Slayer returned to Cleveland last Wednesday for the second time this summer. Their last show at the Odeon was sold out. This time, the band was close to packing in a capacity crowd again, even though Nautica is about three times the size of the Odeon. That alone shows the drawing power of this band.

Slayer relentlessly raged through a 90-minute set, which found them jumping around their catalog and focusing nicely on many of their releases. Their new release, DIABOLUS IN MUSICA, was also well represented, with tunes such as "In The Name Of God," "Scrum" and "Stain Of Mind" emerging as some of the show's highlights. The band's new material definitely stands up against classic releases such as REIGN IN BLOOD and SEASONS OF THE ABYSS.

Musically, DIABOLUS shows the increased ability of the band in many ways. They are able to set a much darker and deeper mood on many tunes, rather than just thrashing their way through every song, like they mainly did in the early days. DIABOLUS offers extremely tight, well-written arrangements; the musical growth of this band has been constant and strong.

If there actually is a hell, Slayer are the house band. Classic material such as "Chemical Warfare," "War Ensemble," "Mandatory Suicide," "Dead Skin Mask" and "Angel Of Death" certainly would make ol' Beelezebub gleam with happiness. These tunes were flawlessly executed live, each heightened by the fact that the band has grown so much musically since they were written. Lyrically, the new stuff was as evil and menacing as anything the band has ever written.

On "Stain Of Mind," frontman Tom Araya growled, Come Worship The Place/No truths are told/Praise the land where sins are sold/No passion/No Love/Your faith evades/Never see yourself again that way. You could almost feel demons invading your body as these hellish verses were ingested.

"In The Name Of God" showed an evil glimpse inside its writer, guitarist Kerry King. The audience, many of whom were adorned with various symbols of the church of Satan, sang along with a conviction matching that of any hardcore evangelist. Slayer are the church of metallic hell. Fans sometime seem to be in a religious trance during the performance, almost hypnotized in their trashing, body surfing and chanting the band's vile verses.

From thrashing rhythms that scorched through the air with the velocity of a hurricane to slow, Sabbath-like progressions, the band laid down a dark, demonic, dreadful set, which was mixed extremely well, even at its high volume.

Tom Araya's vocals were perfectly set into the thick wall of guitars. Araya's bass was the only thing that could have been a little more prominent. Then again, the massive guitar attack of Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman swallowed Araya's bass like a black hole.

Hanneman and King soloed nicely through the night, trading lightning fast leads and dramatic, emotional solos. Paul Bostaph is the perfect drummer for this band - few drummers in metal today can match the sheer speed and precision of Bostaph.

Fear Factory also have the benefit of an incredibly talented drummer. Raymond Herrera laid down a progressive percussive nature to Fear Factory's music. The band has earned a huge following, without the support of radio or even the metal press. "Zero Signal," from the MORTAL COMBAT soundtrack, garnered a response usually only seen for a headliner.

It would have been easy to mistake Fear Factory for the main attraction, given the excellent response they received from the crowd. "Replica," "Demanufacture" and "Scapegoat" also pumped up the crowd, leading to a lot of action in the pit and a huge volume of appreciation at the end of each tune. Fear Factory have come a long way. Let's hope they have a long life ahead of them.

Kilgore also drew a large response from the audience, although many appeared unfamiliar with their material. The band has done a lot of touring in the last few years, and it showed in the tight performance. However, Kilgore's songwriting sometimes wavers, hurting the vibe and attention of audiences. They do have the ability to become a main and lasting attraction on the metal circuit, as long as they can avoid the pitfalls that cause the premature demise of so many bands. They do, however, still have a long way to go. A new singer would be a start.