On Thursday the 3rd July 2025, Slayer took the stage at Blackweir Fields in Cardiff, marking the beginning of their duo of massive shows - The other taking place in Finsbury Park, London on July 6th. Supported by an undercard of metal legends, Cardiff found itself packed with battle jackets and Doc Martens for one of the most anticipated events in the metal calendar this summer.
Speed walking into the arena, Hatebreed have already begun their blistering 20-minute set. The sun is shining down as their 'Balls of Death' are bouncing across the slowly filling crowd. Devil horns are raised and circle pits are starting, even at 5:30 pm, across the typically peaceful Blackweir Fields.
The crowd continues to get thicker as Mastodon take the stage with their psychedelic visuals. They turn their pedals up to the max to project their soaring vocals and intricate riffs across Cardiff, the Blackweir gigs being heard across the city. The masterful ease they play with lets them lean into the sludgey groove of the songs.
Powering on through a transcendent set of progressive tunes, the band tease us with a new album in the works and a tour very soon, proclaiming "6 years is far too long without visiting your beautiful country". Their final song, Blood and Thunder, ends their set with the same thunderous pace they started with, marking their set as one of the evening’s highlights.
Between sets, people are spotting themselves on the huge screens on either side of the stage, whilst further back the crowd are taking advantage of the food vans and weaving through the crowd with topped-up drinks. The heatwave weather has continued to hold out for today’s gig, requiring numerous trips to the water taps and bars dotted around the site.
Anthrax own the stage the instant they walk on - rightfully, with the decades of experience they have under their bullet belts. The crowd's energy is only further fuelled by Joey Belladonna - Anthrax's Lead Vocalist - prancing around the stage with his detached microphone, skinny jeans and falsetto vocals galore, the crowd hanging onto his every word.
The sun is starting to hide behind the huge stage setup, as the show is paused during their “war dance”. Belladonna makes his way to the barrier to keep check of the swarming pit and legs increasingly flying over the barrier - “Are you guys having as much fun as we are?!"
In-keeping with the number of shirts spotted around the field, Amon Amarth are greeted with a raving score of cheers at their dramatic curtain drop. Pulsing pyro is in full force alongside guttural growl vocals and viking-style warrior statues on stage.
Armed with a horn on his belt, he propositions the roaring crowd to get off their feet for [song], everyone following his command. Between songs, they take a moment to introduce themselves on stage, making clear their Swedish roots, but the crowd are clearly well acquainted with these legends already.
Harmonic riffs keep raising the energy as Amon Amarth break further into their punishing set. The first row pit of the night is initiated from the stage as Elmo surfs across the crowd. Synchronised headbanging and rapid guitar work take us through the rest of their set, ending with their massive tune Twilight of the Thunder God.
Finally reaching the main act of the night after a packed day of music, Slayer’s logo covers the stage as they build the anticipation with a compilation of historical interviews. As the curtain drops, Slayer take the stage with their iconic Delusions of Saviour riff, although quickly moving on to burst into their first song, South of Heaven. Any memory of the previous minute is erased to grow a thunderous mosh pit, increasing in size by the second.
Once safely evacuated from the pit, Slayer throw themselves into their second song Repentless, soothing the crowd with a run of some deeper cuts. Perhaps overshadowed by the scale and length of the show, as well as the quality of the supporting acts, Slayer soldier on through the set, but do start to drag after the first section of songs. Whilst playing songs such as Spirit in Black for the first time since 2017, the almost 2-hour long set may have been a treat for the dedicated fans, but a shorter, more curated set may have served the size of this event better.
As they approach the end of their set, the sun has set and the pyro and lighting have returned, reanimating the crowd for the final songs. As Raining Blood’s riff plays, bright red lights aptly fall from the top of the stage, embellished with on-beat pyrotechnics. The crowd takes a moment to appreciate and capture this, before the band finish off with an unrelenting run of high-tempo bangers: Black Magic and Angel of Death.
Numerous piercings lost, many pints devoured and promises from every band to return soon, Slayer's huge day out in the Blackweir fields will surely live on in Cardiff's minds for many years to come.
Written by Alice Needham