It was January of that year when Slayer announced that their bloody pentagram would be saying goodbye to the stage with a world tour. The news broke the hearts of headbangers, who were soon rewarded with the announcement that Brazil would be one of Slayer's stops.
Last Wednesday night, the Espaço das Américas venue warmly welcomed the group's heavy sound, but the event began before that. The Brazilian band Claustrofobia warmed up the stage for the quartet with the start of their Cachorro Louco . The set of just seven songs included the recently released single "Vira Lata".
Caio D'Angelo 's insane drumming , Claustrofobia showed that, despite saying goodbye to one of the greatest thrash metal bands, the future of the genre is bright. The Brazilians lived up to our love for metal and revealed to the unsuspecting why they were chosen to present a new set at Rock in Rio this weekend.
Minutes after Claustrofobia, the most anticipated moment of the night arrived. The black veil, adorned with crosses, was illuminated, alerting the audience that the end was approaching. A powerful sound exploded from the speakers, and the veil, now bearing the iconic Slayer logo, fell. For the next 90 minutes, Espaço das Américas and the eight thousand people present were drenched not only in sweat but also in emotion.
“Repentless” was the perfect song to kick off what would be the most celebrated and nostalgic night for Brazilian metal fans. But of course, Slayer knew this when they chose the track to open the show; after all, the group delivered a setlist that could very well have been produced by an avid fan hungry for the greatest hits of Tom Araya and company.
Twenty songs made up Slayer's final show in São Paulo, and citing hits at this point in their career is unfair, but if some songs deserve special mention, they are certainly "Hell Awaits," "Raining Blood," "Dead Skin Mask," and "Angel of Death"—the last three being the songs that closed the show. Playing these three tracks, Araya, Gary Holt , and Kerry King surpassed themselves. Looking at the audience, it was possible to see men, women, children, adults, and the elderly getting emotional and realizing that the night had come to an end.
After closing with “Angel of Death” – without any pause or encore – the group remained on stage to say goodbye. Standing, looking at the eight thousand people, Araya, Holt, King, and Paul Bostaph faced the Brazilian fans one last time. “We will miss you,” said the vocalist, “Goodbye,” he said in Portuguese.
See below our gallery of (amazing) photos taken by Renan Facciolo , followed by the complete setlist of the show.
Setlist Slayer @ Espaço das Américas 02/10/2019
- Repentless
- Evil Has No Boundaries
- World Painted Blood
- Postmortem
- Hate Worldwide
- War Ensemble
- Gemini
- Disciple
- Mandatory Suicide
- 10. Chemical Warfare
- 11. Payback
- 12. Temptation
- 13. Born of Fire
- 14. Seasons in the Abyss
- 15. Hell Awaits
- 16. South of Heaven
- 17. Raining Blood
- 18. Black Magic
- 19. Dead Skin Mask
- 20. Angel of Death
