Review & Photography by Jeff Kunze for MPM
The legendary thrash metal icons Megadeth have once again embarked on a run across the country under the banner Destroy All Enemies U.S. tour. They made a stop at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mudvayne and All That Remains rounded out the bill that packed the venue.
All That Remains, a band that formed in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1998 opened the show. Vocalist Phil Labonte, the last remaining original member, led a spirited thirty-minute set that had a lot of energy.
There was time in the mid to late 2000’s that just about every show I went to All That Remains was on the bill. Their two albums ‘The Fall of Ideals’ and ‘Overcome’ were mainstays in my musical rotation and they always put on a great show.
I really enjoyed seeing them again and hearing songs like “Chiron,” “Six” and “The Calling.” They also managed to sneak in some new material which included the banger “Devine.” In a blink of an they were done after closing with “Two Weeks.”
Mudvayne reunited in 2021 after a little more than a decade on hiatus. The band consisting of vocalist Chad Gray, bassist Ryan Martinie, drummer Matthew McDonough and guitarist Greg Tribbett carved out a sound that has been lumped in with over a half dozen different genres.
The reality is they were able to create a sound that was unique to themselves and I don’t know of another band that sounds like them.
This was my first time seeing them, and despite Tribbett having to step away from the tour and Marcus Rafferty stepping into the lead guitarist role, they sounded fantastic. From the opening song, “Not Falling,” I was all in. Besides the wall of sound they created, the visual aspect of the show plays right into the personas of the band and the music they have made.
The painted faces added to the aggressive attack led by Gray as he stalked the front of the stage with vocals that you would swear was on the edge of blowing out. Martinie was amazing to watch.
His technical skill was incredible to see first-hand while he shot around the stage the entire night. It was a very entertaining set that showcased some of the band’s biggest songs like “Fall into Sleep,” “World So Cold,” “Happy?” and the closer “Dig.”
Stepping on to the stage to close the night was the headliner, Megadeth. A band formed in 1983 in Los Angeles, CA and a member of the “big four” of thrash.
The bands list of members has become quite lengthy over the decades but when that founding member is arguably one of the most important architects of the genre, it has allowed the band to remain as relevant as they were when they first rose to fame. Dave Mustaine has written and played on some the biggest and most important songs that define thrash music.
Opening with “The Sick, the Dying…and the Dead! from the latest album with the same title that was dropped a few years ago the show was off and the crowd was fully invested.
Joining Mustaine on stage were bassist James LoMenzo, drummer Dirk Verbeuren and the newest member, guitarist Teemu Mantysaari.
Picking a set list is difficult with sixteen albums to choose from but the band changed this up a bit and added in “Dread and the Fugitive Mind,” “Angry Again,” and “Skin o’ My Teeth” which were highlights for me. The biggest surprise was the gem “Washington Is Next” from the ‘United Abominations’ album. There are so many great songs in the Megadeth catalog that never get played and this is one song that deserves to find itself in the set.
I think the highlight of the night was “Wake Up Dead.” That song gets lost in shuffle when people talk about the bands defining songs.
It’s a sheer metal thrashing mad masterpiece and hearing that live really hit home and brought me back to when I first discovered the album ‘Peace Sells…but who’s Buying.’ The entire set was fantastic and the light show was one of the biggest of seen at a Megadeth show in years.
The band sounded fantastic and while Mustaine will never be confused with a true lead vocalist, he attacked with his trademark snarls and gritty voice that is instantly recognizable to thrash fans.
You can’t get through a show without “Symphony of Destruction,” “Peace Sells” and the show closer “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” and all sounded exactly on par and were soaked in by the fans.
A great show from a legendary band that doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down anytime soon and We’ll Be Back to see them next time they come to Minneapolis.
