As part of their farewell run, which began on February 15 at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, Megadeth delivered the live debut of “Let There Be Shred” on Wednesday, February 18. The first-ever performance occurred at Prospera Place in Kelowna during the Canadian leg of the tour alongside Anthrax and Exodus. Footage filmed by fans quickly made its way online and you can watch it down below.
“Let There Be Shred” is featured on Megadeth’s final self-titled studio effort, released in January. On the track, frontman Dave Mustaine looks back on his lifelong bond with the guitar, beginning with the lyrics: “On the day I was born, a guitar in my hands / The earth started rumbling a thunderous command…”
“When Megadeth started, we said we would be fast and furious… we said so on the flyers we handed out. This song is fast and furious… It has a very hooky chorus that draws you in and you can’t help but play air guitar and headbang to this one,” Mustaine told in a statement while describing a song.
In a recent conversation with Guitar World, Dave Mustaine opened up about how the track came together and discussed his creative chemistry with guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari.
“Teemu is such an exceptional talent that he really lit a fire in me for my playing,” Mustaine said. “We were joking around and constantly talking about how we have to make this record absolutely shred and that we needed to put a lot of solos in it. I think we accomplished that.”
“A pretty unique thing about ‘Let There Be Shred’ — in terms of the guitar duels Teemu and I were doing — is that he would do all the shred stuff, and I’d do all the hippie stuff. I thought that was really fun, based on what the lyrics were about, because it was supposed to be a guitar challenge.”
The farewell tour was initially announced last August alongside news of the band’s final studio album. Megadeth’s self-titled album debuted at No. 1 in the U.S., marking the band’s first chart-topping release and moving 73,000 equivalent album units in its opening week, including 69,000 pure album sales, according to Luminate.
While this album closes the chapter on Megadeth’s studio output, the band’s live shows are far from over. Frontman Dave Mustaine previously told Kerrang! that fans can expect the farewell tour to continue for “another three to five years.”
The current leg, which kicked off in mid-February, sees the band touring across Canada with support from Anthrax and Exodus. Future legs will include stops in Latin America and Europe, before returning to North America for a series of shows alongside Iron Maiden on their 50th anniversary “Run For Your Lives” tour.
The currently announced dates include:
North America (Part 1)
- Feb 20 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
- Feb 21 – Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
- Feb 24 – Saskatoon, SK @ SaskTel Centre
- Feb 25 – Winnipeg, MB @ Canada Life Centre
- Feb 28 – London, ON @ Canada Life Place
- Mar 01 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
- Mar 03 – Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Centre
- Mar 04 – Moncton, NB @ Avenir Centre
- Mar 06 – Québec City, QC @ Videotron Centre
Latin America
- Apr 23 – Lima, Peru @ Costa 21
- Apr 26 – Bogotá, Colombia @ Movistar Arena
- Apr 27 – Bogotá, Colombia @ Movistar Arena
- Apr 30 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Tecnópolis
- May 02 – São Paulo, Brazil @ Espaço Unimed
- May 04 – Santiago, Chile @ Movistar Arena
- May 05 – Santiago, Chile @ Movistar Arena
- May 08 – Monterrey, Mexico @ Arena Monterrey
- May 10 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Arena Ciudad de Mexico
- May 11 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Arena Ciudad de Mexico
- May 13 – Guadalajara, Mexico @ Arena Guadalajara
Europe & Asia
- May 25 – Valencia, Spain @ Roig Arena
- May 27 – A Coruña, Spain @ Coliseum
- May 29 – Bilbao, Spain @ Bizkaia Arena BEC!
- Jun 02 – Hanover, Germany @ Heinz von Heiden Arena
- Jun 06 – Maastricht, Netherlands @ South of Heaven
- Jun 07 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Amphitheater
- Jun 10 – Hradec Králové, Czechia @ Rock For People
- Jun 11 – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg @ Rockhal
- Jun 14 – Ferrara, Italy @ Ferrara Summer Festival
- Jun 15 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Halle 622
- Jun 16 – Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
- Jun 18 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting
- Jun 20 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest
- Jun 23 – Istanbul, Türkiye @ KüçükÇiftlik Park
- Jun 26 – Helsinki, Finland @ Tuska
- Jun 28 – Almaty, Kazakhstan @ Spartak Stadium
North America (Part 2)
- Aug 08 – Sturgis, SD @ Sturgis Buffalo Chip
- Aug 29 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
- Aug 30 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
- Sep 03 – Montréal, QC @ Parc Jean-Drapeau
- Sep 05 – Harrison, NJ @ Sports Illustrated Stadium
- Sep 06 – Harrison, NJ @ Sports Illustrated Stadium
- Sep 09 – Boston, MA @ TD Garden
- Sep 11 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
- Sep 12 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
- Sep 15 – Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium
- Sep 19 – Shakopee, MN @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater
- Sep 22 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
- Sep 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium
- Sep 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ BMO Stadium
- Sep 29 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome
