Already this year several beloved, veteran Metal bands have returned with great albums & big tours, including two of the legendary Thrash Metal Big 4.
This year’s already a rawking so let’s get to it –
Queensryche – January 14th – Trees – Dallas, TX
Now full disclaimer: Though I do like Queensryche, I haven’t been an active fan in over 20 years. The last LP & tour I made an effort to be a part of was 1994’s Promised Land and admittedly that was only residually from their previous LP – the landmark Empire from 1990.
Even further disclaimer is that I wouldn’t have been here at all if not for the opening band Meytal, led by percussion powerhouse Metyal Cohen, whose instructional videos of her impossible talent & irrestiable charm have racked up literally millions of views.
I was here to record an episode of TrickyKid Radio with Meytal as my guest that you can stream or download for free here.
Quite honestly, my attitude was, I do still own the first four Queensryche LPs, the last time I saw them was at a sold out amphitheater of 20K+ now their here in a place that holds less than a 1k so now I’ll stick around to hear some old favorites in an intimate setting and maybe hear some new tracks to see what they’ve been up to. Moments before they went on, to illustrate how much they’ve been off my radar, I didn’t know that they were doing that thing I can’t stand. That thing being where the band splits into two feuding factions and touring separately and it’s usually:
A) The singer and all new guys
&
B) All the old guys with a new singer
That shit is embarrassing beyond reproach and very confusing for the fan and seems to happening alot more lately. But I get it, if they can find a way to still make a living making music, they will do what they can. Still my friend Chris Adcock convinced me stick around to see what the new singer was like (this version of Queensryche is option (B) from above) & holy shit the guy was INCREDIBLE.
Touring behind last year’s Condition Human that was released last October and this being one of the first dates of the tour, the original members of Queensryche better THANK THEIR LUCKY STARS they found vocalist Todd La Torre because he has SAVED this band.
Commercially most people equate the band with the singer & the case of Queensryche especially with having one of the most powerful & recognizable voices ever to do it in former singer Geoff Tate. For me & for most it would have been No Tate? No Deal.
But in this case we ended up staying for the whole show because everything was firing on all cylinders, covering every era of the band’s long-storied career.
Setlist –
Guardian
Operation: Mindcrime
Best I Can
Damaged
The Killing Words
The Mission
In This Light
Empire
Anybody Listening?
Queen of the Reich
Jet City Woman
Take Hold of the Flame
Encore:
Screaming in Digital
Eyes of a Stranger
Anthrax w/ Lamb of God – February 5th – The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
To be clear, we were here for Anthrax – one of my most beloved acts ever & some of my most cherished memories ever have been at Anthrax shows, some right here in Dallas. Every time I see (especially in Dallas) I can’t help but mine the spirit of Spring ’89 when Steve Ainsworth & I caught their State of Euphoria tour as part of the first Headbanger’s Ball travelling circus as 14 year olds. I have a long tendered relationship with the Anthrax organization and was looking forward to this show greatly.
And yes, I know it makes me the old bitter curmudgeon that bitches about what a fucking calamity it is that the last few times (this show included) they have come through town it’s always opening for a band that they dwarf in scope, power and legacy. No one likes to be the old guy at the show watching your heroes open for people much younger and watching the crowd only really come alive when they new kids take stage and you on your pedestal compelled to teach them all a lesson.
I didn’t have to – Anthrax did that with a punishing set that just KILLED.
Back after 5 years with the just released For All Kings LP that is pardon the cliche but an instant classic.
Once thought down & out but literally ROARED back to life in 2011 with the return of classic era vocalist Joey Belladonna with the near-perfect Worship Music LP that sits right next to their legendary albums of the 80’s.
This new record only expands and expounds on that momentum and in spite of the 5 years in between the LP feels like it would take at least that long to make something so brilliant, so inspiring, so different yet totally Anthrax. New songs sounded LARGE live.
Setlist –
Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t
Caught in a Mosh
Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
Antisocial (Trust cover)
Evil Twin
In the End
Breathing Lightning
Indians
And then that’s where the fun of the evening ended for me. Not only musically but socially as Richmond, Virginia’s hellions Lamb of God took the stage as headliners. Even before that, this crowd was wearing me out – Thanks to my relationship with Anthrax we didn’t have to wait in line to get in and thank goodness and the security measures were intense and sadly well needed. Every guy in here looked like that loose cannon that just got back from the army that works on his car in his driveway all day. The current look is that Nordic bearded thing crossed with Dimebag wear since we are in Dallas. It’s the Slayer crowd but not the fun, nerdy Slayer fans but the ones they are all trouble. The singer represents that pretty well.
Even before their set started their was a dark vibe in the air – That flame was fanned (more like lighter fluid) when suddenly this woman in her early 40’s just totally keeled over lifeless like she had been shot, her head bouncing off my leg but still hitting the concrete floor HARD. Right as we were reacting to her and trying to help her, the older portly gentlemen next to her, presumably her date, keeled over in the same fashion. This immediately informed us this wasn’t a coincidence and these two had taken the same drugs. I screamed for security and desperately searched for a medic – neither was anywhere to be found. Note to self: If you ever have a problem in this place, your on your own & that’s scary enough without being around these fucking wastes.
Darkness seems to just follow singer Randy Blythe has he’s just gotten over a major ordeal where he was charged with the death of a fan at a show in the Czech Republic you may have heard about.
We stuck around only because my friends were here and the promise there was potential that they would invite members of Anthrax back out to perform S.O.D’s United Forces. They didn’t come to pass and I spent 90 mins enduring a show completely void of melody, soul or even humor from one of the most tuneless acts I’ve ever witnessed with an insufferable crowd. Never again.
Megadeth – February 20th – South Side Ballroom – Dallas, TX
Now that other member of the Big 4 I mentioned earlier, Megadeth were opening their tour in support of the just released Dystopia LP (with yet another almost entirely new lineup behind leader Dave Mustaine.)
Opening night always has a nervous energy to it, especially with new members that seems to make some bands hungrier.
Tonight would be an excellent example of that has they came out guns blazin’.
The current band besides Mustaine & longtime bassist David Ellefson, of new guitarist Kiko Loureiro and drummer Chris Adler (on loan from the hideous Lamb of God, see above) did not disappoint with a powerful set that featured both better-known material and select deeper cuts from their 31-year career.
Fortunate to get to shoot from the photo pit, it was difficult not to fanboy out as Mustaine was soloing through Wake Up Dead mere inches from my face as my 13-year old self was dying to rawk out with him.
Much has been written about the deterioration in Mustaine’s voice in recent years to a straight gravelly, guttural growl and sadly that is largely true but not to the point of complete compromise.
The stage backdrop was designed as a large computer console, with two large video screens and four smaller ones below showing both graphics and film footage that illustrated or commented on each particular song. It was chaotic and effective, and buoyed the band’s performance rather than distracted from it.Their two biggest anthems – Peace Sells and Holy Wars have lost none of their strength and foreboding power since the ’80s despite how silly the lyrics now seem.
Band mascot Vic Rattlehead came out to fist-pump the crowd which brings us back to Dystopia. It’s a record released in a time when the real world today may have actually caught up with the band’s longtime grim-and-dim view of society, politics, war, government secrecy and religion.
Setlist
Hangar 18
Kingmaker
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
Tornado of Souls
Sweating Bullets
Dawn Patrol
Poison Was the Cure
She-Wolf
Trust
Fatal Illusion
A Tout Le Monde
Skin O’ My Teeth
Peace Sells
Encore –
Symphony of Destruction
Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
Good times, stay tuned for more rawking!
Photos –
Roy Turner
Vladmir Artiv
