Four bands, an audience on fire, nearly five hours of metal and a thundering atmosphere, the metal marathon featuring In Flames, Trivium, Lamb of God and Megadeth, at the Videotron Center, lived up to expectations and celebrated in style.

• Read also: At the Videotron Center on September 10: Bryan Adams back in Quebec

• Read also: Music, dance and basketball to relaunch the Agora Port de Québec

Often, during these evenings where several formations follow one another on the boards, it often begins slowly and timidly. This Thursday, that was not the case at all. It must be said that the program for the evening was consistent with four big names in metal.

At 6 p.m., when In Flames showed up on stage, there were already a lot of people inside the amphitheater for the last night of the Metal Tour of the Year! A tour that bore its name well, which was to show up in Quebec on October 27, 2020 and which has been postponed a few times. And the last shows of a tour are always special and intense.

We quickly felt that metal fans were bored. There was a lot of atmosphere. More than during the Queensrÿche-Priest double at the beginning of April. In the stands, we make “high-fives”, we are happy to meet again. It felt like a reunion.

The Swedes of In Flames were greeted by a raucous crowd as if they were the stars of the evening. “In Flames, In Flames, In Flames,” chanted the faithful. It must be said that there seems to be a strong connection with the public of Quebec. We were far from the timid reactions to certain first-party bands. And so it was throughout this metal marathon of almost five hours.

Led by singer Anders Fridén, In Flames offers a clever mix of heaviness, speed and melodies.

red flames

The American formation Trivium, from Orlando, kept up the pace. Beginning its performance in the carpet and without too much subtlety, the melodies ended up crossing the sound wall. And there, again, without the singer-guitarist Matt Heafy asking, people started chanting “hey, hey, hey”, fists in the air.

After two hours of metal, the fans were still in it during the performance of Lamb of God, launched by an explosion and the piece Memento Mori from their last album. It's been almost forever since Randy Blythe has been seen twirling his long hair and dreads in the Old Capital. Their last visit was in November 2009, opening for Metallica, in the good old Coliseum.

The quintet from Richmond, Virginia offered a more elaborate performance with the presence of smoke and red flame effects during a particularly successful Walk With Me in Hell. We were treated to a particularly active “circle pit” on the floor during Redneck.

veterans

The icing on the cake of this great metal mass, the veterans of Megadeth, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, had a warm audience in front of them.

In front of six luminous panels scrolling the imagery of the Californian formation, Dave Mustaine and his band launched their performance with Hangar 18. Dirk Verbeuren's drums are raised and surrounded by amplifiers.

The sounds of Megadeth contrast, not badly, with those of In Flames, Trivium and Lamb of God. We are more into “old-school” metal. The quartet delivers an excellent, lively version of Dread and the Fugitive Mind, followed by a solid rendition of Conquer or Die! and Dystopia.

The anthem To everyone, taken up by the crowd, is always very effective and a highlight of the show.

We have the impression during Sweating Bullets, Symphony of Destruction and Peace Sells, to finally see, after a few uneven passages, over the years, in Quebec, a Megadeth at the top of its form and in full possession of its means.

It was, however, a bit short with a performance of 65 minutes. We would have taken a little more. Certainly, without being too mistaken, one of the best life performances of Megadeth in the Old Capital.