Oregon Music News

Exodus in action. Photography by Jon T. Cruz.

The Hell on Earth Tour rolled into the Memorial Coliseum for the second to last night of the tour on Friday August 5th. The tour included openers Exodus, shock rocker Rob Zombie and thrash legends Slayer. To the surprise of this writer the 13,000 capacity venue was at half capacity or slightly under. Slayer has a diehard following, their catalog sells consistently and their fan base makes the trek to their shows. Rob Zombie’s past two albums haven’t sold well at all and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the new music is stagnant. Still despite the sluggish sales Zombie continues to put on a show much like his mentor Alice Cooper.

Exodus was left for dead in 2004 when they lost singer Steve “Zetro” Souza for the second time but they’ve come back stronger than ever. Like Jason from the Friday the 13th movies-you can’t kill them and when you try they come back stronger than ever.

Remaining from the early 80’s incarnation of Exodus are; drummer Tom Hunting and guitarist Gary Holt. Rounding out the band are; singer Rob Dukes, bassist Jack Gibson and guitarist Lee Altus. Exodus have been touring relentlessly behind their 2010 album ‘Exhibit B: The Human Condition’ was represented by “The Ballad of Leonard and Charles” which the band opened with. The Exodus’ six song set got better and better with each passing song. The reception to the Exodus was exceptional by the predominantly Slayer audience. It was a treat to hear classics “Bonded by Blood,” and “Strike of the Beast” in an arena-who would have thought. Rob Dukes does justice to the classics and is a versatile singer that has helped the band get heavier with age. While we are on the topic of age-Holt hasn’t lost a thing, nor has Hunting.

Rob Zombie looking the part

Rob Zombie’s set included hits from White Zombie and his solo career. Zombie’s show is among the best, he continues to use the horror inspired back drops, props, a flame pot and LED screen arsenal that rivals KISS. You can’t accuse him of short-changing the fans. Zombie opened with the abysmal track “Jesus Frankenstein” from the lackluster ‘Hellbilly Deluxe II.’ If it were not for the fantastic presentation on the LED’s as they played the song, it would have fallen flat. A momentum buster was “Sick Bubble-Gum” where Exodus singer Rob Dukes surfaced to help out on vocals. The song seemed out of place and the reception was fair at best.

The Rob Zombie band are; guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D and drummer Ginger Fish. Guitarist John 5 in addition to being an outstanding guitarist is an excellent entertainer. He spent most of the time swaying about the stage to the music. Rob Zombie was shocked when the house lights came on and he witnessed a half full arena. He realized he was on the losing end financially on this night. The Zombie set ended on a high note with the White Zombie breakthrough hit “Thunder Kiss ‘65” with an intense John 5 guitar solo and followed by the encore; Rob’s first solo hit “Dragula.”

What's hell without a little Slayer?!

Slayer were in the area 11 months ago when they co-headlined The American Carnage Tour with Megadeth. The Slayer set list was similar as the last time they blew through town. In reality this is one of the very few bands in existence that can play the same set and the fans wouldn’t complain-provided the band puts forth a vigorous effort. This tour is an event within itself as guitarist Jeff Hanneman remains on the mend and joining Kerry King stage left is Exodus’ Gary Holt and doing a fine job I might add. Holt doing double duty and playing along with King like he’s been there all along.

Unlike Rob Zombie’s visual, theatrical show Slayer’s is stripped down. On stage they have their black backdrop with two eagle seals hanging from the sides of the stage. Let’s not forget the stacks of Marshall amps which deliver that piercing trademark Slayer sound. Tom Araya appeared more tired than the last time Slayer were in town; even his introduction between songs was a little less enthusiastic this time around. Still Slayer played all the fan favorites and new cuts from their 2010 album ‘World Painted Blood’ which included; “World Painted Blood,” “Hate World Wide,” and new addition for this tour “Snuff.” Dave Lombardo held a drum clinic once again and amazed the audience as he has done many time before. Slayer dusted off “Black Magic,” and “Dittohead” in an effort to mix things up and the result was very much appreciated by the Portland audience. There were so many outstanding moments in the set; “War Ensemble,” “Dead Skin Mask,” “Mandatory Suicide,” “Chemical Warfare,” “South of Heaven,” “Raining Blood,” “Season in the Abyss,” and closer “Angel of Death”-it was lethal.