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July 24, 2008 |
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w/ EXODUS
November 26, 2004
Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
By Tony Antunovich
All photos Copyright © 2004 METALEATER - Do not use without permission.
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Although there have been many lineup changes throughout their long-running career, MEGADETH have always remained very significant to the heavy metal genre. On any given day, you can go up to any metal fan and ask them what their favorite bands are, and nine times out of ten, you will hear the word "MEGADETH" in every single response. Despite the obvious age differences between the old school and the new school, both generations of fans have maintained a loyal following of MEGADETH. Not to knock the younger die-hards, but if you grew up in the '80s as I did, you are one of the old school veterans that experienced MEGADETH in the early days. This is something I personally will never forget. I can remember sitting on the couch watching the video for "Peace Sells" on the Power Hour (a once reigning hour-long show on MuchMusic (when it was worth watching) for all of you who were either unborn or just mere toddlers at the time) when I was in my early teens.
That video is what got me into MEGADETH in the first place. The very next day, I coughed up some change and went out and bought "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?" (on ancient cassette format). For me, that album was, and still is, one of the best metal releases of all time.
Now let's take a look at the other side of this picture. MEGADETH were one of the bands that forged the San Francisco Bay area thrash scene, but who could forget the mighty EXODUS? Once the band's lineup was solidified after the departure of Kirk Hammet (who was hired by METALLICA to replace Dave Mustaine), EXODUS marched on to release their highly-acclaimed debut, "Bonded By Blood", in 1985. From there on, EXODUS' fierce attack was just too powerful to resist. Many commercially successful releases such as "Pleasures Of The Flesh" and the colossal "Fabulous Disaster" soon followed, and nothing or no one could stop them. That is, until a long hiatus eventually did in 1992, which saw EXODUS shelved for almost a decade. However, sometimes habits just don't die. 2004 marked the return of EXODUS, along with a stunning new album, "Tempo Of The Damned".
Right around the time "The System Has Failed" was released, Dave Mustaine announced that MEGADETH now had a new lineup and would embark on their "Blackmail The Universe" Tour. First added to the new lineup was returning drummer Nick Menza. James MacDonough was selected to play bass, and left ICED EARTH for the grand opportunity to be a part of the tour. Mustaine then made a very wise decision when he chose none other than the very talented Glen Drover (EIDOLON, ex-KING DIAMOND) as his right-hand axe-man. So, it would appear that MEGADETH was a solid unit once again. Well, yes, but not before one more minor shake-up. In a surprising turn of events, the news came that Nick Menza would not be taking part after all, leaving the drummer spot vacant (again). Replacing him was Shawn Drover from EIDOLON, who also happens to be Glen's brother.
I have been an advocate of the Drover brothers and their band, EIDOLON, since my first sampling of their music back in 2000. I've met many people who have said that they've never heard of either musician before, or even EIDOLON for that matter. Well, if you did not know who Glen or Shawn Drover were before, you will now. Believe me.
MEGADETH AT A&B SOUND IN VANCOUVER
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A&B Sound on Seymour Street in the downtown core of Vancouver was the place to be if you love MEGADETH. Beginning at 4 PM, the band made an hour-long in-store appearance to meet their fans and sign autographs. When I arrived, the lineup was so long that it extended back towards the intersection and wrapped around the corner! All in all, it was great to see the huge show of support for the band. The MEGADETH guys were very friendly with their fans and signed guitars, photos, album covers etc. at will. I would like to thank Dave Mustaine, Glen Drover, Shawn Drover, and James MacDonough for taking the time to be there.
EXODUS
Like the Edmonton show three nights earlier, this one was COMPLETELY sold out. EARSHOT were originally supposed to be the first opening act, but since they dropped off the bill earlier on in the tour, EXODUS were given more set time. At approximately 9:15 PM, the San Francisco Bay area thrash machine (Gary Holt/guitars, Rick Hunolt/guitars, Jack Gibson/bass, Tom Hunting/drums, and recent fill-in vocalist Steev Esquivel from SKINLAB) mauled onto the stage for a one-hour lesson in metal violence. Opening with "Scar Spangled Banner", the EXODUS attack was unleashed on Vancouver. Fans were really into it right from the beginning, and the pit was in full-swing within a matter of minutes.
