Review: Megadeth, Lamb of God, and more – Live in Grand Rapids

Van Andel Arena – 19 Apr 2022

Megadeth headlines a massive mixed bag of heavy metal.

The Megadeth, Lamb of God, Trivium, and In Flames tour was officially called The Metal Tour of the Year. Probably rightly so. Featuring four of the heaviest hitters of recent decades, it seemed like it couldn’t miss. For whatever reason, in Grand Rapids the lineup was met with a shrug. Maybe it’s because old school thrash fans like myself are only interested in Megadeth. Maybe it’s because the kids consider Megadeth over the hill. Maybe it’s because the same bill played less than a year ago less than an hour and a half away. Who knows?

Who cares? Their loss was my gain when I was able to score some free tickets at the last minute. While I was going specifically to see Megadeth, I vowed to keep an open mind about the other bands. I generally dislike arena shows, but it had been a few years since I’d been to one. It seemed like a good time to reevaluate that position, too. We had decent seats on the main floor, just behind the general admission pit. There was a surprising amount of room to stretch out. 

In Flames took the stage promptly at 6 PM. They were my favorite of the opening acts. Although they’re classified as melodic Swedish death metal, the cookie monster vocals were minimal. They really just reminded me of a heavier version of something like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. I was a little surprised to learn that the quintet had been around since 1990 and had 13 LPs under their belt. It seems strange that In Flames would be willing to take an opening slot where they’re limited to 35 minutes. 

Ditto Trivium and their 40 minute set. I guess it’s better to play for a quarter full arena than to headline a small club. In Flames and Trivium were in guest services grabbing dinner while the other two bands still had a night of work ahead of them. Trivium is an Orlando based quartet that has been around since 1999, and have released 10 full lengths. They play a thrashy, proggy style of death-core that doesn’t really do much for me. 

Things got a little interesting with Lamb of God, and I rarely find that band very interesting. Singer Randy Blythe came down with Covid, so former Chimaira frontman Mark Hunter drove to Grand Rapids to fill in. Chimaira was a Cleveland based metal-core band that had about a 15 year run starting in the late ‘90s. Hunter did a fine job on extremely short notice. He also got some help from In Flames singer Anders Friden and Trivium singer Matt Heafy. Most, but not all of the audience was happy that the show went on. 

The production value got better for each band, but really ramped up for Lamb of God. In addition to a killer backdrop and light display, there were explosions, flames and smoke. I enjoyed the visuals more than the actual music. Their makeshift set was just under an hour. I acknowledge that Lamb of God are one of the most important metal bands of the last 20 years, and I respect what they do, but I just don’t enjoy them. 

Megadeth didn’t use the smoke or pyro, but they had additional screens between the amps to flash various images. They were divided between cartoons featuring their mascot, Vic Rattlehead, and various scenes of death and destruction. They opened with “Hangar 18”, and closed with “Holy Wars”, both from their landmark 1990 album Rust In Peace. Guitarist, vocalist and mainman Dave Mustaine led his hired guns through an 11 song set that was half greatest hits, and half straight up shred fest.

The former Metallica guitarist can still play like a madman, even if his voice has diminished significantly. I suspect their setlist is tailored to his smaller vocal range, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. On talky songs like “Dread and the Fugitive Mind”, “Sweating Bullets” and “Peace Sells” it was hardly noticeable. On hits like “Trust” and the smash “Symphony of Destruction”, the audience was probably singing too loud to notice. The most pleasant surprise for longtime fans was “The Conjuring” from Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? (1986), which the band hadn’t played live for years. 

During the instrumental “Conquer Or Die!”, the new world order police, or whatever the guy on the cover of the Dystopia (2016) album is called, stalked the stage shining lights into the suspicious looking crowd. The surprisingly catchy title track followed. Vic Rattlehead himself made an appearance during “Peace Sells”. Megadeth’s headlining set was a bit skimpy at about an hour, but many of us had been there for five hours at this point, and were ready to call it a night. Overall, I enjoyed seeing Megadeth for about the 10th time. 

Mustaine referred to his long history with Grand Rapids when he said, “I’m so fucking glad to be out of the Orbit Room”. (A long running but now defunct suburban club where Megadeth seemed to play every couple of years.) Although the Van Andel Arena was only half full, with maybe 5000 people, that was three times the capacity of the Orbit Room. I must admit that the arena experience was relatively painless, even if it was also fairly uninspiring. A couple of beers might have helped my attitude, but at $15 a pop, it was easy to pass. 

Confessions of a merch whore: Speaking of easy to pass. Standard T-shirts at this show were $40, and things only got crazier from there. No thanks.