Slayer - Farewell World Tour @ Salem Civic Center

Slayer brought the “Final Campaign” tour to Salem Civic center on November 5th. They may have arrived by bus but they entered the arena like a freight train.  This tour is said to be their final and they performed as if it was.

When the lights dropped to start the show, the white crosses projected against the black curtain that covered the stage rotated to the upside-down position, sending the crowd into a frenzy as the curtain fell. From the word go, it was a spectacle of light and pyro, the likes of which I have never seen.  As they tore into “Repentless” the accompanying pyro kept the stage aflame for much of the first song,  intermittently lighting the astonished faces of those who were lucky enough to be in attendance.


The performance by the band whose members consist of Tom Araya, Kerry King, Gary Holt, and Paul Bostaph (Kerry and Araya being founding members) was obviously on point, being that they have been entertaining audiences for over 35 years.  Although it seemed that every member was enjoying every minute of these last few appearances, Tom Araya was having the most fun, with a sly grin replacing his otherwise grimaced face every few minutes.

The visual onslaught continued throughout the set with one of the production highlights being the pyro during “Born of Fire”.   It seemed the entire stage was ablaze at one point, silhouetting the hundreds of upraised “devil horns”.

When the show came to a close and the lights came up, Araya walked slowly from one side of the stage to the other, seemingly waving to each and every fan to show his appreciation for their loyalty over the years.  He eventually made his way back to the mic and stated, "I'm gonna miss you guys.  Good night."

Setlist:

Repentless
Mandatory Suicide
World Painted Blood
Postmortem
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Stain of Mind
Disciple
When the Stillness Comes
Born of Fire
Payback
Seasons in the Abyss
Jesus Saves
Chemical Warfare
Hell Awaits
South of Heaven
Show No Mercy
Raining Blood
Dead Skin Mask
Angel of Death


You can catch Slayer on their "Final Campaign" tour on the following dates:

6 - Giant Center, Hershey, PA
8 - Mass Mutual Center, Springfield, MA
9 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
11 - KFC Yum Center, Louisville, KY
12 - Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
14 - TaxSlayer Arena, Moline, IL
15 - Denny Sanford Center, Sioux Falls, SD
17 - Fargodome, Fargo, ND
18 - CHI Health Center, Omaha, NE
20 - Broadmore Arena, Colorado Springs, CO
22 - Rimrock Arena, Billings, MT
24 - Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA
26 - Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
27 - MGM Arena, Las Vegas, NV
30 - The Forum, Los Angeles, CA