Touted as the “Metal Tour of the Year” (which is an understatement), Megadeth, Lamb of God, Trivium, and Hatebreed made their Bay Area tour stop in Concord, CA. The show was high energy, with fist pumping, circle pits, crowd surfers, and even pyrotechnics.

Trivium demonstrated their strong following with an engaged audience. Photos here by Clay Lancaster:

Lamb of God then followed, and came out swinging; steam, pillars of fire, and all. From the circle pit on the rear lawn of the venue, to the circle pit up in front of the stage, vocalist Randy Blythe had the audience on their toes. A non-stop energy set that left audience members exstatic and exhausted.

The main event was thrash metal icon Megadeth, led by Dave Mustaine (currently the only surviving founding member, after the exit of David Ellefson this year). Megadeth tour veteran James Lomenzo has been taking over bass duties for this run of shows.

With a new album on the horizon, Megadeth kept to a relatively familiar setlist for those that attended any of their shows since 2016. Fans didn’t seem to mind, however, as the fanatic front row screamed/chanted MEG-A-DETH over and over at the top of their lungs. A nice highlight of the evening was the addition of the instrumental “Conquer… or Die!”, featuring a Spanish-style acoustic guitar introduction by lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro.

This tour is absolutely the “Metal Tour of the Year” and grabbing tickets in your city is highly recommended, if you want to pump your fists and bang your head all evening long.