The massive Metal Tour Of The Year rolled in the PPL Center in Allentown, PA on May 15, 2022. This was the last stop in the US while on the 2nd leg of the tour before this heavy foursome of bands headed to Canada and Europe.
On this leg, the Swedish heavy metal band In Flames, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad 1990 opened the night. In Flames has released 13 albums and 3 EPs during their 30 plus years in the business, with their latest album I, the Mask which dropped in 2019. The band played a heavy 8 song set as the arena filled which lit the fuse for what was to come.
Setlist:
1. Cloud Connected
2. Behind Space
3. Everything’s Gone
4. Where The Dead Ships Dwell
5. Call My Name
6. All For Me
7. I Am Above
8. Take This Life
Next up was the 2019 Grammy nominated Trivium out of Orlando, Florida. The band is lead by vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent. Heafy explained to the crowd that he had fallen ill the day before but was going to power through their set because he loved his fans. You would have never know that Heafy wasn’t feeling well as he commanded the crowd by ordering his minions to execute fist pumps, screams and circle pits. Trivium opened up their eight song set list with the title track off their most recent album, “In the Court of the Dragon”. The band performed 3 songs from that latest album and closed out their set with fan favorite “In Waves.”
Setlist:
1. In The Court Of The Dragon
2. Like A Sword Over Damocles
3. Beyond Oblivion
4. Strife
5. Rain
6. Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr (Corey on vocals)
7. Capsizing The Sea
8. In Waves
Third was the all mighty Lamb of God! Hailing from Virginia, this is one band that never disappoints. The anticipation that grows with the raising of the curtain that shields the crowd from the preparation of stage is palpable. There is no frontman in the heavy metal scene better than Randy Blythe. From the moment the kabuki drops, his incessant pacing and whipping of his dreads causes the fans energy to boil over. It could also be the incredible amount of pyro that Lamb of God uses! For me, there is something about “Walk With Me In Hell”, the 3rd song in the set, which bring things to a head. You can fill the energy building as the flames grow higher and higher and it is all topped off with Randy’s giant leap off of the drummer’s riser.
Setlist:
1. Memento Mori
2. Ruin
3. Walk With Me In Hell
4. Now You’ve Got Something To Die For
5. Contractor
6. 11th Hour
7. 512
8. Ghost Walking
9. Black Label
10. Laid To Rest
11. Redneck
Finally it was time for one of heavy metal’s legendary bands Megadeth to take the stage. Fronted by Dave Mustane, Megadeth has been doing it since 1983! Known as one of the “big four” metals bands, along with Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer, they are responsible for the thrash metal genre’s growth and popularity. With a beautiful back drop of colorful screens, Marshall amps and a giant Megadeth logo, the foursome gave Allentown, PA a lesson on guitar dexterity and speed as they performed a 12 song set which opened with their huge hit “Hangar 18.” Mustane seemed to be extremely jovial on this night, giving picks and wristbands to security to give to young fans in the crowd and mentioning how happy he was to be back on stage after the 2 years we all went through with no shows. Megadeth ended this show with an encore of “Holy Wars” which gave the fans one last time to rock out before heading home after the ass whoopin’ that was indeed “The Metal Tour of the Year.”
Setlist:
1. Hangar 18
2. Dread And The Fugitive Mind
3. Angry Again
4. Conquer Or Die!
5. Dystopia
6. The Conjuring
7. Sweating Bullets
8. A Tout Le Monde
9. Trust
10. Symphony Of Destruction
11. Peace Sells
Encore:
12. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
Megadeth
Lamb of God
Trivium
In Flames
