Last night (September 22nd), fucking Slayer closed out Chicago’s annual Riot Fest, playing their first show since their 2019 farewell tour.
The performance at Illinois’ Douglass Park saw Tom Araya, Kerry King, Gary Holt and Paul Bostaph rip through an epic 20-song set that pretty much covered all eras of Slayer. The show kicked off with “South of Heaven” and wrapped with “Angel of Death.” In between, the thrash titans delivered all-time bangers like “War Ensemble,” “Dead Skin Mask” and “Raining Blood” as well as deeper cuts like early rager “Black Magic” and Divine Intervention fan favorite “213,” which Slayer hadn’t tackled live since 1998. As for their stage production, it featured fire, fire and more fire.
Photographer James Richard IV was on hand to catch the Slaytanic action — check out some of his standout shots below.
