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It’s been 34 years since Megadeth came tantalisingly close to landing a number one album in the US with Countdown To Extinction, only to fall at the last hurdle thanks to Billie Ray Cyrus. Justice finally prevailed for Dave Mustaine’s merry band of thrashers in January when their final, self-titled album topped the Billboard 200. Now the band are looking to go out on a high, their farewell tour stopping in for a massive slot on Sonic Temple’s Cathedral Stage.

We’ll admit, we had misgivings. Megadeth’s tour supporting Disturbed in arenas across Europe last Autumn was far from the most incendiary performances the band had put on, a killer setlist only doing so much to make up for sluggish energy. At Sonic Temple, they’ve found that divine spark again. There’s a grin on Mustaine’s face as he greets the crowd and introduces newer tune Let There Be Shred, the band flying off on some virtuosic old school thrash that brings to mind the frantic fretwork of debut Killing Is My Business.

The big anthems are, well, anthemic, Megadeth getting stuck into them with a zeal that in turn seems to egg on a fanatic crowd. Angry Again ups the groove, while Mustaine’s delivery on Sweating Bullets feels genuinely menacing and manic. During Peace Sells, the band are joined by mascot Vic Rattlehead, the grinning skull bopping and bouncing around the stage as the crowd howl the song’s iconic refrain in delight.

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Perhaps the biggest criticism of Megadeth’s most recent output is that they've lost some of their fiery defiance that made them so formidable in the first place. Teeing up closer Holy Wars... The Punishment Due, Mustaine admits that the song was “written over 30 years ago at the start of the 90s about the Middle East. It’s still relevant today.”

It’s a biting remark that reminds us that they were always the most vocally active of the Big Four, and when the epic song gets underway with thrash metal suites and movements, you can’t help but feel that we’re losing Megadeth sooner than we’d have hoped. Still, it’s great to have them so triumphant again.

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.

"We’re losing Megadeth sooner than we’d have hoped but it’s great to have them so triumphant again." Dave Mustaine's exiting thrashers roll back the years at Sonic Temple

Rumours of Megadeth going quietly are clearly unfounded