Megadeth,
Testament & Exodus
Hollywood
Palladium
Los Angeles,
California
March 31st,
2010
Words & Photos
by Charlie Steffens
Three
highly-hailed metal veterans played their black hearts out for a
packed Hollywood Palladium last Wednesday night. Megadeth, along
Testament and Exodus, performed a memorable finale of the
Megadeth Rust in Peace 20th Anniversary Tour.
Fortunately, this wasn’t a show where the headlining band would
draw all the attention. Indescribably, each band outshined the
other.
Of course,
the much-anticipated event on this stop of the killing road (as
in other cities on the tour) was that Megadeth would play the
venerated album Rust in Peace in its entirety. Having
Testament and Exodus on the bill undoubtedly made this a coveted
ticket. This was apparent by the line of black t-shirt-wearing
people wrapped around the venue two hours before the doors
opened.
Exodus Set
List:
Bonded By Blood |The Last Act Of Defiance | Fabulous Disaster |
Piranha | Brain Dead A Lesson in Violence | War Is My Shepherd
| The Toxic Waltz | Strike Of The Beast
Exodus
opened the show with the hate-smash-kill classic hit “Bonded by
Blood.” Right away the floor started thrashing, much to the
delight of singer Rob Dukes, a man known to encourage fans to
show loyalty and enthusiasm with violent action. “Piranha” and
another Bonded by Blood favorite, “A Lesson in Violence,”
kept the audience moving as guitar duo Gary Holt and Lee Altus
played their prominent leads and harmonies amid Tom Hunting’s
thunderous drumming. Partway into “Strike of the Beast,” the
last song of the set, frontman Dukes directed the audience by
screaming, “I want everybody over there to kill everybody over
here! And I want everybody over here to kill everybody over
there!” After Exodus finished their impressive set and left the
stage, no stretchers were seen. Not a very obedient group of
fans. Amazing set, nonetheless.
Testament
Set List:
Over The Wall | The Haunting
|
Burnt Offerings
|
Raging Waters
|
Curse Of The Legions Of Death | First
Strike Is Deadly |
Do Or Die
| Alone
In The Dark |Apocalyptic
City |
Intro/D.N.R.
|
3 Days In Darkness
Testament
is still riding high on 2008’s Formation of Damnation,
but scratched those songs for this tour, opting to play The
Legacy album from start to finish. As drummer Paul Bostaph
stepped behind his kit the place went berserk. The rest of the
band moved into their positions and then ripped into “Over the
Wall.” Singer Chuck Billy seemed to take control of the place by
his presence alone. He interacted with his audience during and
between songs, smiling nearly all the way through. Ex-Megadeth
guitarist Glenn Drover filled in for the absent Alex Skolnick,
and played well, but looked almost sedate at times. Seasoned
guitarist Eric Peterson, by comparison, moved about the stage
with youthful energy, like taking ownership of a band he started
in the first place. “Do or Die” was dedicated to the U.S. troops
by Billy and was followed by “Alone in the Dark” with eager
audience participation. The Legacy set closed with
“Apocalyptic City” and a couple surprises (“D.N.R.” and “3 Days
in Darkness”) from The Gathering record, ended the set.
Testament gave the fans, particularly those who like the old
school of thrash stuff, a great show.
Megadeth
Set List:
Skin O’ My Teeth |
In My Darkest Hour
| She
Wolf
| Holy
Wars | Hangar
18 | Take
No
Prisoners
|
Five Magics | Poison
Was The Cure | Lucretia
|
Tornado Of Souls
|
Dawn Patrol
|
Rust In Peace…Polaris |
Trust
| The
Right To Go Insane |
Head Crusher | Symphony Of Destruction | Peace
Sells
|Holy
Wars (reprise)
The
Megadeth set would be captured on cameras atop a few
photographers’ shoulders, overhead booms and other necessary
apparatuses for a live DVD of the band’s performance in Los
Angeles, the city where it all started for the band. This, along
with an obligation to upstage the previous bands’ sets, was
another reason for Megadeth to rip the joint apart.
When
Megadeth took the stage, an exuberant Dave Ellefson was
applauded from fans--many who might have never expected that the
bassist would be back in the band he and singer/guitarist Dave
Mustaine started back in ‘83. Ellefson, along with new guitarist
Chris Broderick (Nevermore, Jag Panzer), drummer Shawn Drover,
and Mustaine had the audience captive before noise flew out of
the amplifiers.
They drew first blood with “Skin of My Teeth,” a technically
demanding song that gave Broderick free range to show his
choppers displaying a tone and style that complemented
Mustaine’s leads and rhythmic attack. The volume and balance of
sound was exquisite. “In My Darkest Hour” unified the band and
audience with a taste of nostalgia. A vicious “She Wolf” was the
last “warm-up” song before the main event: Rust in Peace.
In a gravelly, road-worn voice, Mustaine rasped, “You all know
why we’re here, right?” Then “Holy Wars” began: the first song
of an album revered by metalheads worldwide. After the
unmistakable guitar intro, Ellefson and Drover volleyed
percussive blasts of bass and drums, setting the tempo and
cage-rattling bottom for Mustaine and Broderick to express their
prowess.
The working chemistry between the four members was apparent at
the beginning of the show, and “Hangar 18” sealed the fact. The
rest of the album was played masterfully and with a new flair.
The guitar harmony and instrumental fusion on “Rust in
Peace…Polaris” was stupendous. After “The Right to Go Insane”
and “Head Crusher,” both off of last year’s Endgame
release, came “Symphony of Destruction.” The audience had
already started its da-da-da da-da-da mimicry
before a shirtless and sweaty Mustaine could say “You take a
mortal man…” Dave Ellefson took the microphone, sharing that
many years ago he and Mustaine had started their band just
blocks away from where we were all standing. Then the chugging,
unmistakably Ellefson, bass intro to “Peace Sells” began. And it
was glorious. So far, (still) so good.
