PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
As gig lineups go this was always going to be a hard one to beat. Megadeth, Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Sylosis, so it’s no surprise that there was a good turnout tonight. The night kicked off with Sylosis. They only get a short set tonight, but they use the time they have to deliver a nice heavy set that really went down well with the crowd and got the night off to a good start.
Sylosis setlist:
Dormant Heart
Teras
Mercy
Servitude
Stained Humanity
Empyreal
Children of Bodom come next. As always Alexi Laiho is the centre of attention and he puts in a great performance. The rest of the band may be less animated but still do a great job as they deliver some great songs from the band’s catalogue. As it’s a short set then many fan favourites just can’t be included in the set but they still go down well with the crowd.
Children of Bodom setlist:
Silent Night, Bodom Night
Hate Me!
In Your Face
Morrigan
Hate Crew Deathroll
Downfall
Lamb of God came next. By now the stage had been cleared of all the amps and kit from the first two bands so the LED screens at the back were now clearly visible, and the band had plenty of space to move around, and as always Randy Blythe took fall advantage of that. He’s like a caged tiger, constantly prowling the stage as he sings, and regularly runs and leaps high into the air. He always delivers a high energy and intense performance and tonight is certainly no different. The energy level isn’t just high on stage – it’s only a matter of minutes into their set before the circle pits start, and with some encoraging from Randy Blythe they get bigger and bigger. It’s one hell of a good set and includes some of my favourite Lamb of God songs, but by the end there was just one question on my mind – how on earth could Megadeth follow that?
Lamb of god setlist:
Walk with Me in Hell
Now You’ve Got Something to Die For
Still Echoes
512
Ghost Walking
Ruin
Omerta
Hourglass
Set to Fail
Vigil
Laid to Rest
Redneck
Black Label
Megadeth took to the stage and delivered a very different show to Lamb of God – less of a high energy show and more technical, but equally as enjoyable.
Megadeth have such a strong catalogue of songs to choose from that they’re able to put together a setlist that covers songs from across their career going back as far as their 1986 album “Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?” and right up to their latest album, “Dystopia”. They make good use of the screens to enhance the show, but they could easily have played without them and still given the fans a great set to enjoy.
With the Wembley arch and the arena lit up in the red white and blue of the French flag in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attack, there were a couple of other really nice touches tonight – before the bands started, the stage was lit up with the colours of the French flag, and then during Megadeth’s set, after “Peace sells”, we got the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, performed as a guitar solo.
Chris Adler deserves special praise for drumming in both Megadeth and Lamb of God – two demanding sets with just a short break between them.
One thing that was clear tonight – and judging by reports from other dates, applies to the whole tour, is that Megadeth really do need to get a new sound engineer as the sound tonight was not good at all. Despite the poor sound it was a great performance from all the bands tonight – definitely a great night of music.
Megadeth setlist:
Hangar 18
She-Wolf
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
Sweating Bullets
Dawn Patrol
Poison Was the Cure
Tornado of Souls
Fatal Illusion
Trust
Skin o’ My Teeth
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Guitar solo – La Marseillaise
Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
