CONCORD, Calif.--A Marilyn Manson-Slayer double bill that likely left fans of both acts scratching their heads when it was announced proved equally baffling throughout last night's show at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord.

But even more perplexing was Manson's decision to go on last, leaving him with possibly the toughest act in all of metal to follow--Slayer delivered an incredibly explosive performance--and a half-filled venue to boot.

Manson's set wasn't terrible, but seeing him go through multiple costume changes and writhe around in bondage gear on the heels of a no-frills, crushing Slayer set was inevitably anticlimactic.

Following a solid yet unremarkable opening set from Orange County metalcore band Bleeding Through, Slayer took the stage with dusk looming. The venue was barely more than half full, but Slayer is one of those bands that brings it full tilt regardless.

Guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman blasted their way into "Flesh Storm," the opening song from the band's acclaimed 2006 album, Christ Illusion, setting the stage for a series of tracks that took on many of the most pressings in the world today, from war to religion, but in uniquely Slayer fashion.

On the thunderous "War Ensemble," frontman Tom Araya screeched, "When victory's a massacre / The final swing is not a drill / It's how many people I can kill." These were not your parents' protest songs.

The deafening, powerful power chords didn't let up for a full hour, but didn't mask the band's musical complexity and Araya's penchant for working shaded tones into even the most seething, graphic lyrics. The band's 2006 song "Eyes of the Insane," which took on the subject of soldiers' vulnerability to mental illness and suicide, nabbed a Grammy last year and was one of the highlights of the set.

King and Hanneman were monsters, trading solos throughout the night and displaying a relentless furor, but it was drummer Dave Lombardo, back with the thrash metal vets for the first time in 15 years, who was the force that propelled every song with blindingly fast, intricate patterns.

It would have been a tough act for any band to follow, particularly one that relies as heavily on the appearance of shock as on the music's might.

As red lights filled the stage and a solo grand piano played in the background, Manson's set was clearly heading in a different direction. It was a very theatrical opening, with Manson brandishing a mic that had a huge butcher knife extending out from the bottom and prancing around in his customary makeup and bondage outfit.

The first track, "If I Was Your Vampire," was both dramatic and fierce, and boded well for Manson's ability to back up his cosmetics with some sonic heft. But then the costume changes started, with Manson donning a jacket and top hat for "mOBSCENE," which featured the chorus, "Be obscene, be be obscene / Be obscene, baby, and not heard."

Before long a giant chair was in the middle of the stage for the song "Are You the Rabbit," and much like Madonna, Manson slithered around on it and thrust his pelvis into the air while perched on its seat.

With his face and image constantly projected onto the huge video screens in various getups, it served as a reminder that Manson's music, whether in the form of crafty rants against censorship or religious doctrine, is all just really about him.

The set was compelling at times, and there were plenty of "shocking" moments, like when a Bible was burned. But Manson's act is a bit stale, and in the wake of Slayer's sonic assault, it rang hollow. Marilyn Manson just didn't seem so scary anymore.