close to five Years after the final date of Slayer's “Final Campaign” farewell tour, the band reunited for a set at Riot Fest in Chicago on Sunday. As anyone would expect, they piled on a set list of fan favorites — “South of Heaven,” “War Ensemble,” and “Angel of Death” — but they also brought back a few surprise songs.
The concert was the first time since 1998 that the band performed “213,” a deep, eerie track from their 1994 album, divine interventionLead singer Tom Araya wrote the song with guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died in 2013. The song opens with a spidery guitar line before settling into an aggressive beat. At Riot Festival, a green light shines from behind the musicians, turning them into shadows, making the song even more haunting. Tom Araya then sings, “Compulsive driving, sick thoughts come to mind / Sexual release buried deep inside me.” He wrote the lyrics about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, whose apartment number was 213.
Another pleasant surprise was “Reborn,” a roaring, skull-shaking drone from the other side of Blood rule The band played their last show a decade ago. Guitarist Kerry King and Hanneman collaborated on the song, with King writing the lyrics about a “condemned witch” sentenced to death who vows to return from beyond the grave. Araya sings, “Death means nothing, there’s no end/I’ll be reborn.” At Riot Festival, King leaned over and dug his guitar pick deep into his strings as fireworks erupted behind him.
After Slayer's supposed final show in 2019, King ceremoniously dropped the chains he had been wearing for years at Slayer concerts. Earlier this year, he released his debut solo album, From hell I riseHe said at the time that he hadn't “even received a text, not even an email” from Araya since the last concert. So it came as a surprise to fans when King and Araya decided to reunite the final lineup of Slayer for a few shows this year. (Original drummer Dave Lombardo has been at odds with the band, which has rehired Paul Bostaph — the drummer for divine intervention — In 2013. Guitarist Gary Holt replaced Hanneman, who was recovering from a terminal illness, and officially joined Slayer in 2013.
“Nothing compares to 90 minutes when we are on stage playing live, sharing that intense energy with our fans, and to be honest, we have missed that,” Araya said in a statement when the band’s reunion was announced.
“Do you miss playing live?” King said. “Absolutely. Slayer means a lot to our fans; they mean a lot to us. It’s been five years since we’ve seen them.”
