Judas Priest/Megadeth/Testament - 28 February 2009

I nearly couldn't ask for a better bill than this one - its reminiscent of my teenage years, when metal was at its peak and piss jackets and bullet belts were king. I'm getting older, and so are these guys - but I feel fortunate and grateful that they're still on stage and still gracing us with their thrashing musical assault.

First up was Testament, one of my all-time favorite thrash metal bands. These guys formed in 1983 in San Francisco, California, and were one of "The Big Four" (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Testament) that defined the Bay Area Thrash sound. Their first album, "The Legacy" still holds up as an influence to many up-and-coming thrash metallers today. After slight line-up changes over the years, a hiatus, and medical catastrophes (lead guitarist James Murphy (1994-1996, 1999) diagnosed with a brain tumor, and singer Chuck Billy with cancer), Testament has been dishing out the metal meyhem again since 2003. We're all glad to see you back.

As far as their set was concerned, they played a good mix of old with their new release "The Formation of Damnation", which I must say, impressed me. There aren't alot of bands that have done the comeback thing (or even newer bands) that can put out an album that they claim sounds "old school" and really mean it.

Next up was Megadeth. If any of you guys know me, you know that I'm totally enamoured with Megadeth. I remember the first time I had heard them, back in 1989, when my friend made me a heavy metal mixtape. There wasn't another guitarist I could identify with - the raw, unrelenting aggression of Dave Mustaine has kept me angry and kept me alive for 33 years.

Despite a revolving door of lineup changes, ever increasing through the years, its always been Dave Mustaine, the architect of armageddon, at the helm. As far as I (and probably anyone else is concerned), he IS Megadeth. And he was ON tonight. It couldn't have been a better show, and ending with Holy Wars, as they usually do, was a special treat. Keep it going, Dave...

Finally, Judas Priest took the stage. I love these guys, but I have to say, watching them play tonight was...well...exhausting. I know that everyone gets old, and that these guys are pushing the physical limits...I can accept that they're not running around on stage like teenagers anymore...But their setlist could have been amazing and it was just...I'm sorry...BORING. Fuck. What a disappointment.

\m/
-p2