Sep 4

Sep 4 Show Review: Megadeth and Lamb of God Bring The Metal Tour of the Year To Concord

Megadeth
Lamb of God
w/ Trivium, Hatebreed
Concord Pavilion

Concord, CA
September 2nd, 2021

Photos and Review By Jared Stossel

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to be even heading out to Concord that evening. But, after an email saying I was approved to cover the event, I packed up my bag and hit the road to cover the “Metal Tour of the Year”, featuring two of the biggest names in heavy metal in co-headlining slots: Megadeth and Lamb of God.

The tour, which had been postponed originally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featured both of the aforementioned bands along with extensive opening sets from Hatebreed and Trivium. Although I ended up not making it in time to photograph Hatebreed, I was able to catch a majority of their set, which kicked off the evening’s festivities. Hatebreed’s music has always been driving by their energy, and their live set gave them a chance to showcase this attribute of their music. From the second the band took the stage, it was a full-on crash course in heavy guitar riffs and crushing breakdowns, culminating in the fan-favorite track “Destroy Everything”. Following Hatebreed was progressive heavy metal act Trivium, who brought forth a tremendously tight performance. There are certain metal acts that fall into the “progressive” category that wouldn’t work for an event like this, but Trivium fit the bill perfectly, exploding through a power-packed set list that acted as the perfect warm-up for the evening’s main events.

Lamb of God took the stage after the sun had set. If anyone had been asleep in the audience, for any reason, the Virginia-based quintet surely woke them the hell up with what I believed to be the best performance of the evening. Lamb of God have always been an act that has toed the line between the old and new school of metal, bringing forth thrash-inspired riffs and stage presence with new-age breakdowns and guttural vocals (courtesy of the incomparable Randy Blythe). Fire coated the stage on the appropriately named “Walk With Me In Hell”, and the crowd went apeshit over the final two songs of the set, “Laid To Rest” and “Redneck”.

Lamb of God set the bar pretty damn high for the next act to follow. About a half-hour later, legendary thrash metallers Megadeth took the stage, vocalist and founding member Dave Mustaine leading the charge as they launched into critically acclaimed tracks like “Hangar 18”, “Sweating Bullets” and “Symphony of Destruction”. The fans ate up every moment, and it’s really impressive to watch the technical prowess of a band like Megadeth. While Mustaine is the only original member of the act, it’s astounding to watch him play every time. With that being said, I felt they would have benefitted from going up prior to Lamb of God. There’s a certain kind of energy and admiration that a band like Megadeth brings to the stage, and it’s a different type of showmanship than what an act like Lamb of God showcases when they take the stage.

Despite that one critique, this was an incredibly enjoyable night of heavy metal music, showcasing some of the best names in the genre. Tours like this one come along every once in awhile, and they always manage to perform a great service. They allow veteran touring acts to show off some of their biggest hits to the fans that have been with them through thick and thin, while simultaneously showing the next generation who are just now getting into this music what they’ve been missing all along.

Megadeth Set List
Hangar 18
The Threat Is Real
Sweating Bullets
Trust
She-Wolf
Conquer or Die!
Dystopia
Dawn Patrol
Poison Was The Cure
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Holy Wars…The Punishment Due

Lamb of God Set List
Memento Mori
Ruin
Walk With Me In Hell
Resurrection Man
Now You’ve Got Something To Die For
Set To Fail
New Colossal Hate
512
Vigil
Contractor
Laid To Rest
Redneck