Megadeth are once again on the road, this time on the 2012 Asia Tour to promote their 13th album, Th1rt3en, which was released in November 2011. Having received mostly positive review from critics, it comes as no surprise that two of the thirteen tracks on the album, “Sudden Death” and “Public Enemy No.1,” received Grammy nominations.
Megadeth has been around for exactly 30 years next near and, last night in Bangkok, the four members of the band put on a good show for their Thailand fans. We had Dave Mustaine as lead vocalist, David Ellefson – Mustaine’s “best friend” – as bassist, Shawn Drover at the drums, and Chris Broderick as lead guitar.
Although the initial venue for the Megadeth’s concert was BITEC Bangna, due to very low ticket sales, the event was moved to Moon Star – Studio 8. The organizers took advantage of Megadeth’s presence in Thailand and declare the day as “Bangkok Metalfest #1.” It attracted the hardcore heavy metal Thai fans, all past their youth and now well in their late 20s and 30s. Before their concert in Bangkok, Megadeth sang in Manila, Philippines, where they played at World Trade Center on July 29. This was their second concert (2007) in Bangkok.
It was sad to see that a band which 10-20 years ago would have filled a stadium, now performed to only a few thousand fans in a small (air-conditioned) warehouse. Nevertheless, Mustaine put on a great show and the sound was impeccable. Minimum but well-placed stage light created a good ol’ atmosphere.
Megadeth started their concert at 9pm and sang for a bit more than an hour but, before their performance, three Thai bands kept the crowd “warm.” They were Ebola, a Thai rock/metal band, Dezember, a Bangkok-based progressive death metal band, and, the pride of all Thai rockers, The Sun, allegedly the best rock band in Thailand.
Unfortunately, the organizers tried to make up for the poor attendance by selling drinks and other paraphernalia. Thus, we were made to wait up to 30-40 minutes for each band to come up on stage, while during the breaks everyone had nothing else to do but drink beer. It would have been nice to have all the bands play one after the other.
The Thai bands were nowhere near Megadeth’s performance and The Sun started with a grueling repetitive instrumental number that lasted for way too long. But, once the vocalist came on stage, the atmosphere become more like what you’re expecting to see at a heavy metal concert and not the quiet, arms-folded, standing fans.
It comes without saying that a Megadeth concert is not a “Megadeth concert” without their best-known tracks “A Tout Le Monde” and “Symphony of Destruction” which turned the crow wild. Mustaine was also very entertaining and engaged the Thai crowd often, creating a very good rapport with their fans. He made a few bitter/angry comments about the US government and how fair the world would be if only “Dave Mustaine were the president.”
With the exception of the two 1995 and 1992 singles, Megadeth played tracks from their latest album, Thirteen. At a moment, a man dressed in a suit with his head covered in a skull mask, showed up on stage to greet the crowds. Overall, a great performance.
Apart from beer, fans could also purchase CDs, books, magazines, posters, and T-shirts. On top of that, you had the food and other alcoholic drinks stalls (and their pretty girls) that made up for the long waits between bands/performances. Tickets were priced at 2.500 baht (front stage) and 1.500 baht.
Megadeth will continue their Asia Tour 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan, at ATT Show Box on August 5, followed by Singapore on August 7 with a performance at Fort Canning Green, FC Park. The concert in Beijing, China, which was supposed to be held on August 3, was postponed due to “issues with the show license for the venue,” according to Megadeth’s Facebook Page. The concert will be rescheduled.
