Something wicked this way came

In the dark days before Ozzy became a warm and fuzzy television personality, metal was a beer- and methamphetamine-fueled monster spreading chaos and destruction. For a few hours Oct. 28, the past came back to haunt Indianapolis as Slayer, Hatebreed, Arch Enemy and Sworn Enemy rolled into town for the Jagermeister Music tour. \nBy the time Slayer hit the stage, civilization was an afterthought as men fought women, people vomited on themselves in a drunken stupor and the walking wounded wandered out of the pit in a bloody-faced daze. \nA good time was had by all.\nNearly every contemporary metal band references Slayer's canon of material heavily, but the kings of thrash had been slipping in recent years with records like Diabolus In Musica and God Hates Us All. Original drummer Dave Lombardo has returned to the fold after an acrimonious split, and rumors on the Web had Slayer playing Reign In Blood in its entirety to close out their shows. It came to pass as they tore through an impressive back catalog of material, including songs like "Fight 'till Death," which they have rarely played live. \nAxe men Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman were on their game, trading tremolo-abusing solos back and forth as front man and bassist Tom Araya's hair whipped back and forth. The high point was near the end as they ripped into "Angel of Death" as four banners rolled down behind the stage, each featuring the classic iron eagle Slayer logo.\nSlayer was just part of the mayhem. As Hatebreed's brand of pit-friendly metalcore has grown in popularity, their shows have turned into controlled riots. It's an impressive sight, and the crowd became increasingly frenzied with each of front man Jamey Jasta's calls for blood. Hatebreed pummeled the crowd with a mix of songs from their three albums including the new The Rise of Brutality. The only drawback was their muddy guitar sound. \nThat was the least of Arch Enemy's problems as the Swedish quintet played a quick set heavy on melodic thrash. Frontwoman Angela Gossow unleashed demonic howls and dished out some unintentionally amusing between-song banter in English tinted by her native German tongue. Sworn Enemy opened the show with 20 minutes of by the numbers mosh metal.\nFor four hours, metal fans were in rapture as three great bands distilled the rage of alienation and dispossession into anthems of rebellion. Long live the kings.