This was my second experience of seeing Slayer play live, and like last time it was very eagerly awaited. Once again, I was very close to the front of the stage, still being allocated a seat as this venue is an all seater but we can stand up during the gig. The lights dimmed, and the gig was about to start, my heart beating fast ready to get another 90 minute fix of highly addictive Slayer!!!

Kerry and Jeffs guitars started to wind into life as the crowd shouted and cried out Slayer!!! The first was of course "South of Heaven", you know the words "before you see the light, you must die!" The first 4 songs were recorded for BBC Television, which I've got on tape and during "South of Heaven", you can see Tom looking at the crowd, and then he kind of gives a wrye smile, the reason for this smile from Mr Araya was because he spotted a girl and a guy in front of me getting it on, they were kissing and caressing each other, cool!

The crowd was really going for it as the next tune arrived, "Raining Blood", ooh yeah! Tom Jeff and Kerry were headbanging furiously to the music as they kicked total ass. This was followed by "Silent Scream", a great furious song that just doesn't let up from start to end, he did however get the words mixed up in the song, and I've noticed that before, I say that is down to him being very nervous onstage. He didn`t used to eat anything for hours before a gig because he'd just throw it back up due to pre stage nerves, it`s true!

Tom spoke to us after this song, thanking us for turning up and proceeded to tell us all a story about blood sucking creatures of the night, it had to be "At dawn they sleep", sing the words "apparition from the pits of hell, death plagues the streets in which they dwell, demented lust, secrets they must keep, addicted to your blood, at dawn they sleep".

Tom announced the next song up as "Read between the lies" another new Slayer tune, then they played one of their oldest songs, "Fight till death" you can tell which metal bands influenced them in their early days, this one defintely oozes Judas Priest. "Mandatory Suicide" was the next song they played, Jeff and Kerry taking it in turn to do their awesome guitar solos, then Tom adds more devastating effect with the words at the end of the song "bloods cheap it's everywhere, Mandatory Suicide, massacre on the front line, woargghhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Tom introduces the next song that we should all be careful out there because someone might, just might "Kill again", Dave Lombardo perfectly and flawlessly nailing the double kick drum like nobody else can, Dave is the best sticksman of all the thrash metal bands in my opinion he`s so fast and accurate and hits the drums real hard. Tom uttered the words "Postmortem" to introduce the next song which is off the RIB album, this was followed up by another RIB track "Reborn" which as with just about everything in that album is relentlessly full on from start to finish, the way we love it!

"Die by the Sword" was next up "They say the pen is mightier than the sword but you can die by the sword!" as only Tom can say it. "Altar of Sacrifice" and "Jesus Saves" were a blur as ever, and then Tom told us to beware of "Chemical Warfare", this song was the fastest song ever recorded or so it is claimed when it was released in 1984, it totally mesmorised me from the first time I heard it and to this very day still does.

"Ghosts of War" followed on and then "Spill the Blood", more new songs. The band vanished offstage and we cried out for them to come back,which they eventually did and went straight into another new song "Live Undead", I must confess that after the total fury of the RIB album it did take me a while for the SOH album to grow on me but it's still undeniably SLAYER but in a different way.

The set was finished off with "Angel of Death",yet another frenetic blur, then they were gone, leaving us wanting more but there was no more. I remember reading a SLAYER gig review which was officially published in KERRANG! magazine April 1985, and the guy who wrote the review described the band as "the aural equivalent of the beubonic plague epidemic". I have to agree with him, SLAYER totally devastate and annihilate, and I love every second of it!