Megadeth Conquer Cleveland on the 'Destroy All Enemies Tour'

Megadeth have been in a role in recent years. After coming off of a massive, Grammy-winning album with 2016’s ‘Dystopia,’ they returned in 2022 with ‘The Sick, The Dying…And the Dead.’

As a fan since I was 14 years old (I’m 44 now), I’ve enjoyed everything Megadeth have done over the years, but I can also acknowledge that some moments are simply better than others.

The last decade has been a renaissance of sorts, as Dave Mustaine and crew have fully embraced what fans have known all along, Megadeth is a thrash metal band. Unapologetically, a straight-forward thrash band. Every time they lean into that sound, their albums are received to massive acclaim. I've always looked at Megadeth in two era's: the original run from 1985 to 2002 and the reformed band, from 2004 to present. For the older fans, there are some insanely good albums in this bands modern catalog, and the last two efforts are not to be overlooked.

On this particular date, I piled into a car with a bunch of my closest friends and drove out to Cleveland early Sunday morning in anticipation of this show. We've all seen Megadeth on multiple occasions over the years, but the buildup for this one was huge. I'm not sure if it's because we all took the next day off and this was a mini-vacation of sorts, but the anticipation was almost unfairly high.

When we arrived at the venue, the first thing I noticed was the wide range of ages in the crowd. There were plenty of people who've been listening to Megadeth since long before I entered my teenage years, but there were loads of teenagers in attendance, too. I love seeing this and occasionally, it's a pleasant surprise to see just how much legacy acts like Megadeth are impacting the next generation.

All That Remains' Phil Labonte firing up the crowd in Cleveland

Promptly at 8pm, All That Remains took the stage to warm up the crowd. They opened their seven-song set with "Now Let Them Tremble," the opening track from their 2010 album, 'For We Are Many.' The rest of their set was a nice sampling of their catalog, including their most streamed track, "Two Weeks," from 2008's 'Overcome' album.

It's probably been ten years or so since I've seen All That Remains. I believe they opened for Volbeat a while back. This band continues to pull in an extremely loyal fanbase and is a great fit for this tour. Unfortunately, this date in Cleveland was an off date for the tour and did not include Mudvayne.

A plague masked figure calls out to "Bring out your dead!" in advance of Megadeth's set

After a short set change, Megadeth's performance was set for a 9pm start. Shortly after, a dark figure wearing a plague mask, pushing a cart of "the dead" entered the stage and slowly walked from one end to the other, mimicking the opening dialogue from the new album as they called to "Bring out your dead!" As they left the stage, the show opened with the albums self-titled track "The Sick, The Dying...And the Dead!" as the band took the stage. This time around, they stage was much more stripped down than in recent years. There were no video walls, which have been a great addition. However, the lighting was phenominal and the more classic approach was well received.

I've been looking forward to this show for a long time. While I was sad to see guitarist Kiko Louriero exit the band recently, the prospect of seeing his hand-picked replacement Teemu Mäntysaari was exciting. As everyone else who's had a chance to catch Megadeth on this tour already knows, Teemu is a fantastic fit with Megadeth! I'm honestly not sure how Mustaine does it, but he continues to surround himself with phenomenal musicians. The return of James LoMenzo on bass was an exciting move and Dirk Verbeuren on the drums has been massive (no easy feat, following the incredible work Chris Adler did on 'Dystopia.')

Megadeth's Teemu Mäntysaari shredding on lead guitar in Cleveland

The band ripped into "Dread and the Fugitive Mind" as the second song, originally released as one of two new songs on their 'Capital Punishment' Greatest Hits package back in 2000, but appeared again on 2001's 'The World Needs A Hero.' I absolutely love this song and it was awesome to see it live!

Just as with All That Remains, Megadeth paid respects to a career spanning selection of tunes that included both their biggest hits, but also some of their hidden gems that fans wouldn't necessarily see on every tour. A few of those gems included "Washington is Next" and "Angry Again." I've seen "Countdown to Extinction" in the set recently, and I was really hoping for that one, as it was my personal gateway song into Megadeth, but it'll have to wait a bit longer (I did get to see it on the 2012 'Countdown to Extinction' 20th Anniversary Tour). The regular staples included hits like "Trust," "Hangar 18," "Peace Sell," "Symphony of Destruction" and the ultimate closer, "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due."

Both "The Mechanix" and "Liar" were on the setlist, but didn't make it, unfortunately. I'm assuming this was due to a delayed start and a strict curfew, as the show ended promptly by 10:30. It's a bummer to miss that tune, for sure, but the show was just so good. Megadeth sounded fantastic. This band consistently brings on one of the most precise live shows I've ever seen. Every song is nailed down to perfection. There's a certain charm for bands that will perform loose and aren't afraid to make mistakes on stage, but that's not Dave Mustaine's style. His band executes every song like a band of surgeons, and I can appreciate that, too.

James LoMenzo holds down the low end for Megadeth in Cleveland

An interesting note is that Dave's voice sounded great as well. Mustaine's raspy voice has always been something of an acquired taste, but it's one I acquired early and always look forward to his vocal delivery on albums. In a live show, you just never know what you're going to get, especially with a vocal performance. This night was an absolute standout and I'll be eagerly anticipating the next tour, unless of course Dave can wrangle this lineup in the studio to put out something new. The anticipate for this creative unit is sure to be high and whatever comes next will be a day one purchase for me, just like every album they've released since 1994's 'Youthanasia."

The 'Destroy All Enemies Tour' is in it's final days, so I hope you got a chance to catch a date! If not, you missed a monster of a tour, but I'm sure Dave would tell us all..."We'll Be Back!"