Written by:	Warman
Published:	August 31, 2008
Event:	Megadeth: European Tour (Website)
Location:	Arenan, Stockholm, Sweden
Organizer:	http://www.ema.se

Finally! Megadeth's back in Stockholm! Last time they were here, in 2005, I hadn't really got into them yet. So, this was my first time seeing Mustaine and his men on stage.

My first thought when I came to the event was that there weren't as many people as I expected there would be. Moreover, most fans were in their late 20s and even 30s. It didn't matter to me though, less stupid mainstream fans of my age, right?

British Evile was the first band to warm up the audience. I don't think I've ever laughed so much during a concert and not because it was bad. No, they were great, actually, but they sounded exactly like Slayer! In fact, all their songs seemed like medleys of Slayer songs and the vocalist sounded like Araya sounds today. I could hear "Raining Blood," "Dead Skin Mask," "War Ensemble," "Silent Scream," "Die by the Sword," "Tormentor." At some point during every, and I mean every, song I could sing along with the words "Angel of death / Monarch to the kingdom of the dead." It was hilarious! The vocalist was also pretty funny and made jokes on stage. I might even buy an Evile album someday... or maybe just complete my Slayer discography. It doesn't really matter which.

So what was to be expected next from Swedish Gothenburg band Avatar. Since I'm from Stockholm and a supporter of the soccer team AIK I'm bound to "love to hate" the city of Gothenburg, or Götet as we call it here. The vocalist's Swedish accent made me shiver. However, one of my favourite genres comes from this town, so I was expecting some awesome Gothenburg music. The vocalist knew how to growl, there's no doubting that! His screams were seriously awesome and he had great stage presence. However, the music was flat and boring to keep the description short. They played at most three cool songs, the rest was without any emotions and you could tell by the whole audience that they would have much rather wanted Evile to play a longer set. I guess Avatar appeal to people who thought "Come Clarity" was the heaviest shit out there.

By the end of Avatar the atmosphere was great. We were all waiting for Megadeth to appear and after a short while the lights went out and the intro of the fantastic new song "Sleepwalker" started! Mustaine came out and the audience went wild. But wait! What's up with the sound? You could barely hear the guitars and vocals because some genius had turned the volume of the drums and bass way up. It went on like this for a couple of songs but got much better after a while.

As I mentioned, I consider "Sleepwalker" to be fantastic being just one of the few good songs from the new album. Although, this review isn't about "United Abominations," I want to make clear to everyone that I don't like Megadeth's latest album. Now, let's continue with the show...

During the outro of "Sleepwalker" the classic drum intro of "Take No Prisoners" began. A surprise, I must say, and everyone else seemed to agree judging by their moshing. It was good but the sound spoilt the feeling. Too bad, the same goes for "Wake Up Dead." Do I even have to tell you how crazy we all got afterwards when we heard the intro of "Skin o' My Teeth?" Didn't think so. The sound was much better this time, too.

Mustaine didn't talk much during the show, he called those who do the "fucking wankers," but he just had to tell us that "Washington Is Next!" was the number 1 song on some chart list in Japan. All I cared about was to hear the best song from "United Abominations." It was very thrashy live and we all seemed to really enjoy it.

"Kick the Chair?" Who cares? A song later the first chain of Megadeth hits began. I've never heard so many classics in one night, except for Iron Maiden's "Early Days" concert three years ago, but that one doesn't count. "In My Darkest Hour," "Hangar 18," "A Tout Le Monde" with a stunning chant from the fans... And then it came, my favourite Megadeth song: "Tornado of Souls!" The audience became a pandemonium of jumping hands doing the sign of the horns. It was amazing! During the solos Megadeth was probably the best band in the whole world that night.

Afterwards it was time for "Ashes In Your Mouth." The chorus of the song is catchy but it's certainly not a live song and it got pretty boring. It didn't get better when they played the silly "Never Walk Alone" after that. By this time I was thinking we'd already experienced the highlight of the evening. But I was wrong as the second chain of classics began! "Symphony of Destruction," "Trust," and "Peace Sells." I almost got catatonic out of joy.

When it was time for the usual encore we all held our breath! What would be the last classic? Everyone was very silent and here it came... "Holy Waaa..." what? "Burnt Ice?" Did Mustaine just break the chain of classics by playing one of the band's worst songs, in my opinion? You could tell how disappointed were the fans as there were almost no cheers at the end of the song. However, it came: "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due." One of the best thrash songs out there, probably the best song of the evening. The noise from the audience at the end was chilling and you could barely hear "Silent Scorn."

To sum it up I'd say it was one the funniest concerts I've ever attended, much thanks to the classic set list. I was more than pleased and can't wait to see Megadeth live again.

Set list:
01. Sleepwalker
02. Take No Prisoners
03. Wake Up Dead
04. Skin O' My Teeth
05. Washington Is Next!
06. Kick The Chair
07. In My Darkest Hour
08. Hangar 18
09. Gears Of War
10. A Tout Le Monde
11. Tornado Of Souls
12. Ashes In Your Mouth
13. Never Walk Alone
14. Symphony Of Destruction
15. Trust
16. Peace Sells
Encore:
17. Burnt Ice
18. Holy Wars
19. Silent Scorn