Upcoming concert: The best show in Kansas City in at least 13 years

This deserves its own post. One of the biggest bands in music history will make their triumphant return to the Kansas City area since 2000. And what's awesome is that MEGADETH will be opening. They'll decimate Kansas City on September 7th at the Sprint Center. I don't need to tell you who the are - you should already know. Tickets go on sale in May at www.axs.com

A couple new HUGE shows!

Show 1:

Megadeth will be performing all of Countdown To Extinction on November 28th at the Midland in KC! Kyng + TBA will open! Cool!

Show 2:

Dethklok w/ Machine Head, All That Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder will be at the Midland on November 17th! First time Machine Head has been around these parts since the first Mayhem Fest, I think. Awesome!

American Carnage -- Bonner Springs, KS -- August 23rd, 2010

Every band on the bill last night had played Kansas City within the last year, but by the bands performances and the crowd reaction, you'd think it was the first time in twenty years.

Testament opened the show while it was still light out, but they whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Chuck Billy is the only guy, metal or otherwise, that can get away with looking so cool playing a mic stand like a guitar. Alex Skolnick also played for the crowd and showed off just what an incredible guitar player he is. I wasn't sure he was playing with Testament on this tour, but I was so glad to see him up there on that stage shredding. It was great to hear songs like "Dog Faced Gods" and "Practice What You Preach", but "D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)" still reigns as one of the best Testament songs ever recorded! They need to come back and headline very soon. 9/10

Setlist:

For The Glory Of...
More Than Meets The Eye
Dog Faced Gods
The New Order
Trial By Fire
Practice What You Preach
D.N.R (Do Not Resuscitate)
3 Days In Darkness
The Formation of Damnation

After a near-perfect concert at the Beaumont club last December, everyone was salivating for more Megadeth. The only let-down of the show were Dave Mustaine's vocals on some of the songs. Don't be afraid to let the beast out, Dave! Other than that, the music was spot-on and it was so much fun singing along with all of Rust In Peace. Chris Broderick was probably the most talented guitar player on that stage last night, and it showed during one of my favorite guitar solo's of all time for the song "Tornado Of Souls." He hit each note perfectly. Highlight of the set was Five Magics. It sounds fantastic live. They also brought out Vic Rattlehead to rouse the crowd during Dawn Patrol. Best Halloween costume ever! 9.5/10

Set:

Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
Hangar 18
Take No Prisoners
Five Magics
Poison Was The Cure
Lucretia
Tornado of Souls
Dawn Patrol
Rust In Peace...Polaris
---------------------------------
Trust
Head Crusher
A Tout Le Monde
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Holy Wars (reprise)

During Slayer's set at Mayhem Fest last year, the soundboard got fried which resulted in horrendous sound for the band and ultimately gave us a ruined set. Karma was in full swing tonight, because Slayer sounded spot-on through their whole performance. I was on the left side of the stage, but I could still hear all of Kerry's guitars, as well as Jeff's. Tom came over and played to our side as well, a few times. The pits were huge and vicious the entire time Slayer was on stage. Every song, even the World Painted Blood openers, sounded loud and clear on stage. The best songs were the cuts off of Seasons In The Abyss that I thought I'd never hear live, such as "Hallowed Point", "Skeletons Of Society" and even "Temptation." Throwing in "Aggressive Perfector" at the end of "Raining Blood" was the best surprise I've ever gotten. My neck was sore, blood was on the ground, people are still screaming as they walk to their cars. Yep, Slayer played. 10/10

World Painted Blood
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Blood Red
Spirit In Black
Expendable Youth
Dead Skin Mask
Hallowed Point
Skeletons of Society
Tempation
Born of Fire
Seasons In The Abyss
-----------------------
South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Aggressive Perfector
Angel of Death

A great deal got even sweeter.

Slayer and Megadeth are playing at Sandstone in August with Testament.

Just announced today: Slayer will be performing all of "Seasons in the Abyss" and Megadeth will be performing all of "Rust In Peace".

Woah.

David Ellefson rejoins Megadeth

Megadeth founder and frontman Dave Mustaine has announced the return of original bassist David Ellefson (1983-2002) to the iconic multi-platinum group. This reunion is appropriately timed to Megadeth’s upcoming historic month-long Rust In Peace 20th anniversary tour which launches March 1 in Spokane, WA. At these incredibly special shows, Megadeth will play their landmark, genre-defining 1990 album Rust In Peace in its entirety, in addition to other Megadeth favorites.

"This shows the power of brotherly love and forgiveness,” Mustaine says. “David Ellefson belongs in Megadeth. Next we are going to show you the power of getting your asses kicked...HARD!"

David Ellefson concurs: "This is a huge moment for all of us, band and fans alike. It is a great celebration of the music from one of the biggest landmark albums of our career."

