THRASH
So how then do you follow a performance as brilliant as Lamb Of God? Well in this case, you can’t really. This is the first time the new Megadeth line up has hit these shores so the anticipation for this performance was very high - higher still after watching Adler storm through the Lamb Of God show in such a dominating fashion. The show opened up with some impressive visuals on the screen and the thunderously great Hangar 18. The band exploded on to the stage with more energy than you may have seen from Megadeth in recent years - they’re a band who have regenerated almost as many times as Doctor Who, and as has been the case every time it’s in the early of years of said regeneration where Megadeth tend to show glimpses of their peak. Obviously it didn’t reach those heady heights tonight at Wembley, but there was a freshness and renewed enthusiasm which for anyone who’s seen Megadeth recently will welcome with open arms.
One thing that did let this performance down in comparison to Lamb Of God is the fact that all of a sudden the sound in the venue just didn’t cut it. Ellefson’s Bass was so loud in the mix it tended to overpower everything. Alongside Mustaine’s vocals falling down halfway through the show, the sound just wasn’t as good as it had been pretty much all night. Luckily for Megadeth they’ve got a back catalogue which can smash through these kind of issues and tonight the setlist was absolutely perfect. Ploughing through tracks from across their career, including the likes of Tornado Of Souls and Skin O’ My Teeth which had the crowd singing along with great voice throughout.
An absolute highlight in the show though, both for tonight and as a live moment all year was Holy Wars... The Punishment Due. Now of course this is their masterpiece track, their crowd pleaser, but being that we were just 24 hours after the tragic events in Paris the lyrics were sung along to with such vigour and passion it was truly spectacular. Kiko Loureiro opening the track soloing the French National Anthem again encouraged tremendous applause across the venue.
Overall then Megadeth have always been one of those bands who, in the live environment, you don’t really know what you’re going to get. Sometimes they can turn up and be blistering and other times it completely goes the other way. Thankfully tonight at Wembley they delivered, and even with the sound at times being a bit off, this can certainly go down as one of the ‘good’ Megadeth shows. They had to follow one of the best live performances of the year in Lamb Of God, it doesn’t matter who you are, anyone would have slightly paled in comparison after that.