The Metal Tour Of The Year, “Kick Off To The Return Of Live Metal”

September 14, 2021September 15, 2021 Phil Ryabkin Concert Review, Hatebreed, Heavy Metal, Jones Beach, jones beach theater, lamb of god, Megadeth, Metal Concert, metal reviews, northwell health, the metal tour of the year, Trivium

Review & Photos: Phil Ryabkin

The mighty return of Megadeth & Lamb of God to Jones Beach in Wantagh, NY had been highly anticipated. Originally scheduled for Summer 2020, The Metal Tour of the Year has been delayed twice due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, we finally got see this massive, long anticipated tour happen in full form. Trivium & Hatebreed round out the tour to make this package one of the most insane lineups in ages.

While it’s a shame that Swedish melo-death pioneers In Flames could not make it to the United States, the almighty Hatebreed was a very fine replacement for them and that isn’t to say we’re not hoping In Flames will tour North America again when it is safe to do so.

Megadeth’s live show was a performance that is never underestimated. Legendary frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine powered through the hour long set effortlessly. The current Megadeth lineup brings us drummer Dirk Verbeuren from Soilwork, guitarist Kiko Loureiro from Angra and James LoMenzo who is the current touring bassist that played on previous records like United Abominations and Endgame!

Megadeth’s set was a mix of classics and some newer hits off the 2016 record Dystopia! Tracks like “The Threat Is Real”, “Trust”, “Sweating Bullets”, “Hangar 18” and “Peace Sells” really made this Megadeth set a very fun welcome return, with Dave & Kiko ceaselessly electrifying the stage and set Sunday night.

The great dynamic between this lineup does not disappoint, and Mustaine’s skill as a performer has not yet waivered as a Heavy Metal veteran. There was no pause given during Megadeth’s set. It almost seemed as if the band knew fans were here to mosh and shed the entire last year and a half off, and they were certainly there to deliver to fans.

The crowd seemed a bit rusty at first, but who could blame us. This was the first mega concert since we’d all been sent into quarantine, we were stretching our stomping legs again. As anyone in attendance could have predicted, once the songs started streaming in, and feeling like a family once more, we knew the mosh pit never leaves us.

That pit reared its ugly head into such an intense storm-like anomoly, that another quickly formed to the far right of the stage to welcome more into the chaos! A thrasher’s fix of sheer metal from its proper source.

Crowd vocals were in full force to sing back at Mustaine, whose 60th birthday followed the next day and whom had recently beat throat cancer. Dave Mustaine appeared graciously flattered by the love and support of fans.

It felt like a unanimous sentiment that Lamb of God were the band everyone in attendance had been craving to see again at Jones Beach since there last appearance at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach venue in 2015, formerly Nikon at Jones Beach.

My personal sentiment remains that Lamb Of God has been the juggernaut band that flew the flag for the new wave of American heavy metal. The last time I’d attended a LOG concert was in New Jersey when they were supporting Slayer’s 2018 farewell tour.

Lamb of God is a band so deserving of co-headlining this current tour with Megadeth. Who can forget how both legendary acts toured together in 2006 and how we were able to relive that greatness just a couple of nights ago. Lamb of God performed a great mix of tracks off their 2020 self titled record, followed by their new hit “Memento Mori”. Randy Blythe’s excruciating vocal range continues to set a criterion in metal music, with time and agility being generously kind to him.

New drummer Art Cruz is a fantastic replacement for Chris Adler. Cruz has taken the throne and successfully achieves the powerful patterns that maintain Lamb Of God as one of the best metal bands in music.

Mark Morton and Willie Adler are without a doubt master shredders, while founding bassist John Campbell gave us deep bass lines, which alone sends any musician and/or fan into a frenzy. LOG’s mosh pit was absolutely out of control as so many people took center stage to release a lot of fun aggression in one spot. Circle pits, plenty of shoving and the occasional hardcore skanking took place during their set. “Laid to Rest, “Vigil”, “Ruin” and “Walk With Me In Hell” were just some tunes that emblazoned the stage.

You felt the absolute camaraderie within the metal community in that massive outdoor venue, with Summer weather still lingering. Emerging from a difficult year and a half, seeing Lamb Of God united fans and reminded us that we’re always family under Metal.

Florida Metal legends Trivium kept the momentum going. Having successfully released What the Dead Men Say during a pandemic, next month will see an impressively swift new record from the band titled, In the Court of the Dragon. The self titled album track served as the opener for Trivium’s set as die hard fans grasped their heads in excitement. Stepping back to take in the masterpiece that is Trivium, I would consider them a headliner for the return of Metal concerts.

Fans up front could be seen watching in awe as Matt Heafy famously swapped his vocal style of metalcore screams into smooth cleans without faltering. Fans flew alongside guitarist Corey Beaulieu’s soaring melodies, a vital part to Trivium’s incredible sound with slick sweeps and heavy guitar leads!

Trivium’s eight song included bangers like “The Heart From Your Hate” and “Catastrophist” It was “Down From The Sky” and “In Waves” that brought the house down for the crowd, reforming a much more aggressive mosh pit than earlier. Although I loved watching Trivium steal the internet Twitch screen, it was intoxicating to see Trivium tearing up the live stage again!

Hatebreed is a Bloodlines favorite. Aside from achieving a dream tour spot with Megadeth, the band annouced during their set that they were ecstatic to finally play the main stage at Jones Beach, especially Jamey Jasta, as on previous show dates they’d been stuck playing the “side stage” Jones Beach parking lot.

They made it count Sunday night, delivering a blistering mix of hardcore punk, metalcore and heavy metal to an intimiate sized, nevertheless, dedicated crowd which transcended them from just “opening act”, having formed the initial circle pit of the night. “This is Now”, “Empty Promises”, & “Destroy Everything” filled their set list and arena with powerful anticipation for the events to follow.

Jamey Jasta’s vocals has maintained its live resonance as does his crowd interaction that he’s admired for. Dual guitars from Frank Novinec and Wayne Lozinak felt surreal, it was the first live shredding many of us had heard in months and fans made it known.

Hatebreed provided some insane melodies alongside some of the heaviest backing vocals for the entire night. Drummer Matt Byrne droned in reverberating rhythms for the rest of the band to groove to, while bassist Chris Beattie kept up with with consistent slick lines. Hardcore fans were in full force for their set and I am fully confident that Hatebreed are coming away with stronger traction from each Metal Tour of the Year show date that will launch them to new heights in their career.

The Metal Tour of the Year delivered its best to all at Jones Beach, unified metalheads and is opening up the rusty gateways to new Metal fans as a forceful and strong lineup. Do not sleep on the rest of the tour dates, this is one of the best touring packages of 2021 hands down, the major kick off to the return of live metal!