LAMB OF GOD And KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Team Up For North American Co-Headlining Tour With TESTAMENT and HUNTRESS, St. Paul Gets Leveled On November 18

Thrash/metalcore titans Lamb Of God and Killswitch Engage have announced a co-headlining tour that takes them across the U.S. and Canada in October and November with special guest Testament and Huntress. The tour lands in St. Paul at Myth on Monday, November 18. Tickets for the St. Paul show go on sale today, Friday, July 19 at 10:00 am through etix.

October 22 – Toronto, ON, Kool Haus

October 23 – Quebec City, QC, Pavillon de la Jeunesse

October 24 – Montreal, QC, Metropolis

October 25 – New York, NY, Roseland Ballroom

October 26 – Wallingford, CT, Oakdale Theatre

October 28 – Columbus, OH, LC Pavilion

October 29 – Detroit, MI, The Fillmore

October 30 – Chicago, IL, Congress Theater

November 1 – Kansas City, MO, The Midland

November 2 – Grand Prairie, TX, Verizon Theatre

November 3 – Socorro, TX, Socorro Entertainment Center

November 5 – Denver, CO, The Fillmore Auditorium

November 7 – Tempe, AZ, Marquee Theater

November 8 – Los Angeles, CA, Palladium (no Testament)

November 9 – Oakland, CA, Fox Theater

November 11 – Kent, WA, ShoWare Center

November 12 – Vancouver, BC, Queen Elizabeth Theatre

November 14 – Edmonton, AB, Shaw Conference Centre

November 15 – Calgary, AB, Big Four

November 16 – Saskatoon, SK, Saskatoon Prairieland Park

November 18 – St. Paul, MN, Myth

November 19 – Milwaukee, WI, Eagles Ballroom

November 20 – Grand Rapids, MI, Orbit Room

November 22 – Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom

November 23 – Boston, MA, House of Blues

November 24 – Philadelphia, PA, Electric Factory

November 25 – Pittsburgh, PA, Stage AE

November 26 – Silver Spring, PA, The Fillmore

OVERKILL Drops Off Testament Tour, Minneapolis Date

As reported by Blabbermouth yesterday, thrash band Overkill has been forced to cancel the remaining dates off the current American tour with Testament, including Saturday's date (February 23) at First Avenue in Minneapolis. Overkill vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth is ill with pneumonia, and is unable to finish the tour. Flotsam & Jetsam and 4arm are still on as support for Saturday's show.

Megadeth, Slayer, And Testament Concert Review

Slayer, Megadeth, Testament

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, MN

I noted my initial reaction to the much-hyped Slayer/Megadeth pairing earlier, and I’ll expand up those thoughts here. This show was originally scheduled for February but was postponed due to Slayer frontman Tom Araya having to undergo back surgery. It wouldn’t have surprised me if this tour was scrapped altogether, but thankfully everything went on as planned. Testament took the stage a few minutes early to the sold-out house (nearly 5,000 strong) that greeted them with huge applause as they launched into “More Than Meets The Eye”. Drummer Paul Bostaph was phenomenal behind the kit, and the entire band seemed to be having fun. “Dog-Faced Gods” from Low was the biggest surprise, along with the fact that “Trial By Fire” and “The New Order” were the only early songs played. Their eight-song set also included “The Persecuted Won’t Forget” and “The Formation Of Damnation” from the incredible The Formation Of Damnation album. At just over 40 minutes, this show wasn’t much shorter than Testament’s disappointing headline set at Epic a couple years ago. This was an impressive night for Testament and hopefully it opened the eyes of the younger fans.

*A note about the videos below: Yes, the video quality is worthless since I was perched in the upper reaches of the auditorium. The sound quality of the recording is decent, and these are intended to give you an idea of how each of the bands sounded this night.

 

Click to hear Testament play “The New Order”.

 

Click to hear Testament play “Trial By Fire”.

