POP MUSIC REVIEW : Metal Madness in Costa Mesa

A rock tour dubbed “Clash of the Titans”? You’d think they were putting on Wrestlemania rather than a speed-metal bill on Saturday at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa.

At least Hulk Hogan is good for laughs and action, however ersatz. Slayer and Megadeth, claimants to metal titan-hood, delivered predictable darkness, doom and hellfire, managing to turn sensationalistic themes into stolid stuff. If this clash had a winner, it wasn’t a titan, but an imp--Anthrax. The third-billed New Yorkers displayed enthusiasm, humor, a modicum of musical variation and a healthy disdain for hellfire.

Partisans of Slayer and Megadeth hail the bands’ willingness to look unflinchingly into the heart of evil and probe the abscesses of the soul. In concert, both Los Angeles bands got bogged down in sound and fury that signified next to nothing.

Slayer served up evil as if it were processed cheese, whipped into a generic product of undifferentiated consistency. Whether the topic was Auschwitz, serial killings, Satan’s dominion or battlefield bloodshed (all of which Slayer presents not as an advocate, but with a combination of fascination and moral revulsion), the music was basically the same howl amid an instrumental vortex.

Slayer did give good head-banger value. The unrelenting concussion of Dave Lombardo’s bass drums took hold of the back of the neck and set the skull tingling. When it was over, you almost wanted to tip the guy for a great scalp massage.

Megadeth’s sound was less massive and more technocratic. The band executed frequent tempo changes, served up classically tinged guitar solos and even tossed in some flamenco touches at one point. But it all added up to another dark slab of sameness unrelieved by melody. Leader Dave Mustaine was a colorless performer who was either encumbered by his guitar chores or concealed by his blanket of blond hair. Just because a band deals in dark themes doesn’t mean it must adopt a stance of studied joylessness.

Not so the boys from Anthrax. The band fed off fans’ energetic response in a set that took some unpredictable turns, including a lustily rendered fragment from the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and a humorous rap number.

Instead of affecting a dire pose, singer Joey Belladonna allowed his enthusiasm to show, repeatedly telling the audience how wonderful it was, and saying thank you so much that he could have been mistaken for a profane Gomer Pyle.

In most pop contexts, such behavior comes off as calculated pandering. Among titans, it was refreshingly down-to-earth.

Speed metal shows--particularly Slayer’s--have had a reputation for violence, but the audience for the titans’ clash was good-natured. Susan Rosenbluth, the Pacific’s general manager, said afterward that there were “a couple of minor arrests related to drunk and disorderly” behavior, but no injuries or damage to the venue.