Photos and Review by Travis Failey
41 years ago the heavy metal world was turned on its axis as a up and coming band decided to make a major change at the lead guitar position. Hailing out of San Francisco and working with their Manager, the late Johnny Z, Metallica sent Dave Mustaine back west and brought in Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett.
At the time, this event was brutal and life changing for Mustaine but he took his firing as ammunition to create his own thrash band which would become Megadeth. He got the name from a pamphlet by Senator Alan Cranston from California that discussed “Megadeath” and its meaning to be one million deaths by nuclear explosion. The ironic part of this is that Mustaine found the pamphlet on the bus trip home after his dismissal and the rest is as they say…history.
Fast forward to last Saturday night as Megadeth brought their “Destroy All Enemies Tour” to West Palm Beach to the iTHINK Amphitheatre with direct support in Mudvayne and All That Remains as the opening band.
Arriving to the venue, the security guard told me that the show had only sold 5 thousand seats and as All That Remains took the stage promptly at 6:30, it looked like he was right. The crowd wasn’t sparse but just not packed at this point but that was probably due to it being another brutally hot night in Florida.
It’s been a few years since the last time I saw founding member, Phil Labonte, sing and that was when he filled in for Ivan Moody in Five Finger Death Punch. Prior to that though, Phil and All That Remains were a staple for many years on the hard rock festival circuit.
They kicked off their 7 song set by going back to 2010 with “Now Let Them Tremble” from the For We Are Many album. They then went back even further to 2008 with “Chiron” from their Overcome release.
These songs got a few small pits going near the rail as Labonte was on top of his game early with his some would say “metalcore” vocal style that he has merged beautifully with his clean singing voice. They continued their set with “Six” which many fans recognize from Guitar Hero 2 and then they progressed with two new songs in “Divine” and “Let You Go.” Both of these are recent singles to be included on their upcoming album scheduled for later this year and they concluded with “Two Weeks.”
Even though the band has gone through many personnel changes they were really tight and sounded great once again. It will be interesting to see how their new music is received throughout the industry.
All That Remains
Next up was Chad Gray and the boys in Mudvayne who seem to be on a nonstop touring run since getting back together in 2021 and to say these guys were on fire would be an understatement.
They opened their set with the crowd favorite in “Not Falling”, which set the relentless tone for their 10 song set with all the band members wearing their usual attire and crazy makeup that the fans love. Their gear mixed in perfectly with the huge backdrop and lighting to create an immersive atmosphere which is rare for a non-headlining band.
Mudvayne then played “Silenced” and went directly into “Death Blooms where once again bassist Ryan Martinie was a not stop hornet of energy while trapesing all over the stage. He was in perfect time and synch with drummer and founding member Matthew McDonough who wore white and black face paint while hidden behind his massive drum kit.
During the set that also included “Fall into Sleep” and “Nothing To Gein” Gray talked about how his life was changed on one fateful day when his friend gave him a Motley Crue Too Fast For Love cassette. He said he heard the opening riffs of “Live Wire” and wondered where had this been? He stated that he had been bullied, lived a life of poverty, had a bad home life due to booze etc and that his newly found metal community and passion helped him through it all. He had nothing and now he had purpose and it changed his life forever. He also said that everyone here on the stage and in the venue was a “metal kid.”
He listened to Crue then and then at 14 it was Metallica, Slayer at 15 and so on and those bands including Megadeth helped get him out of whatever funk he was in. He closed his statement with “Don’t turn your back on heavy metal because metal will never turn its back on you and make some noise for yourself you heavy metal kids” whereas the fans exploded with screams and applause. It was one of the more memorable moments of the night as the band then kicked into “Dull Boy” with the fans thrashing their heads on the rail.
Gray was amazing live once again with his stage theatrics and his ability to switch between aggressive growls and melodic singing and it’s why the band continues to grow and have the longevity it has achieved. It is one of the band’s defining features, and it was on full display throughout the night.
Mudvayne concluded their set with two of their biggest songs in “Happy?” then “Dig” which led to the crowd catching their breath and a 30 minute break before Megadeth took the stage.
Mudvayne
During the break, it was obvious that the security guard was completely wrong with his crowd estimate. As Megadeth took the stage, all the seats were full and I could not see any available space on the lawn which meant there were at least 15000 fans in the amphitheatre. For those who say Megadeth are no longer a draw, I would beg to differ.
