For the main event: Megadeth: Symphony Of Destruction!
Dave Mustaine and company descended on South Florida with a vengeance. For those of you who are not in the know, Dave was one of the original members of Metallica in the early days. However, Dave was fired for substance abuse right before the recording of their 1983 debut album entitled “Kill ‘Em All” on Megaforce Records. Mustaine was their lead guitarist since 1981 and composed some of the group's early songs like “Jump in the Fire” and co-wrote "The Call of Ktulu" and “Ride the Lightning.” He was replaced by Kirk Hammett as lead guitarist and went on to form Megadeth crediting the name to a pamphlet, he saw by California senator Alan Cranston that read: "The arsenal of megadeath can't be rid no matter what the peace treaties come to." He vowed to form a band even heavier than Metallica, so Megadeth was born as he partnered with his neighbor bass player David Ellefson. He added jazz fusion drummer Gar Samuelson who then introduced him to fusion guitarist Chris Poland. I know Chris very well as we have worked together through the years on several of my releases. So, Mach I of Megadeth was set in fire and they released Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! in 1985 on Combat Records. It featured songs "Mechanix" that Mustaine wrote during the Metallica era and an interesting remake of a Nancy Sinatra song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". But it wasn’t until the next year with the release of Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? on Capital Records did the band start to come into its own success with the title track playing on MTV. This marked the end of the original lineup as Chris Poland was replaced by Jeff Young and Samuelson was replaced by drummer Chuck Behler for the next album So Far, So Good... So What! So began the long musical chairs of Megadeth band members.
Destroy All Enemies Tour features lead guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, bassist James Lomenzo and Dirk Verbeuren on drums and of course Dr. Dave master of destruction! They are touring in support of their most recent album released in 2022 The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead! So, they hit the stage around 9pm and even though Dave doesn’t have any of the original members of the past, they really tore it up! They sounded excellent and were well rehearsed and tight sounding. Dave reached back in time and played some real classics like “Symphony of Destruction”, “Captive Honour”, “Peace Sells”, “Sweating Bullets”, “Angry Again”, “Hangar 18”. He rounded it off with one of my all-time favorites “Holy Wars...The Punishment Due” from their 1990 release Rust In Peace when Marty Friedman was the lead guitarist. It was a wonderous cornucopia of metal ripping guitar which was a great journey into the Megadeth catalog. It was also very impressive that they sold out this 20,000-seater venue.
I must share this story with you because it was moving to me. During the warmup bands I was speaking with a man next to me and he mentioned that this was the first time he was out in public in the past 3 months. He told me his 26-year son had recently taken his life on Father’s Day and of course was devasting to his wife and him. I also found out that he was a veteran (those of you who know me), I am a big supporter of military veterans. It was a very moving story which left me a bit speechless at times. But I kept thinking that here we are at a metal thrash show and all the negative connotations this format has associated with it. However, here is a man who had such a deep loss but came out to unite with people at this great metal event. This to me seemed a positive emotional experience about this music we love. So, thank you Dave Mustaine for your music and bringing us altogether to celebrate and heal!