Shifting from one side of the stage to the other, axemen Holt and Hunolt traded off licks and riffs that would make Freddy Krueger scream in fear. Aged - maybe - but damn these guys played with the same amount of intensity as they did in the early days. Although certainly no Paul Baloff (R.I.P.) or Steve Souza, Esquivel did a pretty good job of carrying out his duty on vocals. His energy on stage and ability to control the crowd was pretty impressive, I must say. Every single time he circled his finger around (motioning for increased pit activity), the crowd would respond to his demands without question.
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The EXODUS attack continued with heavy-hitters like "A Lesson In Violence", "Blacklist", and "War Is My Shepherd". Holt was cutting leads like sliced bread, and counterpart Hunolt followed suit. Hunting slammed the skins like a runaway train, while Gibson abused the bass with crushing power. Again, if you think age will slow you down in heavy metal, think again folks. I could not believe the amount of headbanging energy coming from these guys, especially from Hunolt. Watching him perform on stage is truly an experience in itself. In almost every song, he would either stand walking up and down, or be in full hair-whipping mode.
At one point, there was a slight technical difficulty with Holt's guitar, but that was soon remedied by the attentive road crew. Somewhere around mid-point, Esquivel said "I guess it's safe to say metal is still alive in Vancouver!" He then paid tribute to the late Paul Baloff, raising his horns in the air. "Bonded By Blood" prompted the crowd to go absolutely insane, but didn't really reach its peak until "The Toxic Waltz". The pit was in overdrive - bodies were flying around everywhere left, right, and center. Never have I seen so many crazy fans in my life. It was pretty entertaining to say the least.
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When everything was said and done, EXODUS had brought the audience to its knees. A one-hour thrash-fest and smiles on everyone's faces was plenty enough evidence to know that EXODUS had just blasted the hell out of Vancouver. Overall, I think the band put on a very good show. Their performance was tight, the energy-level was high, and the fans' reaction proved that EXODUS are still THE thrash lords of heavy metal.
MEGADETH
During the 30-minute down-time between sets, the road crew prepared the stage for the coming of MEGADETH, as hordes of fans swarmed around the barricades. Even before the lights went out, the loudness of the crowd echoed through every corner of the building. All you could hear was "ME-GA-DETH! ME-GA-DETH! ME-GA-DETH! ME-GA-DETH! ME-GA-DETH! ME-GA-DETH! ME-GA-DETH!" This was definitely one of the most fully-fueled crowds I have ever seen.
The lights went out at about 10:45 PM and MEGADETH made their way onto the stage. Shawn came out first and hooked himself into his impressive caged drum kit, James stood on the left, and Glen was on the right side. With his "Blackmail The Universe" branded V-axe, the one and only Dave Mustaine stood at center stage in front of the mic stand. Some idiot in the crowd decided to show his intelligence by throwing a beer at Dave, but missed. The fans had their horns up as the band exploded with the opening track, "Blackmail The Universe". Can we say LOUD?? Holy crap! Anyone not wearing earplugs surely must have had their ears ringing like bells by the end of the night.
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You would think that after sustaining an injury like the one Dave did a few years ago would put a damper on his guitar playing ability. But honestly, it didn't show. And Glen Drover? One word - unbelievable! He executed every riff and solo perfectly. James might have had more time to prepare for this tour, I don't know, but Shawn was given a mere 5 days to learn the material. I'm a drummer myself and believe me - learning to play 20 songs to perfection in that amount of time is no easy task. I was amazed at how well he knew all the songs. He hit every beat, fill, break, and so on without any mistakes whatsoever, and his timing was dead on. Hats off to him! He pulled it off nicely.
