Megadeth
Testament
@ The Cow Palace
August 31, 2010
Better than: Those lazy chillwave kids
Most long-running thrash metal acts either pepper their set with goofy, ghoulish shtick or stick to the hard-pounding basics.
Megadeth and
Slayer, both members of the elite "Big Four" of thrash metal (along with
Metallica and
Anthrax), represent opposites sides of the shtick spectrum: Megadeth is slightly more about look than substance, while Slayer lacks in visuals but carries a fearsome punch.
The American Carnage Tour's stop at Cow Palace began Monday evening with Berkeley's native sons, Testament, speeding through hits from the band's three-decade catalog, while crowds and daylight still streamed in through open doorways.
Ticket holders outside moved slowly as each black shirt-adorned patron was patted down and thoroughly searched for marijuana remnants and knives. Entertainment for those waiting in line came in the unexpected form of some neon-clad Christian protesters chanting for Jesus, while the swelling crowd hooted and hollered "No, Slayer!" back at them.
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Richard Haick
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A crowd enthusiastic for American Carnage
The venue smelled of hot dogs, smoke, and gentleman B.O. As most folks still milled about, lightly headbanging or looking for seats, Testament's lead singer, Chuck Billy, an imposing fella with a huge head of hair, commanded the pit to split down the middle, then "kill those fuckers on the other side" (meaning, tear towards each other from either side of the Cow Palace), which they did. It got vicious -- and entertaining. Those in the pit spun inwards at breakneck speed.
Next up, Megadeth entered the stage in all its showy throwback metalness. Both Megadeth and Slayer were set to do that somewhat annoying trend of playing only songs off one album (20th anniversary albums), though both ended up straying from that.
Megadeth's wise choice was 1990's Rust in Peace. With much fanfare, costume and guitar changes, and giant graphic backdrops, the band played hit after hit, sounding tighter than ever. The only drawback -- and it was a relatively big one -- was the often weak, muted, and unintelligible sound of Dave Mustaine's vocals.
Surrounded by thick layers of clouds thanks to an overzealous fog machine, Mustaine ended the set by screeching "God Bless You" in that faux-metal talking voice singers often employ, then blowing kisses, grabbing his bandmates for a group bow, and throwing his arms up in the air toward the appreciative crowd.
Once Slayer's set began, there was little-to-no stopping. The darker thrashers sped through complex songs off their 1990 album
Seasons in the Abyss. A revelation: Tom Araya's powerful vocal chords have definitely remained intact through decades of wear and tear. His terrifying scream tore through Kerry King's furious guitar riffs. On songs such as "Blood Red" and "Expendable Youth," King played with such passionate intensity that he seemed to be violently pleasuring his guitar.
Slayer pleased an already ecstatic crowd by finishing up its set with two of its legendary songs (neither one from
Seasons in the Abyss) - "
Raining Blood" and "
Angel of Death," which opens with Araya's famous opening scream.
One of the only times the band addressed the crowd was early in the set, when Araya hinted at the importance of the tour to die-hard metal fans - "we go back a long time, don't we?"
Personal bias: I'm traditionally more of a Reign in Blood fan, so I was mighty pleased with the inclusion of additional songs.
Number of stalls in the ladies room with toilet paper: Zero.
By the way: Mustaine hinted at a U.S. tour of the Big Four (the bands all played together for the first time on a European tour this year).
