22 March 2023 – Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne – words and pictures by Nicole Smith-Walker
Metal at full volume, full power and full throttle!
Wednesday night in Naarm (Melbourne) was ready to welcome back and witness absolute metal music legends, Megadeth playing their Knotfest side show at Margaret Court Arena.
They were opened by Sweden’s death metal band In Flames. The crowd roared as the lights dimmed, ready for screams, heavy riffs, and lots of head banging.
Through out In Flames set, their vocalist Anders Fridén mentioned continuously how Australians are nice people and also how quiet the crowd was. Periodically he would encourage the crowd to move their arms up and down to the music – igniting their energy and excitement. The crowd seemed tough to motivate. I am sure there were plenty of In Flames fans in the crowd but I am going to guess most punters were Thrash Metal fans and here for the headliners.
That didn’t take away from In Flames performance or the moments that the crowd laughed at Anders jokes, creating a circle pit and heads nodding the whole set. He also expressed how he wanted this to be the best night of everyone’s life- and I can guarantee it will be one for the best concerts the crowd have attended. In Flames ended their set with their beloved ‘Take This Life’- this had everyone singing along.
After In Flames, the crew for Megadeth did a check for the drum kit and it was incredibly loud- I was ready!
The moment came when the lights dimmed, the screens on the stage lit up with visuals and fans chanted ‘Megadeth’.
As soon as the band came out the whole stadium was screaming. Within the first few songs, fans in the mosh pit were crowd surfing their way to the front – with massive grins and horns in the air.
The visuals, the lighting, the sound- everything was amplified and I knew I was witnessing something super special. It was Metal at full volume, full power and full throttle!!
The entire set of Megadeth I was blown away by the production, the guitar solos and the way Dave Mustaine commanded the stage with his presence- nothing over the top, just cool, calm and collected and also gratitude. Many times the fans were thanked for their support.
And I could really sense the passion in each member- that this is what they were made to do and they love to the perform.
In between songs Dave spoke casually to the crowd about his experience surviving cancer. He mentioned that his friend said to him ‘I feel sorry for cancer’. Hearing this personal story, bringing the human element back into the show- to connect a little deeper, bringing us all back down to earth a bit- to remind us that we might be witnessing absolute music gods- that they are still human.
The night ended with ‘Holy Wars’ and I was left amazed and still shocked that I could be there to see them for the first time and take photos as well. I am already looking forward to seeing them again at Australia’s first Knotfest Festival in Melbourne.
