MEGADETH/IN FLAMES Adelaide Entertainment Centre, SA MARCH 21, 2023
The last time I saw Megadeth Live in concert was back in 1991 and boy was it one hell of a show, but we will get to them shortly as we first have to talk about In Flames who were the support for the recent Knotfest sideshows in Australia. I will admit I’m wasnt a huge fan of In Flames and musically they were ok but nothing new. How wrong was I when they came out and tore the place apart, so much energy right from start. These Swedish death metallers took no prisoners from start to finish and the crowd ate it all up. Vocalist Anders Friden whipped the crowd into a frenzy while guitarist Bjorn Gelotte fired off his
Now it’s time for Megadeth, with many line up changes you would think the band has lost its edge by now but this is the exact opposite. Even though vocalist Dave Mustaine had gone through a few struggles in life that included throat cancer and neck surgery he seemed content with life but still hungry, and during the show he explained a few of these things to us fans.
The introduction to Megadeth’s the show alone was enough to get the crowd roaring with Prince of Darkness backing tape and the back drops which changed during the night were riveting. And then Hanger 18 pierced our ear drums and the band were off at full speed, no stopping them now. Even the security had a job to do with some of the crowd being pulled over the barrier only to return to the front for more crowd surfing. The guitar riffs, the drumming, Mustaine’s rough and raw vocals pounded us thoughout the show but we were never satisfied, we wanted more. Kiko Loureiro was furious on his guitar, sometimes teaming up with bassist James LoMenzo and Mustaine who added his diabolical rhythm for a triple-threat guitar stance. Adelaide’s set list and even show was different to the rest of the country, some of this was due to venue size and others to the
So many classic songs and so much energy and we lapped it up. Songs like Sweating Bullets, Tornado of Souls, She-Wolf, Dystopia but it was Symphony of Destruction and Peace Sells that took it all to another level. Mustaine was definitely in a good mood that night and told stories in between songs and kept the crowd wanting more and more from him. The only way to finish off the show was with Holy Wars... The Punishment Due. We may not have got Knotfest but who cares because we got Megadeth. What a band, what a show.