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Music

Shouts to the Guy Who Swam Back to a Slayer Show After Being Kicked Out

As documented by Anthrax's Scott Ian, the man was unsuccessful in returning to the thrash legends' recent Toronto concert, but his persistence is an inspiration.
Photo via Scott Ian's Instagram

Slayer is currently in the middle of their farewell tour, and 80s thrash fans worldwide are understandably pulling out all the stops to make sure they catch the band one last time. Most of these fans, though, are losers compared to the man who had to brave the harsh elements to maybe catch "Angel of Death" in the encore. Dedication is the fuel of the metal world, and perhaps no one exemplifies it more than this random guy who got kicked out of Slayer's May 29 Toronto stop at Budweiser Stage and tried to swim back in.

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As reported by The PRP, the unidentified man was captured on Instagram by Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian (the band is opening for Slayer on this tour along with Lamb of God and fellow thrash vets Testament) paddling the icy waters of Lake Ontario in order to return to the show after being kicked out for still-unknown reasons.

If you're a non-Torontonian confused about why in the fuck this guy had to get wet to return to a concert, here's a map of the Budweiser Stage (formerly the Molson Amphitheatre) and its surrounding grounds.

Yeah, it's literally on an island. The only way in or out is a single bridge. It can get annoying, especially at the beginning and end of a show. I saw Nickelback here last year and the bro-blockade on the way out stretched until the setting sun. In any case, Unknown Anthrax Shirt Dude (he's UASD henceforth) had to possess some kind of incredible, possibly beer-aided resolve to jump into the lake and attempt to swim past security. According to Ian and the PRP, he unfortunately didn't make it back into the show and was treated for hypothermia because Lake Ontario is one of the least inviting bodies of water in the Western Hemisphere even in warm weather.

We can learn a lot from UASD's mythic quest.

1. Find your own routes in life, especially in geographically awkward music venues.

2. A seemingly impossible obstacle can be surmounted.

3. Lake Ontario is cold as shit. Don't swim in it.

Wisdom for all of us.

Phil is on Twitter.