Ellefson will join Mustaine and Megadeth band members Shawn Drover (drums) and Chris Broderick (guitar) on tour in support of the group’s current CD Endgame, which has received some of the highest critical accolades of the band’s career.

"We'd like to thank James LoMenzo for several years of loyal service on the bass, and wish him the very best," Mustaine adds.

American Carnage rescheduled!

American Carnage has been rescheduled, and will be hitting Sandstone on August 23rd. The line-up is Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament. Locals might open the show?

Awesome.

Congrats to Judas Priest!

They finally won a Grammy! Even though it's a live version of a song that is 33 years old, but hey. A win is a win.

Condolences to Megadeth. Poor Dave Mustaine can never win a Grammy, even though he totally should. Same with Slayer, although they have like 4 Grammy's already.

Skipping Kansas: The best tour of all time

Megadeth (Performing Rust In Peace)
Testament (Performing The Legacy)
Exodus

March 01 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
March 02 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
March 03 - Medford, OR - Medford Armory
March 06 - Calgary, AB - Big Four (TESTAMENT w/ special guests)
March 07 - Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Centre (TESTAMENT w/ special guests)
March 08 - Saskatoon, SK - Prairieland Exhibition Hall
March 11 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater
March 12 - Pittsburgh, PA - Palace Theater
March 13 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
March 15 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
March 16 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
March 18 - Scranton, PA - Scranton Cultural Center
March 19 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
March 21 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
March 22 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
March 23 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall
March 25 - Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater
March 26 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s Amphitheater
March 27 - Lubbock, TX - The Pavilion
March 28 - El Paso, TX - Club 101
March 30 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
March 31 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Palladium (TESTAMENT w/ special guests)

No words. This is the best tour ever.

American Carnage: Postponed

Slayer's bass player, Tom Araya, has to have back surgery, so the upcoming amazing tour of Slayer, Megadeth and Testament is now being re-scheduled for this summer. However, Megadeth is currently planning a US tour in March/April. No word yet about Testament.

The Big Four Tour - a reality, kinda.

Pretty entertaining stuff going on at the Sonisphere festivals over in Europe:

METALLICA's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"You've been posting and chatting about it for months and we're here now to confirm it . . . METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, and ANTHRAX will all share the same stage for the first time EVER! Look for the four of us at the Sonisphere shows in Warsaw, Poland and Prague, Czech Republic on June 16 and 19, 2010, with a few more of the festival dates still in the works. You can be sure these shows won't be the only ones."

Commented METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich: "Who would have thought that more than 25 years after its inception, thrash metal's 'Big Four' would not only still be around and more popular than ever, but will now play together for the first time...what a mindfuck! Bring it on!"

The announcement on METALLICA's official web site seems to directly contradict MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's December 8, 2009 online posting in which he said, "Although there have been many rumors about a reunion of the 'Big Four' set to happen in Eastern Europe next summer, the plan never came together for us. We are hopeful that this will happen for real one day and will keep you posted as things develop."

Megadeth -- Kansas City, MO -- December 5th, 2009

This was not a concert. This was a religious experience.

First band was Arcanium. They were marginally better than "Seasons After" who opened the Cannibal Corpse show a couple weeks ago. Again, they sounded like they'd be right at home on a rock station or nowadays Headbanger's Ball. Not so much clean singing, but still pretty lame. Props for them at least for winning over most of the crowd. 4/10

Tonight was the first date of the Endgame tour that had Warbringer instead of Machine Head. I thought for sure that the crowd would be full of scene kids hating on thrash, but Warbringer completely leveled the place. This is my third time seeing them and easily the best. They were top-notch. All the solos sounded just like they do on the album, and they got the crowd to pit and scream along all throughout their set. As always, Total War is always amazing to hear live, but Combat Shock is fantastic as well. Best straight-up modern thrash band today. 9/10

A small part of me (a very small part of me) thought that since Suicide Silence was so incredibly popular, that maybe they'd have enough crossover appeal to metal fans like me that I'd find something to like in their set. I mean, I like 2 songs (kinda) by Job For A Cowboy! But, alas, they were pathetic. Their stupid ways of getting the kids in the crowd to rebel against God in "Unanswered" was just about the dumbest part of the night until the final song, "No Pity For A Coward". I couldn't believe how amazingly retarded the lyrics are to this masterpiece. Everyone chanted along "Seconds from the end/What's it gonna be?/Pull the trigger bitch" and I couldn't help but laugh at how terrible it was. I assumed maybe some of the band would have some talent, but what little they gave us was soon followed by ten minutes of breakdowns. Killswitch Engage still may be the worst band I've ever seen, but Suicide Silence is a very close second. On a positive note: The song "Smoke" by them has maybe 20 overall seconds of what I consider "good" but that's about it. 2/10

