Venue: Papp László Sportaréna, Budapest
The concert was opened by the performance of BAD WOLVES, an American heavy metal supergroup. The band consists of vocalist Tommy Vext (ex-Divine Heresy, ex-Snot, ex-Westfield Massacre), drummer John Boecklin (ex-DevilDriver), lead guitarist Doc Coyle (ex-God Forbid), rhythm guitarist Chris Cain (ex-Bury Your Dead, ex-For the Fallen Dreams) and bassist Kyle Konkiel (ex-In This Moment, ex-Scar the Martyr, Vimic). The band is best known for their cover of The Cranberries’ hit “Zombie”, which was also nominated for the iHeartRadio’s Rock Song of the Year.
They gave a very solid live performance and their hits “Killing Me Slowly” and “I’ll Be There” had a very good reception from the audience. The bands vocalist Tommy Vext even engaged the audience in and incredible way: he got nearly all standing in the floor to kneel and jump at the point he shouted: “Jump!” which was incredible, as well as the engagement of all during the first few seconds of their cover of “Zombie”- when majority took out their phones to provide lights and create a special atmosphere.
Finally, the long-awaited moment came: MEGADETH have stepped on stage!! Especially for me personally, I must admit it took more than 20 years of waiting to see the legend live, as this was the first time that I saw them live. They were the main reason many have decided to come tonight, as it was an opportunity to see one of the most influential bands live. The influence of Dave Mustaine to Metal is invaluable. Megadeth is considered to be one of the founders of, not only thrash, but also heavy metal because Mustaines riffs and guitar playing influenced everyone who came within Megadeth’s reach.
The engagement in the audience was very good and mostly I was thrilled to see younger metalheads forming several mosh pits and energetically chant to most famous chorus. “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” was received very good, as well as “Dystopia”- for which the band earned its first Grammy (for Best Metal Performance) at the 59th Grammy Awards after eleven unsuccessful nominations.
Of course, the most magnificent moment of the whole evening was the performance of the majestic “Symphony of Destruction”. I believe there’s a slim chance that there was anybody that never got into exploring Megadeth before, but seeing so many parents with their children at the concert: I hope tonight’s performance made many more future fans of the band.
But unfortunately, the overall impression of the band’s performance didn’t swipe me off my feet. Maybe I expected too much, but mostly I believe the reason is that Metal is highly addictive and those that really got into it: need new heavier and heavier doses. As I got into more extreme bands and the ones that are consider the most extreme there is: it left a consequence that seeing Megadeth can’t impress me that much, as their pace is slower than the dose I usually need. But that fact doesn’t change the fact that the bad is to be respected as one of the most important influencers in modern music we adore and live on it.
There’s definitely something indestructible about Megadeth as the band can already be considered to be the true legends, pioneers and one of the core founding groups of thrash metal. Even Dave Mustaine himself can serve as a genuine role model and an indestructible icon, especially after defeating cancer and announcing his glorious comeback.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH prepared a magnificent entrance and start of the show with “Lift Me Up”. Unfortunately, once again the objection goes to: fucking cell phones in the audience. It was great experiencing the falling of the curtain to see the band and stage in the same minute as the song started, but it was somewhat ruined by hundreds of cell phones that were held up in the air and blocked the view to those behind them. I mean…what the hell? There are professional recordings of the concerts for those who don’t know it. Or is it that some believe it better to stare at the concert though the mobile phone camera, and not actually be fully present and enjoy it??
Five Finger Death Punch is a calibre of the band that easily fills arenas around the world. They are over 3 billion streams and breaking records all the time. The band has had 24 top 10 successes in recent years and their upward career hasn’t stopped: 2018 was another huge year for the band, as they were the most played performers last year by US rock radio.
The overall setlist tonight included 22 songs and the band decided to include all of the greatest hits of the band so it was a real pleasure to experience the concert and fans as well as sympathizers of the band can be fully satisfied after it.
It was so heart-warming seeing the adornment and acceptance from the whole audience which considered Zoltán Báthory, guitarist for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and manager of Bad wolves, the biggest star of the evening. I’m not from Hungary and can see the difference in mentality, as some other nations rather go into jealousy and slight resentment issues, so that’s why it was astonishing to see pure love and acceptance for Hungarian megastar: Zoltán!
Some of the highlight were performances of: “Wash It All Away” and “Bad Company”, but the absolute peak was reached during acoustic performance of the magnificent “Wrong Side of Heaven”. It could not get any better than that exact point in time, as the song transfers the exact feeling of the most painful point in life, many can relate to. It was an unbelievable and unrepeatable experience that drove a tear into many eyes.
