Live: Megadeth

O2 Apollo

12th November

7.5/10

With quite possibly the biggest metal line-up in the UK of 2015, Megadeth had set the bar high for themselves with a five-hour show of some of the most prime riffs the world has ever seen. Consisting of Sylosis, Children of Bodom, Lamb of God and of course, Megadeth, the show was understandably completely sold-out with a queue almost lapping the building by the time the doors opened.

Opening with the banger ‘Hangar 18’, Megadeth slapped down their mission statement to the roar of the crowd, but following on from such a phenomenal set from Lamb of God, it was a little underwhelming. With pulses raised from the intense physicality from the previous set, the tempo felt just a little too low— maybe starting with something with a little more oomph could’ve cured this.

Moving through the set, things really started to pick up pace with ‘Sweating Bullets’, more or less turning the entire venue into a giant karaoke session. One of the highlights of the set had to be the newest stormer ‘Fatal Illusion’, doing away with the poppier sensibilities of Super Collider, ‘Fatal Illusion’ swings the pendulum back the other way and brings some of the thrashiest music Megadeth has ever produced.

The real shining grace of the show, however, was that Megadeth had by far the best musicality of the night. You’d never realise Chris Adler was pulling double-shifts for LoG and Megadeth unless someone told you—throwing in fills all over the place—and the newest guitarist replacement Kiko Loureiro handles every solo like it’s child’s play. Unsurprisingly, the sound is crystal clear and packs a punch; for a band that’s been around for over 30 years, they’ve got their sounds nailed right down. If you’re lucky enough to be heading to Download festival this year, they’re definitely worth checking out.