Megadeth "Destroys All Enemys" In Houston, TX

Saturday afternoon, Houstonians and surrounding areas celebrated our summer ending in the best way most of us know how; a kick-ass metal concert. Supporting this celebration was the epic lineup including Megadeth, Mudvayne, and All That Remains. Three extremely talented bands with their own wide range of fan bases all coming together into one jam packed venue. My excitement was on a whole other level as I drove my usual thirty minute drive to 713 Music Hall right in the heart of downtown Houston. When I arrived it was clearly go-time as beers were flowin’, the merch line was filling, and it was time to finally let loose one last time to end a stressful and hot summer. I’ve seen each band on this lineup before, so I already knew the grand ol’ time that was in store for the night… So to say I was stoked is definitely an understatement.

*All That Remains – Photo: Krystiee Lee Photography*

Massachusetts based metal band All That Remains was opening the afternoon with a short seven song set-list and lots of headbanging. I remember when i first started with concert photography and journalism, All That Remains was one of the first shows I was scheduled to cover… and years later here I am getting the chance to do it again, it was a cool little moment for me and definitely helped add on the excitement for the rest of the afternoon. “This Calling”, “Divine”, and my personal favorite “Chiron” were some of the songs played before ending their set with their most anticipated fan-favorite “Two Weeks”. Everything from the sound, the energy, the set-list was on point, and the crowd absolutely ate it up. These dudes have been in the metal game for a hot minute, since 1998 if we want to be precise, and they are just as tight of a band as they have ever been, especially given what they’ve all gone through in the past. It goes to show that they simply are never giving up, and are going to keep delivering the best of the best to their fans… and it was definitely proven that night.

*Mudvayne – Photo: Krystiee Lee Photography*

Mudvayne was next to join the stage and that’s when the anticipation was really on the rise, you could feel it in the air and you could finally see the bartenders as everyone was either getting comfy in their seats or grounding their placements on the floor. No one was about to miss any second of what Mudvayne was about to unleash onto us and as the venue went dark and red beaming lights and smoke filled the stage, echoes of screams radiated within the walls as Mudvayne presented themselves and instantly erupted into their first song of the set “Dig”. Here I am, once again stuck between the choice of getting the best shots I could get or headbanging like a MF. Some might think it’s easy being a concert photographer, but when you’re in this situation… it isn’t as easy as you think. The struggle to focus is real. If you’ve never been to a Mudvayne show you wouldn’t get it. Lead vocalist Chad Gray is notorious for his stage performances along with his bloody sfx and attire and each band-mate alongside of him also has their own wicked style when it comes to their stage presence. They continued with several popular favorites including “Not Falling”, “Fall Into Sleep”, and “Fish Into Water” before ending their set with of course “Happy?”. As soon as the intro to that song came on, I felt allllllllllllllll of the early 2000 nostalgia, it just hit me like a ton of bricks and next thing you know i am screaming along to every single word. This is most likely the reason my voice was out the following day… safe to say, your girl here was “Happy”. HA! Get it? Anyways, Mudvayne still puts on one hell of a show even after all of these years, they are one of those bands i don’t care how many times I’ve seen them, I will 10000000% make sure I’m in attendance each time they come to my city.

We had what seemed to be quite a bit of time between Mudvayne and Megadeth, or at least that is how it felt to me, probably because I was way too excited to sit still at this point… I was ready for all of the craziness and chaos that I knew was yet to come. As mentioned before, I’ve seen Megadeth before and was in complete awe after seeing how incredible they are live, so being able to finally get to cover them… was definitely a check-mark off of my bucket list. But it was finally time… The stage yet again, with smoke and suspense in the air, went dark and it was go time. Megadeth started their seventeen song set-list (yes I’m serious – seventeen) with The Sick, The Dying…And The Dead!”, “Dread And The Fugitive Mind”, and “Angry Again” and holy macaroni, they were thriving up on that stage. Dave Mustaine paced back and forth with his normal serious face, almost looking pissed off which I do believe was somewhat the case as there were a few sound issues right off the bat, there were a few times I couldn’t hear him at all and could tell it was frustrating him. But the issues didn’t last long and the rest of the set was just as expected with rage, moshing, and horns in the air. Megadeth played many hits including “Sweating Bullets”, my personal favorite “In My Darkest Hour”, “Tornado Of Souls”, and “Symphony Of Destruction” and more as they continued to rip everyone’s faces off with the epic guitar shreds and obviously raging screams from Dave. Everyone in that building was on their feet and screaming along to the words of every single song… especially during their encore “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”. The whole performance was spectacular, and it’s clear Megadeth will continue to live up to their iconic ways, and that they sure as hell aint stopping anytime soon. They still have a whole tour ahead of them as we were just their second stop, so if they are coming to a city near you… you should definitely make an effort to catch them.