After a successful stint completing the fifth edition of Gigantour, Megadeth announced they’d be hitting the road yet again before the end of 2013. Teaming up with a mix of metal veterans in Nonpoint and Fear Factory made for an intriguing line-up. On Tuesday December 3rd the tour made its appearance in New York, not the typical New York City date, but a special exclusive Long Island show at The Paramount in Huntington. Excited by the extensive touring Megadeth has done in the past year fans gathered in masses to The Paramount for another classic metal show.
Cutting the ribbon on the festivities were Florida alt-metal band Nonpoint. Now together for 16 years Nonpoint has withstood a series of trends in the hard rock and metal scene while producing 7 quality full length albums. Their resilience to continue on makes them one of the hardest working bands in the scene. Over their journey they have seen a few member changes including the departure of Andrew Goldman in 2008 and Ken MacMillan in 2011. Unwilling to call it a day founding members Elias Soriano (vocals) and Robb Rivera (drums) reloaded the line-up with some fresh faces in 2011 in Rasheed Thomas (guitar), Dave Lizzio (guitar) and Adam Woloszyn (bass). With a new label in Razor & Tie and one of their best albums in 2012 simply entitled Nonpoint they have risen to a new level. Taking the stage first was not intimating to a seasoned band and they did so with authority. Projecting a ball of energy onto the crowd Soriano and company grabbed the audience’s attention immediately. With his long dreadlocks flying in the air Soriano sweat pure emotion out singing tracks like “Dangerous Waters” and “International Crisis”. Always showing a good sense of humor on stage Soriano even joked with the crowd in between songs saying “Hey we’re Korn!…nah we are kidding” poking fun of the fact that many of the members of the band have dreadlocks. When the band broke into “That Day” the room came alive with dedicated fans upfront singing every single word wildly back to Soriano as he verbally assaulted the microphone. They closed things out with fan favorite “A Bullet With A Name On It”. Opening for Megadeth is no easy task for anyone but Nonpoint did so with a confidence only a solid seasoned band such as themselves could.
Giving fans a moment to catch their breath Fear Factory were the next to take the stage. Since they began at the tail end of the 1980’s these guys have built a name for themselves as leaders in the American industrial metal scene. Burton C. Bell and Dino Cazares reunited back in 2009 while adding Matt DeVries (bass) formerly of Chimara and Mike Heller (drums) to restock the line-up. Their popularity has not faded over the years and they have played a series of their own sold out shows over that time. With The Industrialist released last year Fear Factory proved they are not going anywhere and are set to released another new album sometime in 2014.
When Fear Factory hit the stage the crowd went nuts instantaneously. From the point “The Industrialist” began fans began to crowd surf. As the first fan came to the front of the stage off the crowd hands Burton rewarded them with a hand shake and a smile. Their set covered 8 studio albums evenly with tracks like “Shock”, “Edgecrusher”, “Damaged”, and “Martyr”. Burton’s voice was loud and powerful mixing harsh moments with clean singing perfectly. Cazares’ chops on guitar were right on thrashing through tracks like “Demanufacture” and “Self Bias Resistor” with ease. The new additions of DeVries and Heller appear to be mixing well and fans openly welcomed them into the Fear Factory family. Their set closed out on a high note with “Replica” completing an impressive display the audience was not disappointed with. Fear Factory continues to show they are elite in the metal scene and after all these years remain relevant. Keep your eyes open for the release of their new album in 2014.
After two different and impressive opening bands it was time for Megadeth to take the stage. Dave Mustaine has consistently given his fans impressive album after album since Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! (1985). Now a whooping 14 albums in, Super Collider (2013) continues to satisfy Megadeth faithful and in some instances many would say the band is more popular than ever. When Dave Ellefson (bass) returned to the fold in 2010 it was a jolt of energy to Mustaine and the fans. With Shawn Drover behind the drum kit and Chris Broderick on guitar, the two which started out as newcomers are now the longest standing members of Megadeth behind Mustaine and Ellefson. Finding this stability has been essential to the band’s continued success and will continue to do so as long as Mustaine wants to pump out records.
Cheering and screaming “Megadeth, Megadeth” before the first song even began you knew that this was going to be a show for the ages. The backdrop was set with an animation of industrial scenes which revealed the Megadeth logo. Opening with “Hangar 18” got the ball rolling quickly leading into a thrashing of “Wake Up Dead” and “In My Darkest Hour”. Mustaine has always been known for his perfection while playing guitar and tonight would be no exception to that rule as he hit each note precisely. If you had closed your eyes for a minute you’d think you were listening to the record at home with how right on the sound was. By the time “Tornado Of Souls” began the floor was moving with delight to the sound of the thrashing guitars. With a barricade between the crowd and the stage Mustaine, Ellefson, and Broderick all took turns throughout the set coming to the edge of the stage to get a bit closer to the fans. Crowd surfing was at a high for the night with people of all ages surfing to the front hoping for an opportunity to get closer to the band. Having so much to cover in so little time is a hard accomplishment for most but Megadeth continue to do so covering all areas of their history playing on with tracks like “Sweating Bullets”, “Set the World Afire”, and “A Tout Le Monde”. Classics in the eyes of Megadeth fans, crowd participation was consistent throughout with fans singing each word.
On a thrill ride already the band mixed in newer track “Kingmaker” with memorable ones such as “Trust” and “She-Wolf”. Mustaine undoubtedly loves his fans and gave undivided attention to a little girl in the audience reaching down to give her his guitar pick. The crowd responded positively cheering Dave’s name making for a nice moment. The energy seemed to be non-stop and as a result the set flew up. By the time “Symphony of Destruction” began the buzz in the room was so intense you could feel it flowing through your veins. The track still stands as Megadeth’s most recognizable and to this day still hits home.
The set closed out with the beloved “Peace Sells”. Of course Mustaine and the crowd sang back and forth to each other throughout the song and if you’ve been to a Megadeth show before you’d expect nothing less. If you thought this was the conclusion you are mistaken because the best was saved for last an encore of “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”. The track completed the adrenaline ride fans didn’t want to come down from. No matter how many times you’ve seen Megadeth they always seem to excite their fan base. There is no words which can describe how much their fans adore them and that is exactly why Megadeth will withstand time in metal fans hearts.
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