Live Review: Kerry King - Academy 2, Manchester
12th August 2025
Support: Fear Factory
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Rich Price
Less than forty-eight hours after Gojira and Obituary brought the curtain down on Bloodstock 2025 – and while still coughing up Catton Park dust – it’s back to reality and a show at Manchester’s Academy 2.
And what a show is in prospect: Slayer’s revered guitarist with his awesome From Hell I Rise album, supported by the legend that is Fear Factory who, themselves, sold this venue out last autumn. It’s touching thirty-degrees outside, and the venue is rammed to capacity before we’ve even started; all suggests this could be a gig for the ages.
On Saturday, at Catton Park I thought Fear Factory suffered from a paper-thin sound, robbing the band of the full weight of the show. Tonight, no such problems exist and the nineties classic that is Demanufacture gets played in its entirety in celebration of that landmark’s thirtieth anniversary.
The Terminator theme intro sets the scene for what is essentially an album influenced by that film, giving way to the gravity-inducing weight of Demanufacture’s riff. The sheer intensity of the music -missing at Bloodstock – is here in abundance, with every chord, every bass note and every drum strike being not only heard but felt. Milo Silvestro’s vocals come into their own here, with barks and screams rivalling Burton’s.
Self-Bias Resistor booms large with razor-sharp delivery, Zero Signal is introduced as being from the Mortal Combat soundtrack and adds an ethereal element to the vocals, further separating the man and the machine of the album’s concept. A combination of red and brilliant white light scan the stage during Replica, New Breed heralds an epic singalong and the Head of David cover, Dog Day Sunrise is both out of place and fits perfectly.
Ricky Bonanzza’s bass comes into its own on the opening of Flashpoint and Milo calls for a pit to be opened up during the intro to H-K (Hunter-Killer), though there’s scant room to manage that in tonight’s capacity hall.
Always a personal favourite is Pisschrist, which I see as never quite getting the credit it deserves; and, again, Fear Factory give it the performance it needs to lend it the full effect. Milo’s vocals take the track through its many twists and turns until it reaches that moment of religious fervour. The evocative, almost soundtrack, vibes of A Therapy for Pain is dedicated to Ozzy and creates an image of a desolate rubble-strewn wasteland – the victory may be with man, but at what cost?
As on Saturday, the band have one more tune in them, the singalong romp that is Digimortal’s Linchpin, sending Fear Factory off with a fist-pumping anthem, proving that there is life beyond Demanufacture’s genius.
Judging by the number of Slayer shirts here tonight it’s fair to say there’s a lot of love for Kerry King’s body of work. It was never going to come as a shock that Mr King’s solo record wouldn’t stray too far from the Slayer path, which is no bad thing, as clearly, they are a band still close to the hearts of many people.
Tonight’s set begins in the same manner as the From Hell I Rise record, with the pummelling Where I Reign and it’s immediately obvious that tonight will be a special show. Pseudo-Slayer riffs are a given, with Mr King willing to let the shredding spotlight fall on his guitar partner while he goes about the rhythm duties.
Unsurprisingly, pretty-much all the debut record is played, showing the Slayer-ism, but also the edgier aspects of Residue, the punk-vibes of Trophies of the Tyrant and the Hardcore punch of Two Fists.
Death Angel singer, Mark Osegueda, takes the vocals to stirring highs on Idle Hands and Tension; speaks kindly about the passion and intensity of a Manchester crowd, calling for us to make the ground shake. The introduction to Toxic comes with a reminder that we must not allow outside influences to divide us, most notably Politicians who seek to divide and conquer. The rendition of Toxic is itself a heavy and powerful call to arms and unity.
It would be unthinkable for such an evening to pass by without a few Slayer covers thrown into the mix. Repentless arrives first, played before two blood-red inverted crosses; Disciple makes the most of its “God hates us all” chant, Chemical Warfare and Black Magic emerge from the deep past, and it could never omit Raining Blood, could it?
But, as Mark observes, the last twelve months has seen the scene lose two of its most charismatic and influential frontmen: Ozzy and Paul Di’Anno left for the great gig in the sky and tributes were brought out in their memories. For Ozzy, it was Wicked World, and for Paul it was Purgatory; both were fitting reminders of their contributions and legacy.
The show closed with the title track of the solo album, the relentlessly punishing From Hell I Rise, sending the already frenzied crowd into heightened mania and wringing the last drops of heat-sapped energy from the packed auditorium.
On the evidence of the record, KK does not need to milk his legacy to attract a sizable audience; his talent and creativity sees to that. The Slayer material is added as bonus content, serving to remind us of how Mr King has developed as an artist and musician.
This was old-school Thrash, played in a sweatbox of a venue to a mob screaming for some good friendly violent fun. Oh, the nostalgia.
Photo Credits: Rich Price Photography
