The Metal Tour of the Year Calls Nashville Home for a Wild Night!
After the extremely long period in 2020 and most of 2021 where the world saw touring music grind to a halt thanks to the COVID pandemic, it seems the pendulum has swung in the other direction; bands are touring more than ever now it feels like. So, with that in mind, it goes without saying that the world is awash with tours right now and this is an awesome thing as a live music fan. For someone to dub their tour “tour of the year” in any genre is ballsy but that is just what was done for the second year running on a tour that features Megadeth, Lamb of God, Trivium and In Flames. The four bands are touring around the country and filling up arenas of all venues and it is an awesome sight for a metalhead like me to behold.
First to greet the fans at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on this particular evening were the Swedish metal staples, In Flames. For whatever reason, I think that it is easy for the American crowd to somehow overlook In Flames who have been nominated for four Grammis awards (equivalent to the Grammy’s here in the US) in their homeland. Despite this, the band still remains humble, vocalist Anders Fridén took the time to thank the other bands for inviting them along for the tour and expressed their sincere gratitude. And with that they launched off into an incredible set. The band exuded metal swagger and the crowd was loving it. The same crowd got even more enthusiastic as Fridén stopped after the first song; stating, “hold on, this doesn’t feel right” before disappearing backstage. Shortly after, he reemerged donning a Nashville Predators jersey, the back sporting the number 22 and the name “IN FLAMES.” The Predators of course are currently making a run in the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs.
Next to take the stage was Florida’s own metal icon, Trivium. The origin story of Trivium is fascinating and, if you aren’t privy to it, please allow me a moment to elaborate. Matt Heafy, vocalist and guitarist for the band was discovered at an 8th-grade talent show by original vocalist Brad Lewter and was then asked to join the band in 1999. Two years later when Heafy was now in the 10th grade, Lewter left the band, and the following year recorded their first album Ember to Inferno. Since then, the band has launched off into a wildly successful career and they all have also carved out a home on the (typically) video game streaming site, Twitch where Heafy has notably said he earns more income than from touring with Trivium. As a part of this, every Trivium live show is streamed to Twitch which is awesome for the fans who couldn’t make it out. Those fans got a treat with the Nashville show as the band toured through most of their new album, In the Court of the Dragon. The band closed out with the classic “In Waves”, beginning by asking the audience to get down to the ground. This spurred many in the pit to begin rowing like a horde of Vikings making their way upstream in their longboats before everyone erupted when Heafy roared into the first lyrics of the song.
Next to take the stage was Richmond, Virginia’s Lamb of God. I have to try to stay impartial here, though I am likely going to fail as Lamb of God is my personal favorite band of all time. In my multiple times seeing Lamb of God live, I’ve come to expect certain things from their live performances, raw power, an incredibly charismatic frontman, and a lot of fire. On none of these points did I find myself disappointed. The band played an awesome mix of their tracks, leading off with the title track from their latest release, “Memento Mori” before flowing from classics like “Redneck” and “11th Hour”. Vocalist Randy Blythe even took time before “512” to state the song was, “about an overseas vacation that I took to a little gated community” referencing his time in a prison in the Czech Republic in 2012.
The final act of the night is a band that is nothing short of legendary. In a sea of metal acts, only four emerged with the title “the big four” and one of those bands was the headliner for the evening, Megadeth. Apart from making incredible music that has become part of the hallowed halls of metal’s most elite tunes, the band is also known for their outspoken frontman, Dave Mustaine. Mustaine didn’t lose his outspoken ways for Nashville as he stopped the show at one point before launching into “She Wolf” to chastise a security guard who he saw as being in the wrong. He told the security guard not to interfere with his show, that everyone was trying to have a good time and to cool it or he would ask for him to be removed. He then apologized to the crowd and said that he didn’t want a bunch of people who didn’t even know why we were there to ruin a show the fans paid their hard-earned money to see. Mustaine, now a Nashville transplant, also took the time on multiple occasions throughout the set to pour out his love for his new hometown. All of this aside, the band put on an amazing show, playing some of their greatest songs including “Angry Again”, “Tornado of Souls”, and “Peace Sells”.
There are just a few more dates left on this tour. If you find yourselves in one of these cities, we highly encourage you to take the time to make it out on this tour. There were tickets for the Nashville date as low as $25, a paltry sum to pay for such an awesome evening.
Sun May 15 – Allentown, PA – PPL Center
Tue May 17 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
Wed May 18 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Thu May 19 – Quebec City, QC – Centre Vidéotron
As always, please feel free to browse around ConcertHopper’s website further and to check out our articles covering a wide variety of topics. Please also check us out on social media on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Life is a beautiful thing and music only adds to that beauty, take some time to get out and celebrate beauty and life with a community of like-minded individuals at a concert soon, it’s always worth the price of admission.