Fronted by Dave Mustaine, Megadeth has proven itself to be one of the best and most influential heavy metal bands of all time.
Although the band went through a slump with previously released albums, their recently released “Dystopia” garnered highly positive reviews, with the band returning to their classic sound. Despite being on tour for “Dystopia,” the band only played two songs from their recent album, opening with “The Threat is Real” and playing “Fatal Illusion” halfway through the set. For a band that has had a career for over 30 years, normally the crowd looks at new songs as a chance for a beer run or bathroom break, however the crowd was fully immersed in the new music. It’s a shame they didn’t play more, as that album contains plenty of songs that will be Megadeth classics in the not-so-distant future.
The band played all their songs tuned down a full step to help Mustaine’s gruff vocals. It was obvious he struggled at some moments, with his pale face turning the same color as his hair. Mustaine still knows how to sound menacing and evil despite his tame appearance, though. The band’s fantastic instrumentation shook the entire audience. Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler joined the band and beat the drums as if he was beating someone who insulted his mother.
The band finished the set with “Peace Sells,” and Mustaine thanked the crowd for an amazing concert. The crowd wasted no time demanding the band to come back on for one more song (before the lights turned off).
The band came back onstage where Mustaine mentioned he is never one to shy away from controversy and he says things as they are because he doesn’t “give a s–t.”
“I wrote this song a long time ago, but G-d damnit, it’s still true to this day!” he said before breaking into the classic “Holy Wars … Punishment Due.”
While the bands put on a fantastic show for the crowd, The Complex did not. Possibly for crowd control, a catwalk divided the crowd, and it was positioned slightly off to the left. That side (closer to the wall) had the younger, more testosterone-driven audience, causing the middle rail to fall over. Security had to physically hold it up for more than half the concert, blocking the view for a large number of people. As usual for The Complex, while the mixing was stellar, the acoustics were horrible. RIP to those who don’t wear ear plugs at a heavy metal concert there.
Also unfortunate for the Utah crowd was opening act Suicidal Tendencies not being on the bill for the concert until Friday in Las Vegas. But openers Havok and Children of Bodom managed to hype the crowd for Megadeth.
It’s unfortunate that Megadeth couldn’t have played at the Maverik Center or Saltair instead, as these venues don’t encounter those types of problems. Regardless, the sold-out crowd still had an amazing time witnessing Megadeth perform.