As Megadeth immediately tore into the entire Rust In Peace album from the start, it was immediately apparent that Testament’s poor sound wasn’t a case of the opening act getting shafted. This was the worst sound quality I’ve ever heard at Roy Wilkins, and it was inexcusable that Dave Mustaine’s microphone seemed to not be on as he started to sing “Holy Wars”. Listen to “Holy Wars” below to hear for yourself how Megadeth’s riffs were lost in the muddy sound. The intricacy of Megadeth’s songs unfortunately made their set the worst-sounding of the three bands, which was disappointing and unfortunate since this is the best lineup since Marty Friedman left and the band was obviously playing their hearts out. “Polaris” was the biggest high point of Rust In Peace, and it closed that part of the set in convincing fashion. The rest of the 70 minute set was rounded out with some of the band’s biggest hits including “Trust”, “A Tout Le Monde”, “Symphony Of Destruction”, and “Headcrusher” from 2009’s Endgame. As “Peace Sells” ended the set, Mustaine launched the band into a reprise of “Holy Wars” that brought the house down. It’s sad to say, though, that the horrible sound turned this into the least enjoyable Megadeth show I’ve seen.

 

Click to hear Megadeth play “Holy Wars”.

 

Click to hear Megadeth play “Trust”.

 

Click to hear Megadeth play “Peace Sells/Holy Wars (Reprise).

If Megadeth was greeted as conquering heroes, then Slayer was lauded like gods as they began their show with two songs from World Painted Blood, “World Painted Blood” and “Hate Worldwide”. The ground-breaking Seasons In The Abyss album was then offered up in its entirety with little break between the songs. It wasn’t a surprise, then, that the remaining time in the set was filled with “South Of Heaven”, “Raining Blood”, and “Angel Of Death”. I hadn’t seen Dave Lombardo play with Slayer since 1991, and I was pleasantly struck by his almost relaxed yet intense jazz-style approach to his drumming. Slayer benefited from their songs not collapsing under the bad sound like Megadeth’s did, so this alone made Slayer’s show the best of the night.

 

Click to hear Slayer play “World Painted Blood”.

 

Click to hear Slayer play “Hate Worldwide”.

 

Click to hear Slayer play “South Of Heaven”.

The show that should have been any metal’s fan highlight of the summer was unfortunately reduced to mild enjoyment due to the bad sound. Maybe there was a sweet spot in the center of the floor, but let’s face it – you can’t listen and absorb the nuances of a live performance in the middle of a mosh pit. Megadeth sounded phenomenal at the now-closed Myth a couple years back, and this show has me longing once again for that venue’s professional-quality acoustics.

Initial Slayer, Megadeth, And Testament Thoughts

I just got back from tonight's Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament concert at Roy Wilkins in St. Paul and thought I'd offer some of my initial reaction from the show. Testament started a few minutes early but was on fire. They ran through 40 minutes of material, and the most surprising selection was "Dog-Faced Gods". It was really cool that the other bands showed some respect for Testament. Forty minutes for the first band on a three band bill was quite generous, and they were given half of the massive stage and allowed to use a huge drum riser with stairs. Megadeth opened with "Holy Wars" and launched right into playing Rust In Peace in its entirety, followed by a greatest hits selection. For all of the breathless news on other sites about Vic Rattlehead now appearing in Megadeth's set you would think this is a ten foot high mechanical robot. It's really just one of their roadies walking out on stage with a costume mask. Slayer played a couple new songs prior to all of Seasons In The Abyss. The obligatory standards followed. It was a good night, although the sound for all three bands was terrible at best. I've got some footage of all the bands so you can hear it for yourself, and Dave Mustaine's microphone couldn't even be heard when he started singing "Holy Wars". Isn't that what soundcheck is for? This wasn't the best show from any of these bands that I've seen, but keep in mind I've seen each of them around ten times apiece. I'll have a full review posted in the next day or two.

Slayer, Megadeth, Testament Ticket Sale?

Jam Productions sent out an email with the graphic below, stating that a special package deal for tickets to Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament on Saturday, August 21 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul will occur from today, June 4 through Sunday, June 6. The picture links to the Ticketmaster page for the show, but there's no mention of this sale. Two tickets can be had for $66.60 during the sale, but it's not stated if this is good for floor seats ($57 each) or reserved balcony seats ($37 each). I've also linked the picture to the Ticketmaster page so you check it out to see when this deal appears.

Throwback Night On American Carnage Tour

Slayer and Megadeth issued a joint press release today announcing that each band will be performing the Seasons In The Abyss and Rust In Peace albums, respectively, in their entirely on their joint American Carnage co-headlining tour. Support band for the trek, Testament, previously stated their intention to play their debut album The Legacy in full on this tour as well.

