Flex your headbanging muscles, and adjust your eardrums: American thrash metal band Slayer’s concert on Saturday looks set to pack a punch.
Slayer headlines the first of the two-part music fest, Rock ’N’ India, being held over two weekends at Bhartiya City, Thanisandra Road, near Hebbal. The much anticipated second set, to be held next Friday, features legendary rock guitarist Carlos Santana.
Slayer, a four-piece band that comprises Kerry King, Tom Araya, Dave Lombardo and Jeff Hanneman, has been around since 1983, but has never played in India before.
So what took them so long?
“What took you guys so long to get us here?” retorted Kerry King, lead guitarist.
They haven’t yet spent enough time to get a sense of India or its culture and cuisines yet; they also haven’t heard any Indian bands, King said in an interaction with reporters here Friday.
When King and Hanneman founded the band in the early 1980s, they chose the name Slayer because it “sounded cool”, and it was “easy to chant” during concerts. The city’s numerous metalheads will know well that Slayer are part of the Big Four of thrash metal, the other three bands being Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax. The band will play without founding member Jeff Hanneman, who has had to stay away because of a case of necrotising fasciitis, a skin disease. In his place through this tour is Gary Holt, Exodus guitarist.
What’s in store for the gig on Saturday? It would be special, King promised. “Because we’ve never played in India, anything we play will be new. It’ll be some new stuff, but with a healthy dose of old stuff.” Fans can expect tracks like ‘Haunting The Chapel’ and ‘Angel Of Death’. Concertgoers are advised to plan ahead for parking.
Gates open at 3 p.m., and they’re advised to line up at least two hours before show time. Carry original tickets; don’t bring food and drink, cameras or important documents.
