Slayer: The Farewell Tour

SLAYER: THE FAREWELL TOUR

Formed in California, 1981, by lead guitarist Kerry King, vocalist and bassist Tom Araya, and the late, great Jeff Hanneman, Slayer has become one of the world’s most iconic thrash metal bands. In 2018, the US mayhem makers set about touring the world for the last time, and with a core crew of fans on the road with them, the final curtain call certainly brought the fire…

PRODUCTION PROFILE

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Still throttling his signature six string, Kerry King is far more to this production than a tattooed axeman; his input into the show design - which included more flames and fog than your usual metal gig – is evident. During their 6-date reign of UK arenas, Slayer, which is now completed by Paul Bostaph and Gary Holt, was supported by Lamb of God, Anthrax, and Obituary. If you like your venue rooves roared down, there was only one place to be this November.

Camp Slayer was led by Production Manager, Patrick Dickinson, a road veteran with the necessary expertise to handle a touring thrash metal brigade. “My call for Slayer tour came somewhat out of the blue. An old friend and colleague, Mike LaTronico, had signed on as their Tour Manager at the beginning of 2012, and he recommended me for the role of Production Manager. After a few interviews with management and the band, it was a done deal, and here we are – almost seven years later!” he began.

Dickinson’s chosen suppliers? Christie Lites, Eighth Day Sound, Pyrotek Special Effects, Gallagher Staging, Grosh Draping, TransAm Trucking and the luxurious Beat The Street tour buses. In Manchester, local catering was provided by Bittersweet. When it comes to road crew, there were a few new faces. “There was a bit of training to do at the very beginning,” he stated. “But all of the people we hired were highly experienced, just not with this band. It helped to hand-pick people that we had already worked with closely for the key positions.”

Dickinson also held existing relationships with every vendor, the only exception being Christie Lites. “Some of those relationships go back to pre-Slayer, others were already in place when I signed on with the band. My opinion on choosing vendors is that if a company has done consistently good work, there is no real reason to change unless there is a large difference financially.

“My decision to use Christie Lites came from feedback from other touring production managers. I didn’t have a go-to UK-based lighting & rigging vendor, and with the tour routing being what it was, I definitely wanted to use a UK-based company, and not one based in mainland Europe. Christie have not disappointed; they’ve provided a rock-solid crew chief and well-trained crew all around, and the gear is exactly what we were looking for to mirror the look that we had on the North American legs of the tour.”

DESIGN DUTIES Dickinson also played a big part in the design of the farewell tour. “I kept Brian [Lareau, LD], Reid Derne, our project manager at Pyrotek, and AK [FOH] well-informed, not to mention Kerry and Tom, and definitely asked their opinions before locking anything in, but for the most part, the set, pyro, and lighting design came from me. This being the band’s final world tour, we were going for a classic Slayer look, but larger-scale than usual, and of course we had to incorporate a few new tricks. The separate elements have to play well with each other, otherwise the show doesn’t work as a cohesive whole.

“One tricky part with designing this rig was the schedule and line-up we had to work with; there are three support bands in Europe / UK, and for the North America leg of the tour this summer we had four! It basically made the tour a rolling festival, with doors opening between 3:30 - 4:00PM every day. Therefore, not only did the set have to be easily pushed back to make room for all of the other acts on stage, but the entire show needed to be able to go in and out of the venues quickly and easily, to avoid issues with the routing we were up against.”

Having worked in various roles over the years, Dickinson’s own rigging background came in handy here. “My lead set carpenter, Josh Jenkins,

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is also a highly qualified rigger, so between the two of us, we take care of all rigging duties on the tour. I, of course, focus more on the advance and layout, and he runs the local rig crew during load-in and load-out.”

LIGHTING THE LEGENDS Brain Lareau, Lighting Designer to the prestigious metalmen, began working with Slayer by chance, as a fill in LD for four shows - the success of which eventually led to a full-time gig. The tricky task of designing a lighting plot around a rather consistently-lit-by-fire stage was where Lareau began: “There really are a lot of pyrotechnics in this show!” he smiled “And this naturally dictates where we’re able to put the lighting fixtures, and what kind of looks I can create within that, so as not to compete with the flames and cause confusion.”

He noted how Production Manager Pat Dickinson and himself had to decide early on in the show’s pre-production where the lights would sit, and decided to use ‘truss fingers’ to house them. It was also decided around this time that there would be no video at all, bar a few outdoor ‘sheds’ during the festival run in the US. The trusted fixtures were mainly Martin by Harman units, which dominate the rig. Lareau continued: “The looks I wanted without competing with any of the fire gags on stage, meant that we had to choose the lighting products carefully; it all has to be perfectly balanced and complimentary, and Martin were great for aiding with that.”

