Unbelievable. In fact, here's the scoop on the my experience from the show.
OVERKILL: We showed up just as they started their set. They sounded good, kind of like a cross between Metallica and Iron Maiden. I wasn't a fan and their songs sounded the same to me, but I respect them.
ARCH ENEMY: I got to the front row of the moshing area for this one. Angela was less than ten feet in front of me most of the set, while the Amott's flashed their amazing guitar skills. They played a 40-minute sets with songs from their past three albums, including "Nemesis", "Dead Eyes See No Future" and "Ravenous". They left out a couple of songs I would have killed to see live but I was satisfied with their stellar performance.
OPETH: I stayed in front to get up close to Mikael and Mendez, who got down to business with "Ghost of Perdition", which rocked to high hell. Mikael then did some jokes with the crowd and even played a Scorpions riff at request of a fan. Then came the crusher "The Leper Affinity" which got the mosh going in a frenzy. Despite being in front, I had to employ some of my wrestling moves to fend off the rabid moshers. Next, they played one of their mellow songs off of Damnation album, to which the smell of marijuana permeated the crowd. After that they finished the set with the killer song "Deliverance" to which the moshing got really violent. After the band left the stage Mikael came back to wave to us wearing a Red Sox sweatshirt.
LAMB OF GOD: I'm not a fan of this band. Rather boring, but I had tons of fun engaging in their infamous mosh-circles-of-death. Early into the set, a surge of fans, who didn't pay for mosh admittance, breached the barricade and cascaded into the moshing area and all hell broke loose. They played over an hour of body-bashing and crowd-surfing. My back was killing me from pushing everybody around.
MEGADETH: Before the set they unrolled the backdrop featuring what appears to be the artwork for their next album, which looked awesome. I figured most people would be worn out from the LoG moshing so I got ready to watch these thrash legends take the stage. Just as they did, a huge blast ripped through my ear-drums as I saw four mushroom fireballs rise behind the front stage. I stayed until the third song when one of the girls I went with got elbowed in the eye-brow in the mosh and needed stitches at the hospital. I didn't mind leaving or staying to see Megadeth's pending 2-hour set, but I was exhausted and opted to join the rest of my crew as we went to the hospital to make sure she was alright, after which we went home.
A great concert for fans of all ages, featuring bands who put the guitar at the top of their priorities, as I may paraphrase Mustaine.
