On a day of what was to become an iconic night for the city of Portland, Maine. Fans were lined up outside the Cross Insurance Arena for the Metal Tour of The Year.
First band of the evening was In Flames. They are a Swedish heavy metal band that was formed in the 90’s. They kicked off their set with “Cloud Connected.” Lead vocalist, Anders Friden, went up to the mic and said “How we doing Portland? I love this place. The lobsters and the oysters. How we feeling? You in a good mood? Want to listen to some Swedish heavy metal? Heavy metal is more fun when you move around. I want to see circle pits, make these security guys work. We are going to play a song from our first album ‘Beyond Space.’”
A pit was now forming in the crowd. As soon as the song started and the band could see the gigantic circle Anders stopped the song. “Hold On!” He stops the song and points to the girl in the crowd. The girl looked to be 8 or 9 years of age. He pointed to her and said “This is the coolest sh*t I have seen, take care of her brother.” They finish the song and announce the next song “Everything’s Gone.”
They continued their set while the crowd was forming a huge mosh pit and fans were crowd surfing. Anders comes to the mic again and says “We are honored to be back in America. Thank you Megadeth for giving us this chance. They go into their hit ‘I am Above.’”Finally he comes back to the microphone and says “Thank you, our 30 minutes of fame is over. Have a goodnight.” He then announces the members of the band and they play their final song of their set, “Take This Life.” They bow to the fans, throw out a few picks and drum sticks and head off the stage.
Next up was an American heavy metal band from Orlando Florida, Trivium. Before the lights come on the band members start running onto the stage. The lights come on and the lead vocalist, Matt Heafy, comes to the front of the stage with his hands in the air, motioning to the crowd to the get their hands up and jump. The crowd is on their feet jumping and raising their hands. The crowd starts yelling as the band starts playing their opening song “In The Court Of The Dragon,” which is their latest single.
Shortly after their set started, Heafy, went to the mic and said “Hold Up!” He motions to a fan, “hey break it apart. Are they fighting? Are they done? Hug it out. My friend you are interrupting the good time. We are all family. Keep that sh*t apart. We are all here to have a good time.” They continue their set. Even thought they only played a short set it featured a great group of songs that really got the crowd energized and pumped for the night.
They continue with “Beyond Oblivion.” Heafy, again comes to the mic and says “Tonight is a hometown show for guitarist, Corey Beaulieu. He is from right here in Dover Foxcroft, ME. We have a few shows left and as of right now the best is Nashville. We want you to be the best so you need to show us you can be the best. I need to see heads banging if you want to be the best. No more fighting!” A huge pit forms in the crowd along with fans crowd surfing.
They go into the next song “Throes Of Perdition, which he dedicates to the former member of the Black Dahlia Murders, Trevor Scott Strnad, who passed away the night before. Next song is a song off their tenth record “Feast of Fire.” After this song Matt comes to the mic one last time and says “Everyone give yourself one last final round of applause. On the last song everyone in the seats stand up. Everyone on the floor I want you on the ground. Portland this is your last chance!. The band plays their final song “In Waves” and as soon as they play the first beat everyone on the floor jumps up! The crowd goes completely insane and jumps and throws their fists in the air. After the song is over the band claps to the fans and raises their fists. They get together in front of the drum set and take a picture with the crowd in the background.
After a short interlude the next band to hit the stage was another American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia Lamb Of God. Before they hit the stage there is a black curtain covering their set so the fans have no idea what to expect. The fans are eagerly awaiting for the curtain to drop by chanting “Lamb of God! Lamb of God!” As soon as the band came on stage the curtain dropped with a huge Bang! The crowd went crazy.
A huge pit formed and the fans were jumping into each other, screaming and having a great time. Clouds of smoke come in the front of the stage. The band brings tons of energy, lots of hair flips with dreadlocks, fire, a lot of high jumps and excitement to the stage. Lead vocalist, Randy Blythe, comes to the mic and says “Alright mother fu*kers let’s get this party started. Its chilly in here let’s get this place warmed up! They go into ‘Walk With Me In Hell’”.This is when they start the fire balls and heat up the arena. Within the first few songs Randy jumps off stage into the photo pit area and leans into the crowd and interacts with the fans.
Randy announces that their next song is dedicated to their producer. “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For.” This brings on lots of fire. They continue with “Contractor” and motions to the crowd that he wants to hear them louder. The crowd goes crazy and the pit opens up. The energy in the building was intense at this point and the bands energy could be felt from the entire arena. They continue with “Ghost Walking”, “Vigil.” and “Laid To Rest.” Before their last song, Randy comes to the mic one last time.
“Well you want another song. We have one more for you. One more round of applause. That was bull sh*it! I know your used to hollering and sh*t. Get your money’s worth. I want to send this song to Trevor Scott Strnad. This is a sad situation and there are other ways of dealing with issues. If you have issues don’t take it on yourself get others to help. Rest in Peace brother.” They play their biggest hit “Redneck” They finish their set and the fans go wild for the performance they just witnessed. This tour has now ended but if you get a chance to see them again they are a band you must see. They put on an amazing show and do not disappoint.
Last and final band of the night was one of the greatest thrash metal legends Megadeth. Their set started with a black curtain to cover the stage leaving the fans unknowing what their setup was. With the anticipation the fans could be heard chanting “Megadeth! Megadeth!” The curtain quickly drops and six hieroglyphic screens are seen set across the stage. The drumset is set high up above a stack of Marshall amps in between the set of screens three on each side of the stage. They begin to play their opening song “Hanger 18.” Crowd goes crazy. While the band starts playing the screens are portraying images from their album and images of Vic Rattlehead. (the bands mascot)
Lead vocalist, Dave Mustaine, comes to the microphone and says “Good Evening, you feel good? It has been a while. I am not going to talk much and we haven’t played this song in a long while. It is called ‘Angry Again.’” He comes back to the mic and says “We are going to live stream a few of our songs. I think it is cool to be able to see live music. Last two years have been hard on all of us. Our pocketbooks have been hit hard and you put your money to come and see live music. So thank you for coming out.” He goes into playing “The Conujring.” He plays a guitar solo while solider looking guy comes on stage with a flashlight and shines it all around the stage. Just then on the bottom of the drums a door opens and Vic Rattlehead comes out and makes an appearance.
They continue to play “Conquer Or Die,” and ” Dystopia.” Dave comes back to the mic and states that the next song his wife thought was about her but in fact it was about her friend who suffers from Anxiety. “Sweating Bullets” is a song about people suffering from anxiety. Another one of their hits song “Trust” is next followed by “Tornado Of Souls,” “Symphony Of Destruction” and “Peace Sells.”
After a very short Encore the crowd could be heard chanting “Dave!” He came to the mic for the final time “I want to tell you it is moments like this we are all together. The only thing I am good at is playing this guitar and that is what I am going to do. This is our last song looking at the big world and all these dumb fu*kers running it. The lyrics are in the history books. Study! Study! Study! Don’t let anyone take it away.” They play their last song of the night “Holy Wars.” They put on an amazing show as always. Dave and the rest of the band are true professionals. They are so talented and the fans are in awe of how good a guitar player Dave actually is. Next time they are around you need to try and see them.
Megadeth
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Lamb of God
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Trivium
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