The end of an era has officially begun. MEGADETH kicked off their farewell tour on February 15 at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, British Columbia, launching the first Canadian leg of what will be an extended final run on the road.
Opening the night with “Tipping Point,” the lead single from their newly released self-titled final studio album, the thrash legends wasted no time reminding fans why their catalog has stood the test of time. Although the new record marks a historic milestone for the band, only two songs from Megadeth made the 17-song set — the opener “Tipping Point” and the punk-infused “I Don’t Care,” which arrived six songs into the performance.
Instead, the evening leaned heavily on classics. Those attending what could be their last-ever MEGADETH show were treated to staples such as “Hangar 18,” “Sweating Bullets,” “Countdown to Extinction,” “Symphony of Destruction,” and “Peace Sells,” before the band closed with the epic “Holy Wars … The Punishment Due.”
According to Setlist.fm, the full setlist was:
- “Tipping Point”
- “Hangar 18”
- “Dread and the Fugitive Mind”
- “Sweating Bullets”
- “Angry Again”
- “I Don’t Care”
- “Wake Up Dead”
- “In My Darkest Hour”
- “Countdown to Extinction”
- “Dystopia”
- “Skin o’ My Teeth”
- “Tornado of Souls”
- “Trust”
- “Symphony of Destruction”
- “Mechanix”
- “Peace Sells”
- “Holy Wars … The Punishment Due”
The farewell tour was first announced last August alongside news of the band’s final studio album. Released earlier this year, Megadeth debuted at No. 1 in the United States — the band’s first chart-topping album — moving 73,000 equivalent album units in its opening week (with 69,000 coming from pure album sales), according to Luminate.
While the album may close the chapter on MEGADETH’s studio output, the band’s live presence isn’t disappearing overnight. Frontman Dave Mustaine previously told Kerrang! that fans can expect the farewell trek to stretch out for “another three to five years.”
The current run began in mid-February and will take the band across Canada with support from ANTHRAX and EXODUS. Additional legs include stops in Latin America and Europe, followed by a return to North America where MEGADETH will join IRON MAIDEN on their 50th anniversary “Run For Your Lives” tour.
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