But nothing was gonna bring me down for Megadeth. The place was absolutely packed for Megadeth and there was a push to the front as soon as the lights dimmed. As soon as Dialectic Chaos started, the crowd was whipped into a frenzy that didn't let up until the end of the set. I was eventually pushed from the front of the venue to around the middle because the chaos was too much. But about Megadeth: Dave Mustaine and Chris Broderick are solo machines. They nailed each note of each solo no matter how challenging or how long they were. Insane. And the crowd pretty much drowned out the vocals with their own singing on every song. Dave let the crowd sing the entire first part of "Sweating Bullets" and the end of "A Tout Le Monde" and, of course, "Peace Sells". If you step back and look at this Megadeth set, you might think that it's pretty weak. But I think that Megadeth falls into the same category of Iron Maiden. No matter what their setlist is, hearing any song in a live setting is amazing and unique. I will be telling my grandchildren to tell their grandchildren about how amazing it is to scream along every word of "Peace Sells" live in concert. I was covered in sweat, blood, beer, and everything else imaginable by the end of the concert, but I was euphoric. Nothing even compares.

Highlights: Sweating Bullets, Peace Sells, Wake Up Dead, Tornado Of Souls (THAT SOLO!)

10001230129/10

Warbringer:

Jackyl
Living In A Whirlwind
Severed Reality
Total War
Prey For Death
Beneath The Waves
Combat Shock

Megadeth:

Dialectic Chaos
This Day We Fight!
Wake Up Dead
Skin O' My Teeth
Headcrusher
A Tout Le Monde
She-Wolf
Tornado Of Souls
1,320'
In My Darkest Hour
Sweating Bullets
Hangar 18
44 Minutes
Trust
Symphony Of Destruction
Peace Sells
---
Holy Wars

Skipping Kansas: American Carnage

Jealous of the sweet Canadian Carnage tour featuring Slayer and Megadeth? Well don't...

They're coming here! With a better line-up! (well, not HERE here, but the States at least)

Slayer
Megadeth
Testament
(rumored)High On Fire

JANUARY
18 WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA*
19 Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (tickets sold via www.rosequarter.com)
21 Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA*
22 Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA * (tickets on sale 11/21)
23 Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ**
25 Magness Arena, Denver, CO*
26 Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, NM*
27 El Paso Coliseum, El Paso, TX*
29 Verizon Wireless, Houston, TX**
31 Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, TN*

FEBRUARY
1 Gwinnett Arena, Duluth, GA*
2 Broadbent Arena, Louisville, KY* (tickets on sale 12/4)
4 Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN* (tickets on sale 12/4)
5 UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL* (tickets on sale 12/4)
6 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI*
9 Chevrolet Theatre, Wallingford, CT**
11 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ*
13 Susquehanna Center, Camden, NJ*
14 Tsongas Arena, Lowell, MA*
16 Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC (tickets sold via Billetech.com)
18 John Labatt Centre, London, ON (tickets on sale 11/27 via JohnLabattCentre.com)
19 Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON (tickets sold via Ticketmaster.ca)
20 Bell Centre, Montreal, QC (tickets sold via Admission.com)
22 Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB (tickets sold via MonctonColiseum.com)
23 Metro Centre, Halifax, NS (tickets sold via TicketAtlantic.com

*Tickets sold through Ticketmaster
**Tickets sold through Live Nation

TONS of new shows!

Let's get right into it, then!

Dethklok + Mastodon w/ High On Fire, Converge
Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO
October 12, 2009

Bane
Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, KS
October 14, 2009

Moonspell w/ Samael, Book of Black Earth, Secrets of the Moon
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
October 24, 2009

Hatebreed Feat. Cannibal Corpse w/ Unearth, Born of Osiris, Hate Eternal
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
November 22, 2009

Baroness
Riot Room - Kansas City, MO
November 28, 2009

Trivium w/ Chimaira, Whitechapel, Dirge Within
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
December 3, 2009

Megadeth w/ Suicide Silence, Warbringer, Arcanium
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
December 5, 2009

Marduk w/ Nachtmystium, Mantic Ritual, Horde of Hel
Riot Room - Kansas City, MO
December 11, 2009

Nilw w/ Immolation, Krisiun, Abigail Williams, Dreaming Dead
Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
January 24, 2010

Clash of the Titans 2009-10?

Unconfirmed, but Slayer and Megadeth might be at the Sprint Center a few days after Christmas with Behemoth opening.

oh god

"BraveWords.com inside sources have confirmed that SLAYER and MEGADETH will be joining forces for a tour, this fall.

The trek is expected to be officially announced in May. Stay tuned for further updates."

YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH