Megadeth + Children of Bodom
Festival Hall, Melbourne
19 October 2015
Review by Callum Doig
Photo by Matt Allan
I really don’t think I need to hit it off with an introduction for both bands in this review, so let’s get straight into it. After last year’s quarrel with last year’s Soundwave, Megadeth kept their promise to the Australian audience and returned for a headline tour with Finnish power-thrash titans Children of Bodom, in support of the new album I Worship Chaos, with four shows taking place in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Heading to the Melbourne show, there was something big I was about to witness, seeing both bands for the second time in my life.
With no local guests opening the show, Children of Bodom ripped out a furious amount of exuberance and heaviness towards the crowd, with the anthemic track Are You Dead Yet being unleashed by the band. Bodom merged a set list consisting of classics such as Angels Don’t Kill, Downfall and Sixpounder, while adding a handful of newer material from the brand new record I Worship Chaos.
Seeing Children of Bodom ending their set with In Your Face caused the pit to wreak havoc, with a large amount of those in the crowd singing along with the anthemic Bodom masterpiece. Despite the exceptional performance Bodom put on, I honestly feel that the band deserved a longer set than the forty minutes they were allocated.
Lights fade, and what more would you expect than a filled up venue full of eager and devoted fans going ape shit when the opening quote from Prince of Darkness plays, just before the illustrious thrash quartet Megadeth hit the stage with Hangar 18. To say that the pit was going wild would be an understatement. Megadeth allowed a number of their renowned hits such as Wake Up Dead, In My Darkest Hour, Sweating Bullets and Skin O’ My Teeth into their routine, while adding a few newer songs including Kingmaker, Public Enemy No. 1 and the most recent single Fatal Illusion into their ninety minute slot.
Megadeth’s screen in the background would later show clips from movies that referenced the band such as Silver Linings, Wayne’s World 2 and Talk Radio before entering the next phase of songs to perform. Megadeth’s mascot, Vic Rattlehead, also made a quick onstage appearance towards the end of Peace Sells…
Dave Mustaine and Ellefson both make a great team, and to see that their musicianship and dexterity on their instruments are still as strong as ever really shows that they’re not gonna be stopping anytime soon. Lamb of God drummer, Chris Adler, put on a flawless show with Megadeth, as he had only just started touring with the band and perfected each and every song to its full extent. Though I was disappointed to know that Chris Broderick was no longer part of the band, Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro stepped in and gave it his all, and like Adler, Kiko’s proficiency on the guitar was at a level that was higher than I originally anticipated. Both Adler and Loureiro have really proven themselves to be the best choices for Megadeth and it’s just as exciting to know that there’ll be more shows with them involved, as well as an album soon.
Both Megadeth and Children of Bodom pulled off a tremendous performance in their timeslots. From Are You Dead Yet to In Your Face and Hangar 18 to Holy Wars… The Punishment Due, every minute of the concert was unforgettable and ridiculously overwhelming. The amount of energy that was used up by all of the patrons and the bands was just ludicrously soaring, and there wasn’t even a pinch of deterioration throughout the night.
It’s bands like Megadeth and Children of Bodom who know how to please a large crowd. If only we could have a tour like this happen on a regular basis…
