In their long-awaited return to Los Angeles, Megadeth preferred to play two dates in a medium-capacity venue rather than just one in a stadium, which led them to perform both last Friday and Thursday of this week at the YouTube Theater, the modern auditorium that is part of the colossal SoFi.
The decision also allowed him to offer two slightly different repertoires on both dates and, in addition, to play for the first time on this tour – which began on August 2 in Arkansas – “Kick the Chair”, a song from his mature stage that is not among the best known in his history, but is a worthy representative of the forceful, but to a certain extent elegant, thrash that has characterized his best efforts.
It is no secret to anyone that, more than being a stable band, Megadeth has been, is and always will be the musical expression project of Dave Mustaine, its vocalist, rhythm and solo guitarist and main composer, so, at this point, fans are already accustomed to the constant changes of members that have occurred in its four decades of existence.
In fact, right now, the only member of the original lineup left is Mustaine, following the controversial firing of original bassist Dave Ellefson in May 2021 due to allegations of alleged sexual misconduct. Beyond Ellefson, Megadeth has been the birthplace of such admired musicians as drummer Nick Menza and guitarists Marty Friedman and Chris Poland.
In addition, in September 2023, the departure of guitarist Kiko Loureiro was announced. He was in the group from 2015 to 2023 and quickly won not only the affection of fans due to his performance skills, but was admired as a representative of the Latin community in a musical institution as famous as this one. It was a hard blow, no doubt; but that does not mean that the current lineup is deficient, far from it.
In that sense, and beyond any question of ego, Mustaine knows how to carefully choose those who accompany him on stage and in the studio, so, during the second night of performance at the YouTube Theater, lead guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo did not act as simple extras, but as active members of a musical machinery that always requires precision and skill.
To be clear, Megadeth is not a progressive or extremely complex band, but one that, amidst its leanings towards thrash metal (a subgenre that arose from the fusion of heavy metal and punk), frequently shows off elaborate structures and difficult rhythmic shifts, which has earned it a particular place in the scene and has differentiated it, of course, from Metallica, the band from which Mustaine was fired and with which he had a bitter rivalry for many years.
By the way, the vocalist and guitarist himself still has a strong temper that can manifest itself publicly at any moment, as happened on Thursday, when he started arguing with a concertgoer who had shouted something at him and made a gesture to throw him out before the dust settled. We don’t know what was said to him, and although reason suggests that this type of situation could be handled differently, it is clear that we were at a metal concert where things can easily get out of hand.
New guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari in action.
(Noel Vasquez / YouTube Theater)
The good thing, of course, is that aside from some irrational behaviour, the proceedings took place with unexpected calm, even when the ‘slam’ – which took a while to appear – suddenly took on a particularly aggressive rhythm and probably left more than one of its participants in pain.
Once the pit was unleashed, the metalheads – many of them of Latin origin – insisted that it not be turned off, despite the fact that some of the songs – especially the mid-tempo ones, such as “Countdown to Extinction” and “Angry Again” – deserved to be seen more calmly and with less fuss, as in fact happened at the beginning of the show, when “The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!” was heard, a good song from the most recent album, titled of the same name and released in September 2022.
In any case, the intensity of the dance increased in a justified manner during the interpretation of the three cuts that closed the night, that is, “Mechanix” (which Metallica supposedly illegitimately converted into “The Four Horsemen”), “Peace Sells” and “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”, luxury exponents of a school that refuses to disappear.
Another image from the concert.
(Noel Vasquez / YouTube Theater)
Ultimately, whether you like him personally or not, Mustaine – who looks great physically at 62 years of age – is not only a survivor of the metal scene who has overcome alcohol and hard drug use, an injury to his left arm that led him to temporarily disband the band and, more recently, throat cancer that naturally interrupted his activities, but also an extremely creative musician whose existentialist and political lyrics have caused more than one debate.
Although his most recent ailments have affected the performance of a voice that has never been prodigious, at the YouTube Theater, his singing was much more convincing than he expected, while the riffs coming from his guitar sounded as powerful as ever. And one should not underestimate his talent for performing solos that may sound primitive at times – especially when compared to those of the illustrious six-string players who always accompany him – but which, when they work, are truly original and striking.
