Metal Tour of the Year Hits White River

White River Amphitheater welcomed co-headlining acts Megadeth and Lamb of God on their highly anticipated Metal Tour of the Year last weekend.

The tour was originally slated to make its way around the United States in the fall of 2020, but was pushed back due to the pandemic. After almost eighteen months without live shows, it was great to back amongst so many others who have missed the sheer excitement of live music.

Many PNW head bangers had arrived to the venue early and they were treated to an evening of pure metal bliss. Judging by the amount of people already in line on this sunny and hot Sunday afternoon, no one wanted to miss out on what was sure to be an amazing event.

Kicking off the evening was the heavy metal hardcore band Hatebreed, who proceeded to play a blistering, albeit short, set that had everyone head banging and opening up the mosh pit. The band had infectious energy that got the crowd pumped and fired up.

Next were heavy hitters Trivium, who also played an amazing and yet short set. They had to be on point in order to follow such a hard and amazing opener.  The band is getting ready to drop their latest release In The Court of the Dragon on October 8, 2021, and the band opened their set with the title track. The rest of the set was hard hitting and the crowd obviously wanted more.

As the sun set and darkness fell over White River, the crowd was more than ready for Lamb of God. The band consists of Randy Blythe (vocals), Willie Adler (guitar), Mark Morton (guitar), John Campbell (bass) and Art Cruz (drums), and they put on an amazing performance. With a large curtain with the band’s logo covering the stage, along with ominous lighting, the band opened with “Momento Mori”. Blythe worked his way all over the stage, jumping from the monitors and drum riser as the band played hard and heavy. Performing many of their most popular tracks, Lamb of God ripped through “Ruin,” “Set to Fail,” “512,” “Redneck” and “Walk With Me in Hell,” which had an enormous amount of pyro.

Thrash metal legends Megadeth, who consist of Dave Mustaine (guitar / vocals), Kiko Lourerio (guitar), Dirk Verbeuren (drums) and James Lomenzo (bass), weren’t about the let the other acts steal their thunder, and performed a set consisting of hard hitting heavy and thrash metal classics as well as fan favorites. With a wall of Marshall amps and LED screens across the stage and the drums perched high above on an elevated drum riser, the band blasted in the opener “Hangar 18,” rolling right into “The Threat Is Real” and “She-Wolf.” Megadeth didn’t miss a beat, and their lighting and video animations were a great compliment to the band’s performance. Mustaine thanked the crowd for attending tonight’s performance, stating that there much doubt as to whether shows would be back. Megadeth proceeded to perform “Trust,” “Conquer or Die!” and “Dystopia,” which had the music video playing on the large screens and a cyborg version of the band’s mascot, Vic Rattlehead, made its way onto the stage.

Megadeth finished off their amazing set with “Symphony of Destruction,” the ever popular “Peace Sells,” and the fast hard hitting “Holy Wars….The Punishment Due.”

From beginning to end, this show was incredible and it was amazing to see so many people having a great time, enjoying live music once again at White River Amphitheater. This is a must see show when it rolls into a city near you!

Megadeth Setlist
Hangar 18
The Threat is Real
She-Wolf
Sweating Bullets
Trust
Conquer or Die!
Dystopia
Tornado of Souls
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Holy Wars…The Punishment Due

Lamb of God Setlist
Momento Mori
Ruin
Walk With Me In Hell
Resurrection Man
Now You’ve Got Something To Die For
Set To Fail
New Colossal Hate
512
Contractor
Laid To Rest
Redneck