They were lots of fun. If you've ever seen Metallica, you'd think their lead singer is the Danish reincarnation of James Hetfield because he has all his mannerisms and looks down to a tee. The only major difference is the music, which carries some Metallica influence but gets inspiration from other sources as well. Anyway, their other guitarist quit before the start of the tour, so they had the guitarist from Mercyful Fate filling in for the tour. It didn't detract from the musical aspect at all, but he definitely didn't move as much. The other two were all over the place the whole set. Not really jumping up and down Iron Maiden-style, but moving back and forth across the stage to get all sides involved. It was more than enough energy to keep everyone interested. The 10-song set was pretty diverse, ranging from a ballad in Fallen to the thrashy tune Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood to the Johnny Cash-influenced Sad Man's Tongue. It was a really broad range of stuff, and it was all very catchy and easy to get into even if you're not so familiar with the lyrics. The sound mix was solid for all 4 bands so no complaints there. Overall, they're a treat to watch and I will definitely see them again at ROTR if time allows. 9/10
Setlist:
A Warrior's Call Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood The Human Instrument Sad Man's Tongue Hallelujah Goat Who They Are Fallen The Mirror and the Ripper Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza Still Counting
Motorhead was about the opposite of Volbeat in terms of movement. Of the three members, only the guitarist moved with any regularity. Lemmy took his place at the microphone and basically stayed there. The drummer was headbanging his ass off, but obviously he can't go anywhere. So haters of Slayer live will stop reading right here because they've seen this movie before. Regardless, their sound was tight and balanced and Lemmy's vocals were awesome. The crowd really woke up for them as the whole set was a dogfight for me to hold my spot by the rail. I only knew three songs of theirs, but thankfully they played them all. They spent time in between a couple songs making jokes and trying to get us to be as loud as possible, so they were clearly having fun. And as someone not familiar with the Motorhead catalog, the songs I didn't know didn't really bore me at all; all of them had really cool guitar lines and bass parts that I enjoyed. Between the energy they generated from the crowd and the quality of their set, it was a great set. Different from Volbeat's for sure, but still awesome. Hail Lemmy and hail Motorhead. 9/10
Setlist:
Bomber Damage Case I Know How to Die Stay Clean Over the Top The Chase Is Better Than the Catch The One to Sing the Blues (Drum Solo) Going to Brazil Killed by Death Ace of Spades Overkill
This was my first time seeing Megadeth headline proper, and honestly, it wasn't much different from the other two times I saw them. Their stage production is pretty minimal compared to those that use pyro and strobelights and such. The biggest parts of their stage was this video board behind Shawn that was divided into 4 or 5 vertical strips, creating an interesting effect, and of course the appearance of their mascot, Vic Rattlehead, during Peace Sells. The lack of stage stuff doesn't bother me in the least, however, because these guys can fucking play. This was the third time I've seen the band play basically the same set, and I'm still not tired of seeing them shred through Holy Wars, Peace Sells, Symphony of Destruction, and the like. I'd probably rate this as the best time I've seen them in terms of sound, because I had absolutely no qualms about the mix. Dave and Chris's guitars were pretty equal in volume, and Ellefson's bass was present but not too loud. The crowd was even more active than they were for Motorhead, further expending the energy that I was trying to pour into banging my head, pumping my fist, and yelling every word I possibly could. By the end, I had nothing left. The highlights of the set were Foreclosure of a Dream, which hadn't been played live in a while prior to this tour, She-Wolf, A Tout Le Monde with Cristina Scabbia, and of course, Peace Sells and Holy Wars, two songs with some of my all-time favorite riffs and solos. They do somewhat mix up their set on this tour, so I can't complain too much about the selection because they're at least making an effort to change it. I do wish In My Darkest Hour and Angry Again were in there, but that's about it. I never get tired of watching this band play....they move a bit and project a good bit of energy, but their music and their ability to execute it so well live is what will keep me coming back for as long as I can. 9.5/10
Setlist:
Trust Wake Up Dead Hangar 18 She-Wolf Foreclosure of a Dream Dawn Patrol Head Crusher A Tout Le Monde (with Cristina Scabbia) Public Enemy No. 1 Whose Life (Is It Anyways?) Guns, Drugs & Money Symphony of Destruction Peace Sells -------------------------------- Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
The negative part about the $18 tickets was the fact that the sound sucked so far back. There times when I could hear Mustaine's voice to save my life.
Comments
Setlist:
A Warrior's Call
Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
The Human Instrument
Sad Man's Tongue
Hallelujah Goat
Who They Are
Fallen
The Mirror and the Ripper
Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza
Still Counting
Setlist:
Bomber
Damage Case
I Know How to Die
Stay Clean
Over the Top
The Chase Is Better Than the Catch
The One to Sing the Blues (Drum Solo)
Going to Brazil
Killed by Death
Ace of Spades
Overkill
This was my first time seeing Megadeth headline proper, and honestly, it wasn't much different from the other two times I saw them. Their stage production is pretty minimal compared to those that use pyro and strobelights and such. The biggest parts of their stage was this video board behind Shawn that was divided into 4 or 5 vertical strips, creating an interesting effect, and of course the appearance of their mascot, Vic Rattlehead, during Peace Sells. The lack of stage stuff doesn't bother me in the least, however, because these guys can fucking play. This was the third time I've seen the band play basically the same set, and I'm still not tired of seeing them shred through Holy Wars, Peace Sells, Symphony of Destruction, and the like. I'd probably rate this as the best time I've seen them in terms of sound, because I had absolutely no qualms about the mix. Dave and Chris's guitars were pretty equal in volume, and Ellefson's bass was present but not too loud. The crowd was even more active than they were for Motorhead, further expending the energy that I was trying to pour into banging my head, pumping my fist, and yelling every word I possibly could. By the end, I had nothing left. The highlights of the set were Foreclosure of a Dream, which hadn't been played live in a while prior to this tour, She-Wolf, A Tout Le Monde with Cristina Scabbia, and of course, Peace Sells and Holy Wars, two songs with some of my all-time favorite riffs and solos. They do somewhat mix up their set on this tour, so I can't complain too much about the selection because they're at least making an effort to change it. I do wish In My Darkest Hour and Angry Again were in there, but that's about it. I never get tired of watching this band play....they move a bit and project a good bit of energy, but their music and their ability to execute it so well live is what will keep me coming back for as long as I can. 9.5/10
Setlist:
Trust
Wake Up Dead
Hangar 18
She-Wolf
Foreclosure of a Dream
Dawn Patrol
Head Crusher
A Tout Le Monde (with Cristina Scabbia)
Public Enemy No. 1
Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
Guns, Drugs & Money
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
--------------------------------
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due