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The band ripped through many MEGADETH classics like "Wake Up Dead", "Symphony Of Destruction", "Sweating Bullets", and "In My Darkest Hour", which had every single person in attendance banging their block, including yours truly. The "Youthanasia" double-shot of "Reckoning Day" and "A Tout Le Monde" were definite highlights of the night. Mustaine and Drover traded some more guitar licks during both songs and Shawn did a killer job of finishing off "Reckoning Day". James pulled off a very impressive bass intro in "Trust", followed by Drover carrying on with the guitar parts before Mustaine joined in. One thing I noticed was that whenever Dave was performing a solo, Glen would be up front either on the left or right hand side of the stage edging the fans on, and I was amazed at how well the audience responded to him.
MEGADETH played a total of seven songs from the new album, including "The Scorpion" and "Die Dead Enough". In "Kick The Chair", Mustaine and Drover dealt another killer dual solo. Drover shredded through not one, but every single solo with the strength and speed of a raging thunder/lightning storm. His razor-sharp precision and skill matches the MEGADETH style nicely. EXODUS even came out to join in for a sing-a-long during "Back In The Day". The pit was alive and well throughout the entire show, but intensified dramatically during the last two songs. "Peace Sells" and "Holy Wars" displayed some of the band's best effort of the night, and if you were anywhere near that pit, chances are you would have been caught in a human tornado. The security guards sure had their work cut out for them, as multiple bodies were being thrown every which way all around the front area. When "Holy Wars" ended, Dave Mustaine held his V-axe high above his head.
All four band members then joined him at center stage to take the final bow. Standing proud in front of the screaming crowd, Dave thanked everyone for being there for MEGADETH's farewell tour. Hopefully this won't be "goodbye", but "see you again".
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In summary, I think the band's performance was very good. Even though it was louder than normal, the sound quality was second to none and you could hear all of the instruments perfectly. Mustaine didn't really move around on stage as much as he used to, but his energy was transferred well into his guitar playing. During a few select parts of the show, it seemed that Dave may have been a little tired. I don't know if this was the case or not, but I did notice it in a few songs - one being "Symphony Of Destruction". When he sang the verse "Acting like a robot....before the head explodes", the vocals did not sound like they were delivered with as much strength as they maybe could have been. Aside from that minor detail, I think Mustaine gave the fans a very good MEGADETH show.
I also applaud Glen Drover, James MacDonough, and Shawn Drover for coming in and getting the job done. If there is in fact another MEGADETH album after this tour is over, Mustaine would be crazy NOT to have all three of these guys lend their talents to the project.
SETLIST:
Blackmail The Universe
Set The World Afire
Skin O' My Teeth
The Scorpion
Wake Up Dead
Something That I'm Not
In My Darkest Hour
Angry Again
Of Mice And Men
Reckoning Day
A Toute Le Monde
Die Dead Enough
Trust
Tornado Of Souls
Kick The Chair
Hangar 18
Sweating Bullets
Symphony Of Destruction
Back In The Day
Peace Sells
Holy Wars
The European leg of the tour is set to take place in February 2005, so if you live in any of the scheduled cities, I would recommend you go see this live show. It may very well be your last chance to see MEGADETH as a band. But no matter what the future holds for MEGADETH, we'll always have their classic music to listen to over and over again. And speaking of music - if you want to hear more from Glen and Shawn Drover, I suggest picking up AT LEAST one EIDOLON CD - "Coma Nation" should have you hooked in no time flat. If you want to hear James MacDonough in action, buy ICED EARTH's "The Glorious Burden". We may see another MEGADETH album in the future, but for now, grab "The System Has Failed". Vic did, and so should you! [FIN]
We'd like to thank the following people for their support:
Kerry Goulding from Sanctuary Records for all of her hospitality and accommodating us while covering MEGADETH's appearance in Vancouver.
Hannah Raymond at Nuclear Blast for granting us permission to cover EXODUS.
Jamie Teske at House Of Blues Concerts Canada for providing the ticket and photo pass.
» Official MEGADETH Website
» Official EXODUS Website
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