Photo by: Rafael Strabelli
On the night of October 31st, Megadeth kicked off their Dystopia World Tour in Brazil with a show in São Paulo at Espaço das Américas.
The venue, which has a capacity of 8,000 people, was nearly full, at least when Dave Mustaine, Kiko Loureiro, David Ellefson, and Dirk Verbeuren took to the stage.
At 9:30 PM, the guest band Vimic took the stage to accompany Megadeth on a night that was highly anticipated by Metal fans.
Led by Slipknot co-founder and former drummer Joey Jordison, the group showed strength and dedication in trying to energize the crowd.
Kalen Chase's vocals, Kyle Konkiel's bass, Jed Simon and Steve Marshall's guitars, and Matt Tarach's keyboards work in perfect harmony with Joey Jordison's drumming, the star of the show.
Between songs, Jordison gets up from his seat to observe the audience and keep them energized, always being greeted with cheers of excitement.
After an hour-long show, the fans are completely won over only when Chase tries his hand at Portuguese, thanking everyone and introducing the last song of the set.
Joining Jordison as he delivers a fantastic drum solo, the band bids farewell to the audience, leaving only the drummer on stage. Amidst thanks and excited shouts, the crowd prepares for Megadeth.
When the clock strikes 10:10 PM, the screen lights up with images from the 1990 album Rust In Peace , and Megadeth begins their show with the track "Hangar 18".
Vocalist Dave Mustaine is the one who holds the band together, the musician who makes everything happen, but as soon as Kiko Loureiro steps into the spotlight and plays his first solo, the audience gets emotional, after all, the Brazilian is part of one of the biggest Thrash Metal bands in the world.
Kiko, despite his great solos, remained shy and didn't speak to the audience at any point. But this didn't seem to bother the fans, who jumped around every second of the performance.
“In My Darkest Hour” and “Tornado Of Souls” were the guitarist's greatest moments. Leaving Mustaine aside, Kiko made everyone proud and happy to be there.
The frontman was the one who gave all the thanks on behalf of the band. "You guys look just as good as last time ," he said. This time, he didn't hold back on the hits and left aside his latest album, Dystopia , playing only two tracks from the album released in 2016.
The title track from their latest album united veteran and new fans in a wave of excitement. Mustaine took the opportunity to thank everyone for the Grammy, an award the band recently received for the song. "You made this happen. Thank you!"
After a solo by Kiko and Mustaine together, the fans thought they couldn't be surprised anymore by the incredible performance of the show, and then the band played the first notes of "Mechanix," a track that generated a lot of attention for having been originally written when the vocalist was part of Metallica.
As the end drew near, cell phones were replaced by air guitars and lots of shouting. "Peace Sells" was sung until the very last breath, leaving everyone wishing it wasn't the end.
While the band was away on stage for the encore, the audience gave the Brazilian Kiko a non-stop standing ovation. Mustaine was the first to return and, although he seemed jealous, he asked for more cheers for Kiko and waited for the crowd to quiet down.
The opening seconds of “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” signaled the end of the show, which, despite its brevity, left all its fans satisfied. In bidding farewell to the audience, Mustaine promised to return soon. “We’ll make a new album and we’ll definitely be back here. We want to see you again!”
Check out our interviews with David Ellefson and Joey Jordison .
Megadeth's setlist in São Paulo:
1. “Hangar 18“
2. “The Threat Is Real“
3. “Wake Up Dead“
4. “In My Darkest Hour“
5. “Trust“
6. “Take No Prisoners“
7. “Sweating Bullets“
8. “She-Wolf”
9. “Skin O' My Teeth“
10. “A Tout Le Monde“
11. “Tornado of Souls“
12. “Dystopia“
13. “Symphony of Destruction“
14. “Mechanix“
15. “Peace Sells“
BIS
16. “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due“