Megadeth – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA – March 20, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies, Children of Bodom & Havok – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA – March 20, 2016
This past February, thrash metal Pioneers Megadeth embarked on a massive North American Tour with the likes of Children of Bodom, Havok, and Suicidal Tendencies. I was lucky enough to cover the March 20 stop of the tour at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia and I must say that I left that show in complete and total shock.
Havok – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA – March 20, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Havok was actually quite interesting to me to see perform live. They opened the show and quickly turned things up to 11. They remind me of Exodus to an extent with the intense speed and angry vocals. But, I never had the chance to see Havok perform live. Their setlist included tracks such as: “Point of No Return,” “No Amnesty,” “Claiming Certainty,” “D.O.A.,” “From the Cradle to the Grave” and “Give Me Liberty… or Give Me Death.” Havok’s set turned out alright. There wasn’t really one dull moment that I can recall.
Children of Bodom – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA – March 20, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Up next, the almighty Children of Bodom began what was sure to be quite a ride. Led by Alexi Laiho, Children of Bodom comes from Finland and now features new guitarist, Daniel Freyberg. Their set included anthems such as: “Are You Dead Yet?,” “In Your Face,” “Morrigan,” “Silent Night, Bodom Night,” “Hate Me!,” “I Worship Chaos,” “Angels Don’t Kill” and “Downfall.” Alexi Laiho’s ability to play a guitar is impressive. I’ve always been a fan of how unique his riffs are. Be sure to check out their latest album, I Worship Chaos.
Suicidal Tendencies – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA – March 20, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Suicidal Tendencies brought along a friend with them for this tour to play drums. That friend is none other than former Slayer member, Dave Lombardo. I’m not familiar with Suicidal Tendencies at all, but I figured with the addition of Dave, that would change things. Here are the songs that they played: “You Can’t Bring Me Down,” “Freedumb,” “Trip at the Brain,” “Institutionalized,” “Subliminal,” “Cyco Vision” and “Pledge Your Allegiance.” I wasn’t really impressed with Suicidal Tendencies. There were some pretty cool moments, but I just couldn’t get into their music.
Megadeth – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA – March 20, 2016 – Photo by Erik Gibbons © 2016
Lastly, Megadeth has come to end the night. I’ve seen Megadeth once before. Their set included classics such as “Hangar 18,” “Peace Sells,” “The Threat Is Real;” which is featured on their brand new record, Dystopia, and many others. I thought this tour in particular for Megadeth was one of a kind with having Chris Adler on drums. Hearing him outside of Lamb of God is strange at first, but with the old-school Thrash sound on Dystopia, it works.
Erik Gibbons
Copyright ©2016 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: March 31, 2016.
Photos by Erik Gibbons © 2016