Metal Monarchy
MEGADETH, IN FLAMES, CHILDREN OF BODOM TAKE NO PRISONERS IN SOCAL
LONG BEACH, California - Gigantour tore through the famed Long Beach Arena last night. The
venue, which has hosted a veritable plethora of major metal concerts
over the years, provided an able setting for a great evening of
thrashing and bashing from Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy and High on Fire. Here's what went down:
High on Fire and Job for a Cowboy kicked off the evening as the huge crowd trickled in. No one got particulary excited for High on Fire, but Job for a Cowboy had the crowd fairly energized, playing a bunch of well-known tunes like "Entombment of a Machine" and "Knee Deep."
Amid enthusiastic chants of "Bodom, Bodom" from the general admission faithful, COB hit the stage in a huff and looked extremely upset about something throughout their entire set. I don't know what the deal was, but I felt that they really let the crowd down with their seemingly negative attitude toward the performance. Frontman and lead guitarist Alexi Laiho performed in an extremely sloppy fashion, and he also made a perpetual loop around the stage, whispering in bandmembers' ears about something or other, all but ignoring the audience.
The crowd valiantly attempted to enjoy themselves, but Bodom made it very difficult with their going-through-the-motions act. Laiho at least confirmed my suspicions toward the end of the set when he admitted that he had been completely pissed off before the set, but that the crowd had "woken him up."
Music-wise, the Finnish quintet kicked things off with "Sixpounder" before transitioning into their usual set opener, "Living Dead Beat." "In Your Face" came next, followed by "Silent Night, Bodom Night," "Hellhounds on My Trail," "Angels Don't Kill" and "Blooddrunk." In a humorous touch that contradicted COB's overall mood, the band played a portion of Van Halen's "Jump" before appeasing the crowd with their perennial set closer, "Downfall."
In Flames seemed to be much more appreciative of being able to perform in front of such an excited audience. Vocalist Anders Fridén confided that the Long Beach Arena is "hallowed ground" for him, being the place of the recording of his "Bible," Iron Maiden's Live After Death album.
The band played plenty of new stuff, like "Alias" and "The Mirror's Truth" from the recently released A Sense of Purpose album. They made sure to throw older fans a bone as well, playing tracks as far back as "Graveland" from 1996's The Jester Race. Both the new stuff and the older material sounded remarkably good, and the band put on a show that was much more impressive and fun than Bodom's overall.
In the culmination of a lifetime of anticipation for me, legendary thrashers Megadeth finally took the stage at 9:30 p.m. for a 90-minute headlining set that I can describe only as "perfect." Flanked by relative newcomers Chris Broderick on guitar and James Lomenzo on bass, frontman Dave Mustaine appeared godlike onstage, underscored by a prominent spotlight. Clad all in black, with his bright red hair covering most of his face, the iconic guitarist ripped through solos during set opener "Sleepwalker."
The band then picked up the energy big time with one of its fiercest songs, "Wake Up Dead," before transitioning immediately into the high-octane thrash of "Take No Prisoners." "Skin O' My Teeth" rounded out the energetic opening medley. By this point, the crowd had been whipped into an absolute frenzy, and Megadeth did not let up, playing favorite after favorite.
From there, the order becomes less clear, but I can assure that Megadeth left no stone unturned in playing everything that fans wanted to hear. Off the top of my head, here is a large portion of their set list, in no particular order:
"In My Darkest Hour"
"Hangar 18"
"Trust"
"Tornado of Souls"
"Sweating Bullets"
"Symphony of Destruction"
"A Tout Le Monde"
"Peace Sells"
Megadeth closed, of course, with "Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due," which ended precisely at 11:00 p.m., capping a refreshing and energizing night of metal. To me, the best concerts are the ones that leave me drained and wanting to do anything but listen to more metal. As I drove home to the relaxing sounds of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, I was happy to think that yet another of my favorite childhood bands exceeded all of my expectations when I finally saw them live. Thank you, Megadeth!
High on Fire and Job for a Cowboy kicked off the evening as the huge crowd trickled in. No one got particulary excited for High on Fire, but Job for a Cowboy had the crowd fairly energized, playing a bunch of well-known tunes like "Entombment of a Machine" and "Knee Deep."
Amid enthusiastic chants of "Bodom, Bodom" from the general admission faithful, COB hit the stage in a huff and looked extremely upset about something throughout their entire set. I don't know what the deal was, but I felt that they really let the crowd down with their seemingly negative attitude toward the performance. Frontman and lead guitarist Alexi Laiho performed in an extremely sloppy fashion, and he also made a perpetual loop around the stage, whispering in bandmembers' ears about something or other, all but ignoring the audience.
The crowd valiantly attempted to enjoy themselves, but Bodom made it very difficult with their going-through-the-motions act. Laiho at least confirmed my suspicions toward the end of the set when he admitted that he had been completely pissed off before the set, but that the crowd had "woken him up."
Music-wise, the Finnish quintet kicked things off with "Sixpounder" before transitioning into their usual set opener, "Living Dead Beat." "In Your Face" came next, followed by "Silent Night, Bodom Night," "Hellhounds on My Trail," "Angels Don't Kill" and "Blooddrunk." In a humorous touch that contradicted COB's overall mood, the band played a portion of Van Halen's "Jump" before appeasing the crowd with their perennial set closer, "Downfall."
In Flames seemed to be much more appreciative of being able to perform in front of such an excited audience. Vocalist Anders Fridén confided that the Long Beach Arena is "hallowed ground" for him, being the place of the recording of his "Bible," Iron Maiden's Live After Death album.
The band played plenty of new stuff, like "Alias" and "The Mirror's Truth" from the recently released A Sense of Purpose album. They made sure to throw older fans a bone as well, playing tracks as far back as "Graveland" from 1996's The Jester Race. Both the new stuff and the older material sounded remarkably good, and the band put on a show that was much more impressive and fun than Bodom's overall.
In the culmination of a lifetime of anticipation for me, legendary thrashers Megadeth finally took the stage at 9:30 p.m. for a 90-minute headlining set that I can describe only as "perfect." Flanked by relative newcomers Chris Broderick on guitar and James Lomenzo on bass, frontman Dave Mustaine appeared godlike onstage, underscored by a prominent spotlight. Clad all in black, with his bright red hair covering most of his face, the iconic guitarist ripped through solos during set opener "Sleepwalker."
The band then picked up the energy big time with one of its fiercest songs, "Wake Up Dead," before transitioning immediately into the high-octane thrash of "Take No Prisoners." "Skin O' My Teeth" rounded out the energetic opening medley. By this point, the crowd had been whipped into an absolute frenzy, and Megadeth did not let up, playing favorite after favorite.
From there, the order becomes less clear, but I can assure that Megadeth left no stone unturned in playing everything that fans wanted to hear. Off the top of my head, here is a large portion of their set list, in no particular order:
"In My Darkest Hour"
"Hangar 18"
"Trust"
"Tornado of Souls"
"Sweating Bullets"
"Symphony of Destruction"
"A Tout Le Monde"
"Peace Sells"
Megadeth closed, of course, with "Holy Wars ... The Punishment Due," which ended precisely at 11:00 p.m., capping a refreshing and energizing night of metal. To me, the best concerts are the ones that leave me drained and wanting to do anything but listen to more metal. As I drove home to the relaxing sounds of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, I was happy to think that yet another of my favorite childhood bands exceeded all of my expectations when I finally saw them live. Thank you, Megadeth!
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