The fans chanted “Megadeth” “Megadeth” as drummer Dirk Verbeuren got behind his kit as the lights lit up the stage. He lifted his sticks up to address the crowd and they replied with a huge roar as bassist James Lomenzo and new guitarist Teemu Mantysaari broke into the title track from the new album “The Sick, the Dying and the Dead!
Dave Mustaine strode onto the stage in his familiar white button down shirt with his Gibson Flying V at his side ready to take aim and annihilate the fans with a sonic masterpiece. Mustaine and Mantysaari traded licks with Mantysaari playing both an acoustic and electric guitar during the song.
Red, purple, yellow and magenta lights flashed all over the stage with a huge backdrop of Megadeth’s mascot Vic Rattlehead sitting like Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial. It was one of the coolest stage setups that Megadeth has utilized throughout their career.
After “Dread and the Fugitive Mind” the first set list question was about to be answered. This has been a topic because Megadeth has been changing up their set since this tour started. I believe that this has been a driving force for fans to come out and attend these shows
Dave addressed the crowd for the first time with “Good Evening” with his trademark snarl in full force as the opening notes of “Angry Again” hit the speakers. The fans, including the dads with their kids, all sang the chorus with Dave as they would throughout the night during the more terrestrial radio tracks like “Symphony of Destruction” and “Sweating Bullets.”
But the old-schoolers would be in for a treat as I believe Dave decided he was going to go off script on this tour. It became obvious because after “She Wolf” the band played “Washington is Next” for the first time since 2009. This was the definition of a “deep track” which blended into “Skin of my Teeth” then into “Liar” which hadn’t been played live since 2006.
Even though Teemu Mantysaari has only been with the band for less than a year, his chemistry with Mustaine is evident as is the same with bassist James Lomenzo. Many know Lomenzo as the bassist for White Lion, but he has been a staple a couple times in Megadeth starting in 2006-2010 when he replaced David Ellefson and then once again replacing Ellefson in 2021 when he had some well documented issues.
Lomenzo and Verbeuren’s bass and drum lines boomed through our bodies, the venue and into the night skies as Mustaine and Mantysaari traded off riffs and solos during the fan favorites “Trust” and “Tornado of Souls.” It was perfect timing for the latter as rain started to come down in sheets even getting the fans under the awning a bit wet while the people on the lawn got hammered wet. The rain didn’t last long thankfully and concluded as the band played “We’ll Be Back.”
Dave and the band then went into the way back machine to play “Mechanix” from their debut album Killing Is My Business and Business is Good. What was amusing is that many actually though this was the “Four Horseman” by Metallica but played at a must faster tempo not knowing that Mustaine wrote it when he was with Metallica those 41 years ago.
Of course the band finished with their two biggest staples in “Peace Sells” and “Holy Wars” with the 15000 plus fans screaming “If There’s a New Way, I’ll Be The First In Line.” To say it was epic would be an understatement with Mustaine cracking a smile in approval. At the end of “Holy Wars” with the rest of the band leaving the stage while throwing picksand drum sticks etc, Dave remained.
He addressed the crowd and told them to be careful going home and then once again as in years past stated “You’ve been great, We’ve been Megadeth.” As “Silent Scorn” played through the house speakers, Dave played air guitar and smiled as he departed the stage. This was something I haven’t seen during the 15 plus times I’ve seen Megadeth. Dave looked truly happy and content and the fans were equally happy as those who wanted the hits, got the hits and those who wanted different songs and deep cuts got those.
Megadeth
I wondered leaving the amp, if Dave remains spiteful towards his old bandmates and about what occurred all those years ago or if it truly worked out the best for him and especially the fans. I know what my answer is and so do all of fans of both Megadeth and Metallica.
The Destroy All Enemies Tour at the iTHINK Amphitheatre was a huge success not only for the bands but especially for the fans. Three bands giving everything they had in a sweltering heat during the Florida summer. What more could you ask for from a tour featuring three different sub genres of metal at different stages in their career and one of the Big Four still performing at the highest level. One thing is for certain, if you are a Megadeth fan and you are on the fence about seeing this tour don’t be and “Trust” me, you will love it.
Tickets to the Destroy All Enemies Tour – https://www.megadeth.com/pages/tour
Megadeth
Mudvayne
All That Remains
