It’s a Tuesday night in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hundreds of metal fans have convened at the Sunshine Theater on Central Blvd. to see Slayer guitarist Kerry King’s solo band play. Tonight’s lineup also includes opening acts, Municipal Waste and Alien Weaponry.
It’s a real testament to the dedication of Slayer fans (and metal fans in general) that a show like this is absolutely packed to the brim on a Tuesday night. The energy is not lacking in any way whatsoever, it feels like it could easily be a Saturday night rager.
I arrived to the venue and noticed the place had been surrounded by police cars and fire trucks for some reason. I went inside and caught the last couple minutes of opening band Alien Weaponry’s set. They were very good, I saw them a few years back when they opened for Black Dahlia Murder and they have definitely been out here grinding.
After Alien Weaponry finished their set, mayor of Albuquerque, Tim Keller appeared on the stage and lead the crowd in an opening chant for Municipal Waste. That would explain all the law enforcement outside the venue – the mayor is here. After Tim finished leading the Municipal Waste chant he introduced the band and they tore through a tight and thrashy set. The band ended with one of their biggest hits “Born to Party” in which the vocalist screams “MUNICIPAL WASTE!!!” and the crowd responds: “IS GONNA FUCK YOU UP!!”
Then the lights dimmed in anticipation of the main event. Mr. Kerry King’s band exploded on the stage opening with their track “Diablo” and plowing through an impressive slate of original songs. The band is tight with Paul Bostaph on the drums, Kyle Sanders on bass and Phil Demmel on rhythm guitar. Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda rounds out King’s band and they are all veterans at the top of their game.
The second half of the band’s set included a bunch of covers but not just of Slayer songs. First they hit us with “Disciple” from the God Hates Us All album and then the band paid tribute to the late Paul Dianno with not 1 but 2 Iron Maiden covers! Purgatory and Killers.
They rounded out their set playing At Dawn They Sleep, Raining Blood and Black Magic by Slayer along with a couple more tunes from Kerry’s solo album “Shrapnel” and “From Hell I Rise”.
The fans could not have asked for a better metal show on a Tuesday night in Albuquerque. Both Municipal Waste and Kerry King’s band brought their professionality and technical proficiency to the stage. The show met the high quality standards a metal fan would expect from a veteran like King. If you’re a fan of Slayer or just good live metal in general do not miss your chance to catch Kerry King and his band of heavy metal veterans when they come to your town.
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