Slayer will play tomorrow at Edinburg’s Bert Ogden Arena as part of their final world tour. The band has a long history in the Rio Grande Valley, but the concert can mark the beginning of a new venue for a wave of metal music hopefuls.

               The significance of this concert is more than Slayers final tour. This is most likely the last chance to see any of the big four thrash metal bands in the valley. Megadeth’s frontman, Dave Mustaine, expressed his refusal to play in the McAllen area again in 1998 after an incident with an unruly crowd (he did tweet a different opinion in 2016). Anthrax will be a supporting act for the tour but not for the stop in Edinburg. Metallica has not played in the McAllen area since 1986, and with the each of these bands being in existence for about 40 years, each day decreases the chances of them touring again due to age.

               The venue itself has had a hot start at booking talent after opening in August 2018. The previous venue that housed the biggest metal shows in the valley was La Villa Real in McAllen, which closed down in 2006. After all the hype of tomorrow’s show, this could spark a resurgence of metal concerts. The RGV already has a strong metal music community, several successful bands, and no shortage of fans, but the success of the venue also raises the bar for any local talent that is aiming for the Bert Ogden stage.

We spoke with Jaime Ayala, drummer for Overt Enemy. His band has recently been pushing their original music but has been known as a Slayer tribute band for 6 years.

Are you going to the concert?

JA: Of course. I always go out to see them if they play nearby. This is like the 16th time I’ve seen them. I’ve seen them in San Antonio, Corpus [Christi], McAllen, and even at the Livestock show in Mercedes.

Will Overt Enemy’s stock go up after Slayer stops touring for good?

JA: We might get more shows and maybe a bigger audience after Slayer is done but we’re more than a tribute band. We’re moving away from covers. There was a guy that reviewed our album and was surprised we weren’t trying to be the next Slayer. It’s a misunderstanding.

Where has the home for local metal music been since La Villa Real Closed?

JA: The metal scene wasn’t the same after they closed it down but we’ve had help from a lot of people. Rock-n-Roll James has been the biggest help for us. Bert from Cine El Rey has been very open about promoters throwing metal shows there. Sam Daily helped too. Luis Saldivar had his EMS shows, which stands for Extreme Metal Series. He would have shows at Avenue, Thirsty Monkey, and Cypress before it closed. I’ve been to the VFW too. The Hop Shop in Harlingen is where we played our first show. They’ve been around forever and still host. There’s the Pharr Event Center, there was the Hookah Lounge, and Aces North was a good place too. There’s a lot of people that have been there for us and do a lot for the musicians around here.

Do you think a local band will play there one day?

JA: If there’s a local band around here that will play, it will probably be Sons of Texas. Shattered Sun and Scarlett O’ Hara sound good too.

What do you think of Bert Ogden Arena?

JA: It’s a blessing for our area. They’re bringing down a lot of big events. I remember when Marc Anthony was there. I couldn’t get on the highway ramp because traffic was so backed up. Now they’re getting J. Lo and Maná. Hopefully they see that a metal show did so well that they’ll book more rock bands too. When Dodge Arena opened they had some good music but it was not as often, and it wasn’t really rock or metal.

Is there a lot of thrash metal in the valley?

JA: Not really. There’s Archangel A.D. who are great. There’s also Belligerency that have thrash and death metal influence, but not a lot of bands around here like that.

Do you think Slayer is a big influence on metal bands around here?

Even though they don’t sound like Slayer, they are a big influence. Thrash is an important genre of metal. It influenced a lot of other styles of metal. How can you call yourself a metalhead if you don’t know Metallica or Megadeth?  That tells me you’re missing a big piece of the puzzle. A lot of these new bands have parents that listened to Slayer. I know guys that have metalhead parents. Their influence spans many generations. A lot of roots are in these bands.

You were at the infamous Megadeth concert. What happened?

JA: Some guy threw a beer bottle and hit Dave. He got pissed off and threatened to never come back again. I actually met that guy through a mutual friend. He told me it was him that threw it. I was like “damn you fucked it up for everyone.” It was a great show anyway.

Well, thanks for all your historical insight.

JA: Anytime, man.

Lamb of God, Amon Amarth, and Cannibal Corpse will be the opening acts for tomorrow’s concert.

Listen to a Spotify playlist of RGV metal bands here.