Slayer – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA – March 3, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Slayer, Testament & Carcass – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA – March 3, 2016
It was a cold Winter night when Slayer – along with Testament and Carcass – laid waste to The Fillmore, located in the historic Fishtown section of Philadelphia, PA. Once I arrived, just walking in the atmosphere gave me a good taste of what was to come.
Up first, Carcass began their set. Carcass are death metal kings. Jeff Walker made his way on stage and belted out screams that could be heard for miles. The band, having formed in 1985, has gone through some lineup changes over the years. Currently, the lineup consists of Jeff Walker on vocals and bass, Bill Steer on guitar and backing vocals, Daniel Wilding on drums, and Ben Ash on guitar.
Carcass – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA – March 3, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Truth is, I’m not really too familiar with Carcass. I was unsure of whether I was going to end up liking them or not. So, I began shooting their set and took some mental notes along the way. Keep in mind, as a photographer I can only shoot the first three songs of each band, which isn’t enough time to judge a band that you’ve never listened to before. However, I feel like I took in enough to make a decision once the third song came to a close. I enjoyed them. They were fast, aggressive, and they really got the crowd fired up.
Their setlist went as follows: “Unfit for Human Consumption,” “Buried Dreams,” “Incarnated Solvent Abuse,” “Cadaver Pouch Conveyer System,” “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills,” “Captive Bolt Pistol,” “Corporal Jigsore Quandary” and “Heartwork.” So, yeah, Carcass wasn’t so bad. I would definitely recommend them to a friend or somebody that is looking for a purebred death metal band.
Testament – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA – March 3, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Up next, Testament took things to a whole new level. They are made up of Chuck Billy, along with Alex Skolnick on lead guitar and backing vocals, Eric Peterson on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Gene Hoglan on drums, and Steve DiGiorgio on bass. The group started with “D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate).” Other songs included “Legions of the Dead,” “Rise Up,” “Dog Faced Gods,” “The New Order,” “Practice What You Preach,” “Into the Pit,” and my personal favorite, “The Formation of Damnation.”
I feel as if there were to be a band that was going to be added to the absolute top handful of acts of thrash metal, Testament would be that band. Testament is one of the original pioneers of the genre. Since breaking out of the Bay Area thrash scene in the late 1980’s, Testament has made a huge impact. Chuck Billy absolutely delivered vocally. Having been involved in music for such a long time, he sure doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down at any time soon. Testament played very well. I hope that their next album is lives up to everything else they they’ve released.
Slayer – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA – March 3, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Finally, the almighty Slayer takes the stage to an absolutely ecstatic, energy-driven crowd. With fans in attendance chanting their name, Slayer played flawlessly. I’ve seen Slayer four times. Out of those four times that I’ve seen Slayer, I shot them twice. The first time was at what turned out to be the last Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival to ever take place in Camden, NJ. This time around, Slayer seems to have been really dedicated to fine tuning their live show. The lights went out, and the curtains lit up with all sorts of symbols bouncing off from side to side.
Once the curtains came down, they opened things up with the title track off of their latest album Repentless, which was released this past September 11. If you plan on catching Slayer on this current tour, notice the guitar that Gary Holt is playing, which he had designed recently. The coolest part about that guitar is that he had his own blood mixed with the paint that was used to give it the design. Crazy, right?
Slayer continued the fun with hits such as “Postmortem,” “Born of Fire,” “Disciple,” “God Send Death,” “War Ensemble,” “When The Stillness Comes,” “You Against You,” “Mandatory Suicide,” “Hate Worldwide,” “Chemical Warfare,” “Take Control,” “Pride In Prejudice,” “Payback,” “Seasons In The Abyss,” “Hell Awaits,” “Dead Skin Mask,” “World Painted Blood,” “South Of Heaven,” “Raining Blood,” “Black Magic,” and “Angel Of Death.” Slayer didn’t fall short at any point. From top to bottom, Slayer kept up the pace and put on an amazing show.
Erik Gibbons
Copyright ©2016 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: March 10, 2016.
Photos by Erik Gibbons © 2016
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