The full rig - which is used in various configurations depending on the venue size – is mainly comprised of Martin by Harman fixtures. In

Manchester, the design utilised 35 Martin by Harman MAC Viper Profiles, 36 Martin by Harman MAC Quantum Washes, 18 Martin by Harman Atomic 3000 LEDs, 12 Martin MAC Auras, 7 Antari DarkFX UV Wash 2000’s, 4 Antari DarkFX UV Spot 670’s, 6 4-Lite and 6 2-Lite Blinders, and for effects, 3 ZR45 Foggers and 3 HZ – 500 Hazers. As backdrop reveals and downstage kabuki effects are also a large part of the show, there are also 98 Electro-Kabuki Drop units in use, for a total of 7 soft goods cues.

For control, Lareau opted for an Avolites Pearl Expert console, with an Avolites Expert Touch Wing added. “For me, it’s the fastest desk out there for a very fast-moving show. Slayer shows are all busked; there is no click track or tape in use – the band is in 100% in control of the pace of the show - so whatever I use must be very responsive and have an intuitive user interface.”

With just one day of tech rehearsals when the tour reached the UK, the tour could have hit some time constraints, but the LD described the production as “a well-oiled machine”, partly because Pyrotek has long been the vendor in the US, and that’s a huge part of the look. “It’s a very relaxed tour. It’s become very easy every day, because we’re well into the swing of things and everyone knows just what they’re meant to be doing. Plus, everyone gets along so well; it’s a very fun tour to be a part of!” he beamed.

Supplier support has also been noted. On his UK vendor, Lareau commented: “We’re using Christie Lites in the UK and it’s actually the first time I’ve ever worked with them. Saying that, after this tour, I know it won’t be my last; every day I come into the venue and my rig is up and running

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with no issues at all. It’s all working perfectly, well-maintained and just how I want it.”

Christie Lites’ Roy Hunt commented: “Working with Patrick, Brian and the rest of the team on this has been a real pleasure and a very smooth process. The show is very well thought through and planned around the venues it serves. With three different designs for any size scenario, it ensures that at any given date you are guaranteed that the all lighting fixtures get used in any of the combinations needed, with absolutely stunning results.”

FLAME THROWING FUN Heading up the highly-regarded pyrotechnics of Slayer’s live performance is Pyrotek’s Rory Jones. Not only is making fire for Slayer a pretty cool job as touring goes, but it also happens to be Jones’ dream gig. “I was working as a chef, when 10 years ago I decided to really follow my dream. I joined Pyrotek and began to learn the business. In 2012, I was given the opportunity to work with the band, and at that time, the show design was already in place, so I was given the honour to tour it. These days, I’ll talk to Kerry King, who is very involved with the show cues, Brian, and Pat to see what we can create. The main thing that Kerry says is to just ‘have fun’; I think that’s very important to him.

“I’m actually a big Slayer fan myself, so I always think about what I’d want to see from an audience member’s point of view. One key thing is that we like to keep them on their toes; you don’t want them to get used to the pyro straight

“When I started out doing pyro a decade ago, I wanted to work with Slayer… it’s a dream job!”

Rory Jones, Pyro Shooter

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away! That said, during the show, the band want hell on stage, and I’m lucky enough to be able to give it to them!” he laughed. “For example, when Hell Awaits starts, that’s the big wall of fire gag, and we want the crowds to be in awe of it. I like to deliver that face-melting experience.”

For the hell on stage, propane accumulator units named ‘Dragons’ (a propane-fed device that emits a controllable flame column or fireball effect) are used to control 4 ‘Dragon Tails’. Each of these is a 7 ft. wide flame bar unit, which expels a 2-3 ft. tall line of fire for a steady burn effect, and up to a 10 ft. tall blast on cue for the endearingly named ‘Wall of Fire’ effect. Then, behind the Dragon Tails, we have 4 Remote Dragon Heads, focused at a 45º angle to shoot large fireballs over the band members. In addition to all of this, a combination of Le Maitre Explo units and Five Master single-flame units create straight jets of flame, positioned to simulate inverted crosses, and, of course, the famous Slayer fire pentagram. Lastly, to round it all out, there are two custom Slayer ‘Eagle’ set pieces, rigged with flame bar to silhouette the timeless crossed swords and band logo that has been a standard since the band’s inception. Firing up the hell squad of effects is a Jands Vista lighting console.

H&S is of the utmost importance to any live show,but here, there’s more fire than is typical. Jones and the Pyrotek crew go through all the protocol daily. He continued: “We do the safety checks manually before I even think about firing, to ensure nothing can physically go wrong with any of the propane units. If the band gets too close, or if any unit is not operating as expected, I don’t fire. I’m here to give them a great show, but first and foremost, I’m here to ensure their safety on stage.

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Above: Lighting Designer Brian Lareou; Monitor Engineer Matthew Kogle; Production Manager, Patrick Dickinson; System Tech, Kevin Lehman with FOH Engineer, AK; Pyro Shooter, Rory Jones; Stage Manager Ashley Groom.

the band gets too close, or if any unit is not operating as expected, I don’t fire. I’m here to give them a great show, but first and foremost, I’m here to ensure their safety on stage.

