mars Needs Women, and Pussy Liquor, which Zombie introduced with the question, "Should I care about some anonymous person’s love life?"

Zombie trudged around the stage in waist-length leather screaming "Rock motherfucker," as bassist Piggy D (ex-Wednesday 13) rocked out during Sick Bubble Gum. He also snuck down the aisles, running through the audience with a flashlight while virtuoso guitarist John 5 (ex-MM, Alligator Soup) soloed during Thunderkiss ’65.

Then, after running a trailer for the fictitious flick Werewolf Women of the SS the Zombie crew rattled off the trudging intro to Dragula – pummelled through it, really —and the Zombie circus was all over.

A half-hour later, in stark contrast, a stripped-down Slayer took the stage. Flanked by a simple stack of a dozen menacing Marshalls both left and right – 24 in total — drummer Dave Lombardo launched Slayer into a retrospective offering from the thrashers’ 30-year catalogue, kicking off with the ultra-slaying World Painted Blood. The last time I saw these guys was with Venom & Labyrinth at Le Rendez-Vous in ’85, and this appearance absolutley vapourized that offering. Fans were whipped into a slam-moshing frenzy, and security escorted about two people per song from the front of the stage throughout the entire set.

Guitarist Kerry King was the superstar of the evening at MTS – knocking out scorching intros, then snappily destroying solo after solo on trax such as Dead Skin Mask, Spirit in Black and Mandatory Suicide. Guttural vocalist Tom Araya thanked the audience for coming to the gig about a half dozen times between songs – and what songs they were – possibly the best-ever versions of Slayer classics like Chemical Warfare and Seasons in the Abyss!

Exodus guitarist Gary Holt performed double duty, filling in seamlessly for Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who is recovering from a stranger-than-fiction, skin-eating disease caused by a spider bite to his hand. Holt provided thrashing freshness to the Slayer canon – making this a special gig from beyond.