Marilyn Manson And Slayer Are Sataneriffic

Seeing the ad for this concert was enough to make me choke on my morning coffee. Marilyn Manson and Slayer together on a shared bill sponsored by (of all places) Hot Topic? This had to be a set-up by the feudmeisters at the NME, or else a match made in hell. Either way, my reaction was one shared by the thousands of heshers and goth kids who packed the Molson Amphitheatre on Friday night: this show was going to be a must-see.

I don't find it shameful to admit that I was a teenage metalhead. There's just something immensely satisfying about gunshot drum rolls and bone-crushing guitar riffs. Plus, metal is full of moments of unintentional hilarity, like when the singer of opening band Bleeding Through — a capable bunch of tattooed, howling metal punks, even if their frontman gave off too much of a Chester Bennington vibe — announced, "This next song is called RRRNNNAAWWUGGHHH!" No, really, that's what he said.

Not so funny is when the greasy, pot-bellied, leather-vested headbanger seated in front of you decides to turn around and face the crowd, attempting to constantly "wow" us with his air drumming "skills." Seriously, dude, I'm pretty sure all of us came to see the concert, not get a faceful of douchenozzle. Sit the hell down.

In sum, Slayer do two things: 1. Look threatening; and 2. Play very loud thrash metal. They do these things really, really well. Their closest kin are probably Motorhead in the sense that they don't really have a schtick. Their thing is to simply be as brutal, angry and awesome as possible. And through the use of the 36 Marshall amps stacked up in walls behind the quartet, the volume was definitely accomplished. I think birds must have been dropping out of the sky during the pulverizing performance of "Reign In Blood." The menace king of the night was King, who, like Nikki Sixx, doesn't seem to be aging at all.

It wasn't all PTA-disturbing imagery and turning it up to 11, though. Tom Araya's bizarrely polite stage banter and frequent grinning at the amphitheatre mob (which wasn't as violent as advertised; at least not judging by stories from the last Slayer show) was well-balanced against the spitting fury of "Payback."

Slayer's workmanlike attitude was augmented by video projections on the large screen behind them, which added a theatrical touch. Images of Hitler, Satan, pentagrams, planes crashing into the twin towers (appropriately during "Jihad") and inverted bleeding crosses raining down from the Slayer logo were all standard fare. Masters of subtlety, Slayer are not. But at least it appeased the heavily made-up and corseted ranks of fans awaiting their Antichrist Superstar.

Yes, Marilyn Manson. Speaking of theatrical, there's no better way to set the mood for a good goth show than by making an entrance on a foggy stage lit with flickering candle-like lights, with the image of a moon rising on the video screen backdrop (the opening song being, of course, "If I Was Your Vampire").

If Slayer's set was a practice in bare-bones metal power, then Manson's was a show of dark, almost romantic grandeur. The man himself needed no stage banter between songs — aside from the occasional demonic shriek of "Toronto!" — but instead had creepy Alice In Wonderland narrative samples, set pieces (including an oversized chair and a boxing ring) and many impressive costume changes. Manson donned a swanky top hat and tailored coat for "mOBSCENE," which was completely apropos for what had to be one of his strongest live songs, rivalled only perhaps by the angst-fuelled venom of his "Sweet Dreams" cover.

By this point, Manson's racked up so many hits that he could have performed an entire set of them and the crowd would have been satisfied. But, since he has a new album to promote, there was the obligatory leaning towards the more recent side of his catalogue. Current single "Heart Shaped Glasses" — performed during a rain of heart-shaped confetti — fared much better as in concert than its slightly lacklustre recorded version. This was due, in part, to Manson's backing band, who are still as strong as ever (although it looks like Manson's hired Daniel Ash as his bass player. Love the '80s Flock Of Seagulls hair, guy).

After appeasing the Hot Topic-shopping masses with "Beautiful People," Manson knew exactly when to withdraw and leave everyone wanting more. The CN Tower glowed red as the show ended, and the black-clad crowd swooped off into the night. Satan would have approved.