Jones concluded: “When I started out doing pyro a decade ago, all I wanted was to work with Slayer, and now I’m at my Apex. It’s a dream job because this is where I wanted to reach in my career. I guess I made it!”

AUDIO FOH Engineer Chris Paccou and System Designer Kevin Lehman were waiting at FOH to explain what mixing one of the metal genre’s most influential names is all about. Belgian native Paccou - known as AK around these parts - joined the camp two years ago and kept the Midas PRO X he inherited in use. [Albeit with a newly fashioned lid to keep that mosh pit beer at bay.] “I’ve always used Midas, and I’m very happy mixing on it,” he began. “It sounds good to me, and if there are no complaints from the top, then I’m happy!” he joked.

“I’ve also brought some analogue gear from home, for my outboard choices, which create a nice mix of old and new, which is good as the band began touring in the 80s and they like that sound.” Slayer is feeding analogue L-R into the system. PRO2 L-R, into the API master buss compressor, into the LM44. And the other bands are all feeding L-R, Sub, and front fill.

Analogue gear at FOH included AK’s personal 500 Series pieces from Wes Audio, a few analogue stereo compressors and a pair of analogue EQs. These are used as inserts from the Midas for his various buss groups. Drums

get their own buss into a compressor, and the guitar buss goes into an EQ. Vocals and bass get bussed and have analogue compression as well.

“The Wes Audio pieces are AK’s pride and joy,” noted Lehman. “They have a fully analogue signal path, but with complete digital recall, making them easy to control and save three nightly settings via a laptop at FOH. It’s the best blend of a warm, analogue transformer sound, but with a modern, digital user interface.”

The tour uses exclusively d&b audiotechnik for PA. The typical set-up is comprised of 16 d&b J-Series boxes per side, with 12 V-Series boxes per side used for the side hangs. The ground subwoofer array is made up of 20 J-Subs and 4 J-Infra Subs, evenly spaced in 2-high stacks on the floor, along the downstage edge. He continued: “We try to keep the sub arc the same every day, so that the band are familiar with the stage. They’re a very easygoing group, despite how loud they are!” he confirmed.

The band are using their own microphone package from Heil. It must be quite the task, mixing FOH sound for Slayer, especially on their final live tour where three generations of fans are listening? “The band are living legends,” noted Lehman. “I used to have a job mixing in clubs, and Slayer would be the band to come through. I never thought I’d be going on tour, let alone with them. As this is their last tour, they want to give it their all, all over the world, and so do we. We’re out here doing our best for them, and the fans, and I think the mix is true to that.”

Over in monitor world, engineer Matthew Kogle (Five Finger Death Punch, Marilyn Manson) is the man with the mixing powers. In 2015, he replaced the band’s long-term monitor engineer and hasn’t looked

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back since. “It is very loud in monitor world,” he enthused, about the hot and heavy stage sound. “I’m on a Midas PRO2 console, because of its convenience; it’s size and its output options are both perfect for this tour. It’s small, so I can keep my footprint compact without having to compromise on sound quality.

“I’m mixing 10 sets of d&b audiotechnik M2 wedges, and a handful of inears; the drummer, our pryo shooter and two guitar techs use Jerry Harvey JH Audio molds with Sennheiser wireless transmitter packs.

“It’s a busy show, but it’s not difficult to mix. They’re a simplistic band in the fact that they know what they want in their wedges, and they’re all well-versed and know their positioning on stage, and when to get out of the ‘loud spots’”, he said.

“Importantly, there are no egos here; the show is so loud and so busy, you can’t afford to have anything like that going on. We’re metal heads, but we’re professionals,” he smiled.

STAGE SENSE & SAYONARA And making sure everyone keeps in check on stage is Stage Manager Ashley Groom, who has spent the last 15 years with Iron Maiden. As no stranger to a loud, busy, fire breathing stage, he told TPi: “The secret to stage management is to have a plan, and stick to your guns with it. This is a particularly easy tour because the bands already have a method going. Pat’s great to work for; he’s so organised, he’s a dream production manager. He checks everything twice, which is how it should be done!

“And what a team; the rigging is immaculate, the audio engineers are incredible, the lighting rig is beautiful but simple. I always say, you don’t need to take all the weapons to the fight, you just need to be good at what you have, and this show looks so good! Brian’s done a great job. Skippy [Nigel ‘Skippy’ Monk, Lighting Crew Chief] from Christie Lites, is a rock ’n’ roll legend too, who wouldn’t want to work with him!”

The last word goes to Production Manager Pat Dickinson. “It has been an honour to work for such a legendary band,” he concluded. “And even though we are all a bit sad to see it end, it will continue to be an epic experience for all involved, from the fans to myself, until the last house lights call has been made!”

Slayer’s Farewell tour continues throughout 2019. Catch the farewell flames while you can… TPi Photos: Andrew Benge, TPi www.slayer.net www.christielites.com www.grosh.com www.gallagherstaging.com www.8thdaysound.com www.pyrotekfx.com www.beatthestreet.net www.transamtrucking.com www.bittersweetcatering.co.uk

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