Retirement isn't really a concept that sticks in metal. Lured back to the UK by fellow pipe-and-slipper dodgers Black Sabbath for their first shows here in six years, Slayer's headline gigs in Cardiff and London offer an impressively stacked bill with Hatebreed, Mastodon, Anthrax and Amon Amarth. It sounds great on paper, but the reality is a little more complicated.
With gates not opening till 5pm, set lengths are almost pathetically short. Add to that an excruciatingly slow entrance process and Hatebreed starting only 15 minutes after gates, and there's disgruntlement right from the off. To their credit, Jamey Jasta and crew aren't going to let that stop them. Kicking off with I Will Be Heard, they make the most of their short slot with a relentless pound of hardcore anthems To The Threshold, Destroy Everything, Looking Down The Barrel Of Today]. But it feels like it's barely begun as Jasta is told they need to leave the stage. Bummer.