I generally think this is a poor idea for all three bands, and I'm quite disappointed at this news. If anything, it makes the most sense for Testament since their most recent album, The Formation Of Damnation is nearly two years old. Both Slayer and Megadeth have new albums out and have not played in The Cities to support them yet. Why should these bands dedicate most of their sets to old albums? I've seen Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament probably close to ten times each and would much rather have them play new music that I haven't seen them perform yet. You'd think that having Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament on the same bill wouldn't require any gimmicks like this to bring fans through the door. I'm actually less excited for this show than I was before.

Slayer and Megadeth will be performing as co-headliners on Tuesday, August 10 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. Support will come from Testament.

Slayer/Megadeth Tour Rescheduled

The Slayer/Megadeth/Testament tour has now been rescheduled, and fortunately St. Paul is on list of new dates. The concert will now take place on Saturday, August 21, still at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. All tickets sold for the initial date will be honored.

Slayer/Megadeth Tour Postponed

It was recently announced that the upcoming Slayer and Megadeth co-headling tour has been postponed. The full press statement released by the band can be read here. Slayer bassist and vocalist Tom Araya has been treated for a back injury recently, but his condition now necessitates surgery. Tour plans for Slayer have been canceled through April. Ticket holders for the February 4 concert at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul are being advised to hold on to their tickets. The Slayer/Megadeth tour will likely be rescheduled for this summer.

Testament To Play The Legacy Album On Upcoming Slayer/Megadeth Tour

In an interview with KNAC.COM posted on January 2 Testament vocalist Chuck Billy announced that the band will be playing their 1987 debut album, The Legacy, in its entirely during their upcoming support slot on the Slayer/Megadeth tour. Here is Chuck’s response (in part) to the question, “What are you doing to gear up for the tour?”:

“Last night we just made a crucial decision, so you’re going to be the first exclusive to hear. We decide(d) last night that instead of putting—because we only have a 40-minute set to pick—instead of playing a medley of songs, we decided we’re going to do the entire The Legacy record, start to finish, in its entirety for the show. Since we’ve already toured a year and a half with Priest, we did our own headline, we did so much stuff out there, why don’t we go out there and do something different? We’ll give ‘em a whole different stage look…let’s give ‘em The Legacy album, start to finish. It’s a nostalgic kind of tour, so why not?”

The entire interview with KNAC.COM can be read here.

I’m still not sure exactly what to think of this announcement, but I’m certainly disappointed. It’s hard to call the Slayer/Megadeth tour a nostalgia tour since both co-headliners are promoting recent Billboard-charting albums. I understand that Testament is done promoting 2008’s The Formation Of Damnation and is working on a new record, but I’d rather see a set heavy on that amazing album. I love The Legacy, but I prefer to see bands play their newer material, especially when it’s band that I’ve seen many times throughout the years (I think it’s seven times that I’ve seen Testament since 1990). Why not play The Formation Of Damnation in its entirety? How about a couple newly written songs? That would be a real treat for this tour!

I’m still bummed out about the last Testament show I saw at Epic in Minneapolis in July 2008. This was probably the worst Testament show that I’ve ever seen. This was an “off-date” show to fill in a few days between a Canadian tour with Judas Priest and the Masters of Metal tour with Judas Priest, Heaven And Hell, and Motörhead. For some reason, Testament only played for 50 minutes at this headline show and only played two songs off of The Formation Of Damnation. A show this short was simply inexcusable and left me filling ripped off.

Hopefully Chuck was speaking prematurely about this, and Testament will reconsider this decision.

Testament will be supporting co-headliners Slayer and Megadeth at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul on Thursday, February 4.

Major Concert Announcements: Slayer, Megadeth, Testament, Behemoth, Septicflesh, Shining, Hypocrisy

There's been a lot of concert announcements in the last couple of days, so here's the latest news.

First, the big one - Slayer and Megadeth have announced the American Carnage co-headlining tour that will bring them to Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul on Thursday, February 4. Support will come from none other than Testament. A special ticket presale starts at 10:00 am on Wednesday, November 18 through Ticketmaster. The internet presale password is "carnage".

Second, Polish legends Behemoth will rip up Station 4 in St. Paul on Monday, January 25 with support from Greece's Septicflesh and Sweden's Shining. Septicflesh's latest album, Communion, was one of my top records of 2008 so be sure to check out this show!

Lastly, unfortunate news. Hypocrisy has pulled the plug on their entire North American tour supporting Ensiferum due to delays in one member obtaining a work visa. The band initially planned to join the tour (which is already underway) as soon as possible. Hypocrisy was scheduled to play at Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, November 28. More news about this show will be posted shortly.