Move Over, Kevorkian!

Megadeth w/ Flotsam & Jetsam, Fear Factory and Korn

Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Friday, July 14th, 1995

This show seemed to be Toronto's version of a heavy metal Lollapalooza, with three opening acts of very different styles, and a headliner, well, to die for. Sporting a stripped down stage and a killer set, Dave Mustaine and the boys eclipsed the mediocre opening acts with a show that was almost as hot as the sweltering 45+ degree humidex they played through. (Farenheit translation: damn hot!)

Reckoning Day 1995 got started at 7:15 with some disappointing news: two members of Flotsam & Jetsam were held up at the border, thus preventing the band from performing. After the crowd gave Canadian Customs a hearty round of applause, Los Angeles-based Fear Factory took the stage. The band played a short set that was a saw-off between their two albums. There were several good moments, including the awesome "Replica," marked by absolutely huge drums and gripping vocals. The main floor crowd seemed to be familiar with the band's music, as evidenced by some decent crowd participation on "Martyr." However, the majority of concert-goers were both unfamiliar and unimpressed with their somewhat ordinary performance. Hey, maybe it was the heat...

After a quick set change, Korn came onstage and showed that they are nothing if not bizarre. The lead singer was wearing a purple adidas running suit, had a thick head o' dreads, and gyrated more than a slab of jello in a tornado. The rest of the band were equally odd, as was their music. A lot of tunes had strong bass lines, a la Les Claypool of Primus. Some of the vocals copied Type O Negative, while others were in more of a traditional death-metal vein. One song featured the lead singer playing bagpipes. They finished up their set with "Faget," an angry tune that screamed Rage Against the Machine. Throughout their quirky performance, Korn had unbelievable energy but seemed to be almost too weird for the crowd to warm up to (as if it wasn't hot enough already).

The crowd seemed to double in size while crews worked to clear the equipment from the stage in preparation for the main event. By the time Megadeth came on, the crowd was on its feet, in anxious anticipation. The band surprised most by opening with "Skin O' My Teeth," the starter for the last tour. They continued with the old stuff as they blistered through "Hangar 18," and "Wake Up Dead." By this time the crowd was worked into an absolute frenzy, and "Reckoning Day" seemed to put them over the edge. The band took a bit of a break at this point, as Mustaine put in a plug for Hidden Treasures , a collection of b-sides and soundtrack songs. To drive home the point, they played "Angry Again," a song Mustaine descibed as "a tune that deals with my favourite emotion."

Megadeth paused again to beat the heat, while lead guitarist Marty Friedman treated the crowd to a stirring rendition of O Canada, that got as good a response as any song they played all night. Next was a bit of a suicide medley as they played "A Tout Le Monde" followed by "In My Darkest Hour." The crowd got a bit of a surprise with the somewhat obscure, but definite fan favourite "Tornado of Souls," followed by some more good guitar and drum solos leading up to a heart-stopping performance of "Holy Wars." The boys said a quick goodbye after only an hour and left the stage. After letting the crowd go nuts for a couple of minutes they once again took the stage and stormed through an extended version of "Symphony of Destruction," followed by the anthem "Peace Sells." After another goodbye, the lights went down once again. This time, it looked like they were finished, as some members of the crowd began to file out. Finally, after much screaming and banging on seats, the band returned to close with their version of "Anarchy in the U.K."

On this night, Megadeth showed why they are still one of the premier metal acts in the business. They played the crowd perfectly despite sweltering heat, and a short set that only included three songs from their latest offering, Youthanasia. Part of the reason for their success had to be the excellent sound at the Amphitheatre, which is, to say the least, an impressive facility. At the end of the night, Mustaine had a few words for the crowd: "A lot of people are saying that heavy metal is dead. Well, if I'm dead, then it sure is taking a long fuckin' time for the rigormortis to set in!" Megadeth proved once again that heavy metal is still very much alive and well. But then again, you already knew that.

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