Photos and review by: Kimberly Kanuck
Sunday night at the PPL Center. Megadeth and Lamb of God are on their 2nd US run of their tour and are joined by Trivium and In Flames. This was their last stop before heading to Canada and Europe and we were fortunate to host them in our town. The main reason I came to the show was to see one of my all-time favorite metal bands, Megadeth. And in particular I came to see front man Dave Mustaine. Mustaine was diagnosed with throat cancer back in 2019 and after much treatment, he’s back touring after a clean bill of health. So I did not want to miss Dave and the band this time around.

In between songs fans would cheer on Mustaine by chanting “Dave” repeatedly. I’m sure they were all feeling the same emotions and were thrilled to still hear him sing with his typical raspy voice that all we know and love. And it was no surprise that he still wails on the guitar.

Megadeth opened with their massive hit “Hangar 18” and the crowd went wild! By the time they got to the middle of the show, Dave commented on how they were going to perform a song that they haven’t played in quite a while, “The Conjuring.” The fans all cheered and yelled “obey” in unison at the end of the first chorus. Megadeth played their instruments to perfection and Mustaine’s vocals were on point. To keep up the crowd’s energy, they rolled into “Sweating Bullets.” Once again, another song that’s absolutely perfect for Dave’s raspy vocals. They wrapped up the main show with two more massive hits, “Symphony of Destruction” and “Peace Sells.”

Before the encore, Dave stopped to take a moment to thank his fans for supporting them all of these years. He acknowledged that we never know how much time we have here (on Earth). And with the current economic climate, the pandemic, and etc., he truly appreciates his fans and is grateful for everyone coming out to support them. And then you heard those opening chords of “Holy Wars” the encore… and everyone was banging their heads! It was a perfect way to end the show giving fans that heavy thrash metal they expect, respect, and downright love from Megadeth!

At the end of the show, Dave spent time with adorning fans and even gave his wristband to a little girl on her Dad’s shoulders in the pit. It makes me happy when bands are grateful for their fans, interact with them, and take the time to show their appreciation. Overall, it was an awesome experience hearing songs from Megadeth’s extensive library of hits! If you can catch them on tour, you will not be disappointed!

For more information about the “Metal Tour of the Year,” please visit: https://megadeth.com/tour and https://www.metaltouroftheyear.com/

I’d like to thank PPL Center for allowing me to experience such an amazing show. For more exciting events, please visit: https://www.pplcenter.com/