For Adelaide metal fans who missed out on the travelling (and sold-out) Knotfest – Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane this weekend – the city hosted one of the hottest side-show gigs last night.
The inimitable, legendary thrash metal band Megadeth headlined Adelaide Entertainment Centre (21 March), alongside very special guests In Flames. A true double whammy of heavyweight metal acts in one night.Led by founder, vocalist, guitarist and chief songwriter Dave Mustaine since 1983, Adelaide last hosted Megadeth in 2010 where local fans witnessed Mustaine and co. celebrate the 20th anniversary of landmark album 'Rust In Peace' played in full.
Known for a sound comprising highly dexterous speed-metal guitar playing, politically-charged lyrics and a revolving line-up of players, Megadeth's live show in Adelaide last night delivered a mix of bonafide classic metal along with light doses of newer material.
In this instance, the appearance was a showcase of dazzlingly technical, brightly lit and truly humbling thrash metal entertainment, with Mustaine's fiery guitar solos and snarling vocals leading the way in music and spirit.
In Flames - image © Mike Lockheart
Sweden's In Flames, a headline act in their own right, opened the concert with a career-spanning set list taking in their brutally heavy melodic death metal origins, mixed with more introspective mid-career material, allowing frontman Anders Fridén to command the crowd with the act's signature show-stopping songs.
Airing tracks such as classic 'Only For the Weak' alongside material from critically acclaimed latest album 'Foregone' (released last month), tracks 'State Of Slow Decay' and 'The Great Deceiver' astonished and captivated much of the swelling crowd.
The band, now bolstered by the guitar playing of American virtuoso Chris Broderick (who also served as Megadeth's lead guitarist from 2008-2014) generated a sense of moody musical disquiet, very much at odds with the atmosphere felt around the wider grounds of the Entertainment Centre, which was simultaneously hosting Rod Stewart's appearance next door.
After a highly involved interlude between acts, where Megadeth's sizeable production booted into gear, the band took to the stage amidst truly rapturous applause and the playback of their very own intro track 'Prince Of Darkness'.
Megadeth - image © Mike Lockheart
Mustaine and co. launched head first into hallmark classic 'Hangar 18' at breakneck speed. The latter minutes of the song featured explosive guitar solo trade-offs between Mustaine and guitarist Kiko Loureiro, culminating in a climatic finale of feedback, cheers and incessant chants of "Me-Ga-Deth, Me-Ga-Deth".
This, along with the sea of black Megadeth merchandise proudly worn by a huge number of attendees, left no doubt who was in the building.
More notable as a rock solid riff-and-shred-fest than sing-along anthem, 'Hangar 18' was followed by the huge choruses of 'Dread And The Fugitive Mind', igniting an enormous sing-along, followed in quick succession by 2015 single 'The Threat Is Real'.
Evident from this performance was the musicianship of the current incarnation of Megadeth, which can only be described as sublime; the explosive nature of their music is championed by the talent of lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro, veteran bass guitarist James LoMenzo (returning to the fold as of late 2022) and Belgian drummer extraordinaire Dirk Verbeuren rounding out the four piece.
Megadeth - image © Mike Lockheart
This talent was truly made clear during a transitory section of the set whereupon mega-hits 'À Tout Le Monde', 'Tornado Of Souls' and 'Trust' were performed, showcasing the act's ability to go from high-octane riffing to emotive balladry and back.
Mustaine's vocal performance was on point (throughout the evening in fact), none more so than on 'À Tout La Monde', elevating the nuances of the lyrics across the highly energetic room.
After the band's landmark live-streamed event from the Budokan Hall in Tokyo last month, where Mustaine and co. reunited with acclaimed ex-guitarist Marty Friedman for one-night only, classic Megadeth tracks from the Friedman era have been reintroduced to the live set list, performed in Adelaide with utmost gusto and flair, especially 'Tornado Of Souls' – a song with a treacherously difficult guitar solo, carried with stunning bravado and precision by Loureiro.
In short, the challenging passage was nailed by Kiko, to much fanfare, even more remarkable after Mustaine introduced it as a "mother-f...er of a solo" advising we watch Kiko closely for extra affect.
Megadeth - image © Mike Lockheart
'We Will Return', from Megadeth's latest album 'The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!' made a very welcome continental debut appearance in the set.
While the track can hardly be said to deviate from the Megadeth musical formula, it certainly held an additional sense of weight when performed live given the subject matter and Mustaine's fortunate recovery from poor health at the end of the last decade. Indeed, it was preceded by a lengthy, humbling introduction by Mustaine on the song's very genesis.
The band's main set closed on 'Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?' from the similarly titled sophomore 1986 album, and was surprisingly perhaps the show's highlight, played under searching rotating lights and seemingly unanimous audience participation along with disconcerting visuals implying political corruption and unrest on a global scale.
Following a lengthy encore break, 'Holy Wars…The Punishment Due' was performed, only to end with a thankful speech from a truly humbled Mustaine. His closing remark: "You've been great, we've been Megadeth."
Megadeth - image © Mike Lockheart
After a long 13 years between appearances in Adelaide, Megadeth fans were treated to a spectacle of live thrash metal from one of its founding fathers, and undoubtedly, upon exiting the venue, very eager for more from the timeless pioneers.
With a reinvigorated spirit championing and celebrating thrash metal music and the community around it, Megadeth are absolutely not to be missed at Knotfest later this week.
More photos from the show.
