If it’s 7:15pm, and two bands have already been on, the arena floor is soaked with beer, and people are being dragged out in a sea of black t-shirts, take a wild guess where you’re at. It isn’t the sun drenched OzzFest, it’s the more extreme indoor version of the heavy metal fest, The Unholy Alliance Tour.

The inaugural edition, featuring metal legends Slayer headlined a blissfully abrasive 5 band show that made bands at that other metal festival seem like a bunch of wimps. The crowd of around 5,000 strolled in slowly during the evening, as they finished their pre-concert drinking and came down to the legendary Cobo Arena to see an exercise in real metal.

After a droll 25 minute performance from Canadian act Thine Eyes Bleed, the first signs of life came courtesy of the Finnish collective Children Of Bodom. The band, once thought to be one of those Satanic, only-talk-about-death-and-murder type bands, surprised this reviewer to a degree. Lead by singer Alexi Laiho, the band showed a lot of technical prowess in their musicianship in their 30 minute set. Laiho may need to work on his vocals, but if they can fine tune some things, they could be end up being a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

Atlanta’s Mastodon came next, and after canceling on Detroit at last year’s OzzFest, they needed a masterful performance to make up for the cancellation. They came close starting with Iron Tusk, but the fans were almost in a catatonic state, and could care less about the band’s 40 minute performance. The material from the upcoming Blood Mountain (out September 12th) album sounded like the usual brand of prog-metal the band is known for putting out. The highlight of the set came at the end, where the sludgy Blood and Thunder gave the crowd some life.

Whatever life hadn’t been shown throughout the show came alive when Lamb of God hit the stage for a 55 minute set, and sent the place into a furious rage. Starting with Ruin, singer Randy Blythe (complete with a newly shaved head) growled and pummeled his way through mosh pit approved tracks Laid to Rest, and 11th Hour. If the first single Redneck is any indication of the band’s upcoming Sacrament album (out August 22nd), this is going to be one crushing record. The infamous "Wall of Death” mosh pit was brought out for the finale Black Label, which probably sent a few people to the infirmary afterwards.

As the crowd was in a frenzy, Slayer sent them to the edge, but not over it in a 75 minute classic filled set. From the first chords of South of Heaven, the crowd screamed along to the lyrics, even though the band struggled with sound issues for the first few songs. By the time they dove into the new single Cult, the vocals and guitars meshed together, and Slayer really started to sound intense. Lead singer Tom Araya had his usual on stage banter shtick down this night, which seemed no different than the usual Slayer set. The crowd gave the love right back to the band on tunes such as Dead Skin Mask, and Seasons of the Abyss.

When the classic Raining Blood was played, the light show gave the impression that blood was falling. The band has actually simulated it with dyed red water in the past, which is much more effective. The fans looked a little lethargic towards the end of the evening. This reviewer had seen much more intense pits for the band in the past. But, Slayer gave their usual intense and strong set throughout, and it was especially refreshing to see them in a larger venue, than the usual jaunt to Harpos.

Now, let’s see OzzFest top this one…