THE METAL TOUR OF THE YEAR LIVES UP TO ITS NAME

After 627 days of COVID-19 agony, I finally was able to photograph a concert, and seeing Megadeth, Lamb of God, and Trivium live was the perfect concert to come back to. The Metal Tour of the Year was exactly as it was described. If anything, it was one of the best metal shows from the last several years. Pinnacle performances with phenomenally crafted setlists and an insanely passionate crowd made it a night to remember. From the pit to the lawn, every member of the audience came out having had a wonderful concert experience.

I entered the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, IL in awe because I had made great memories there as a kid and I was about to create several more. Trivium stepped on stage and put on a fantastic show while playing a mixture of fan favorites and their new music. They opened with one of their new singles “In the Court of the Dragon” followed by “Catastrophist,” “IX,” and “What The Dead Men Say” from their 2020 album What The Dead Men Say. The crowd roared and the mosh pit surged during “Down From The Sky” and continued to rage throughout the rest of their set. Guitarist Corey Beaulieu was constantly head banging and shredding on his Jackson Flying V guitar. Pablo Gregoletto walked back and forth on the stage, jamming out on his 5 string Kiesel bass while drummer Alex Bent was hammering away on the drums. Matt Heafy was constantly hyping up the crowd and sticking his tongue out while wearing 2 guitar straps for his heavy Epiphone 7 string. For their final song, Matt Heafy called for everyone to get as close to the floor as possible during the intro to “In Waves,” Trivium’s final song of the night. As the heavy intro kicked in, the entire crowd was jumping and moshing like crazy.

Randy Blythe hid behind the a giant curtain (kabuki), speaking the opening lines to “Memento Mori.” When the intro kicked in, the kabuki dropped and a massive explosion rang out making the crowd go wild. Unlike many concerts, Lamb of God didn’t need to instruct the crowd to interact one bit. The crowd naturally surged like waves in a hurricane, ready to decimate everything. Surprisingly, the next song was “Ruin,” the opening track off of their 2003 album As The Palaces Burn which I had not heard before. From there, Lamb of God played their incredible hits mixed with songs off of their most recent self titled album. As usual, Randy Blythe was constantly running back and forth on the stage, jumping off of the risers, and swinging his dreadlocks around. Massive bursts of fire filled the sky during breakdowns and heavy pieces of their songs which stunned both myself and the crowd. Song after song, Lamb of God fueled the crowd with masterpieces like “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For,” “Set To Fail,” and “512.” In between the bursts of fire, the circle pit continued to swirl out of control. As “Laid To Rest” started, I was in awe with the wall of sound and I thought the performance about to end. Absolutely thrilled with the Lamb of God show I had just witnessed, I was ready to leave and grab another overpriced beer when “Redneck” blasted through the loud speakers, blowing everyones minds and concluding Lamb of God’s unbelievable set.

There are a select few performances that I can say are legendary. Judas Priest, Slipknot, The Ghost Inside, and Megadeth shows are the only performances that have lived up to that word. Legendary. For Megadeth, everything was honed, perfected, and flawless. Dirk Verbeuren’s drumming skills were incredible to witness because they almost felt unreal. His timing, drum fills, and precision was astounding perfect. Megadeth started the night with “Hangar 18,” “The Threat Is Real,” and “Sweating Bullets,” creating an enthusiastic atmosphere. While Dave Mustaine’s left hand went sliding up and down the neck, his right hand was another masterpiece of palm muting, chugging, and shredding. The lighting was stunning and enhanced the entire performance immeasurably. Giant LED walls sat behind the band showing pictures of album art and of the band members. Kiko Loureiro’s guitar skills were incredible to witness live. Kiko performed perfect guitar solos, insane tapping pieces, and seemingly plucked his strings with his teeth, in front of a live audience! While the entire set was thrilling, my favorite moment was half way through the set when Kiko played the “Conquer or Die!” intro on the acoustic guitar then switched to his electric guitar for the following brutal riff. Bassist James LoMenzo owned the stage as if it were his. Several times he was left on the stage to open songs with a juicy bass riff while Dave and Kiko switched guitars. Throughout the show, Mustaine opened up to the crowd like he was in a therapy session but also hyped up the crowd by telling them how beautiful and awesome they were. Hit songs were abundant and had the crowd cheering, clapping, and raising their devil horns to the sky. Many people may think that the mosh pit is a lawless wasteland of insane and angry metal-heads, it can also be quite the opposite. In the lull between songs, several people in the circle pit shined their flashlights on a missing watch in an attempt to give it back its owner. Furthermore, a fellow pit member very cordially asked to move over so the people behind me could enjoy the show. Addressing the return to live music, Dave Mustaine said to the crowd, “If they won’t let you come to live music in Chicago, just come to my farm in Tennessee and we’ll hang out.” Nearing the end of the set, Megadeth played “Tornado of Souls” which was the first song that made me fall in love with Megadeth. Naturally it was an unforgettable moment. Despite the late hour, the circle pit continued to swarm during “Symphony of Destruction” and “Peace Sells,” the final two songs of the night. After cheers from the crowd, Megadeth graced the crowd with one final song, “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due.” Dave told the crowd that he would love to continue playing for the crowd, but unfortunately there was a curfew he had to follow. In the final moments of The Metal Tour of the Year, the members of Megadeth stood center stage and took a bow before their worshiping fans. As the rest of the band members left, Dave Mustaine stayed on stage to thank the fans once again, raising his hands up with the rest of the crowd before taking a final bow and departing.

I am sure that a person who doesn’t like heavy metal could easily go to a Megadeth show and come out as a different person. That level of musical technique, songwriting, and performance isn’t something you can see every day. Megadeth didn’t put on a gimmicky performance where they called for circle pits, a wall of death, or everyone to jump. The audience simply felt the music and interacted accordingly. As the audience wandered out of the amphitheater contemplating the unimaginable show they just witnessed, car alarms sounded in every direction as people searched for their way home.