TO say I was gutted when I heard that the Kings of Thrash gig at The Old Fire Station in Carlisle was cancelled due to low ticket sales last week would be an understatement. I had been looking forward to the concert since was first announced earlier this year and I would have expected that the chance to see two original members of Megadeth would have resulted in a huge demand for tickets but sadly it was not to be.

But happily at the 11th hour The Brickyard stepped in and offered to stage the gig so the show would go on at least.

My first introduction to Megadeth was way back in 1994 when I got hold of a review copy of Youthanasia and I was impressed with what I heard. And recently I have bought more of the band’s back catalogue and, controversial as it may appear, their albums are actually better than those released by Metallica (although I am reliably informed that Metallica put on a better live show).

Anyway here is a copy of the review I wrote today of last night’s cracking gig which was for the News & Star:

Kings of Thrash/Andry/Hellgrimm at the Brickyard, Carlisle. Sunday, October 27, 2024.

IT was the Carlisle gig that we feared would not take place when the date at the Old Fire Station was cancelled last week due to low ticket sales.

Having said that the guys at The Brickyard stepped in at the 11^th hour to host the bands there in the space of just five days.

It was quite a coup to get the Kings of Thrash to play the city and I would have expected ticket sales to be higher for the chance to see two of the pioneers of thrash metal – bassist David Ellefson and guitar maestro Jeff Young who were both former members of Megadeth.

Proceedings got off to a cracking start with power trio Hellgrimm, who provided the very definition of the word loud, with the potential to blow the doors off the city centre venue.

Leading the band were writer/guitarist Jerry Connor and drummer/singer Erica Missey, who possesses a powerful vocal range, and you could really tell she was totally loving what she was doing.

Next up were the tight five-piece band Andry, led by the distinctive vocalist Andry Lagiou who has been described as “the missing link between Ronnie James Dio and Christina Aguilera”, which after witnessing her performance seemed quite apt.

The line-up was completed by Mickey Lyxx on guitar, Hans in ’t Zandt on drums, Marko Vladilo on bass and Fab Jablonski on keyboards, and the gig was part of their The Mistress Tour UK.

Their powerful performance of driving rock, topped with her wonderfully melodic vocals, was nicely rounded off with an amazing cover of Deep Purple’s track Burn.

You could tell the band were enjoying themselves on stage and there was a great connection with the crowd – hats off to all those who bought a ticket and ventured out on a wet Sunday evening.

The Kings of Thrash tour had been Christened The Mega Years – Anarchy in the UK and the setlist featured tracks from classic Megadeth albums: Killing is My Business… And business is Good; So Far, So Good… So What!; Peace Sells… But Who is Buying? And Youthanasia.

It seemed appropriate, but it is hard to believe, that Youthanasia was released 30 years ago next month and it was my introduction to the band when I received it as a review copy. It sounded good then and, after recently buying it to replace it in my collection, it still sounds good today.

The line-up was completed with Chaz Leon on vocals and guitar and the powerhouse drummer Fred Aching who provided the driving force to move the band forward.

On the whole the band were as tight as one of Aching’s drums and they left on a high with a cracking cover of Motorhead’s Ace of Spades – which seemed right as the Kings of Thrash drummer reminded me of Lemmy’s original skinsman Phil Taylor – as well as the title track from the Peace Sells album. It was the perfect end to a perfect gig and it was good to hear the Megadeth tracks one more time.

As I faced the prospect of trudging home in the light Carlisle rain I was left with one positive thought that, when the singer signed off with the phrase “see you next time”, there was a glimmer of hope that they will be back.

Review written for the News & Star website and paper Monday, October 28, 2024.