EVERETT — Three members of the Portland band Never Awake plunked themselves down at 8 a.m. Tuesday in front of Comcast Arena, aiming to be the first general-admission ticket holders through the doors for the Megadeth concert.
By noon, they were noshing on slices from Brooklyn Bros. Pizza and wondering why more fans weren’t lined up for the current “Gigantour” mega-production.
“They’ll be here,” said Taylor Dye, 20, the lead singer for Never Awake. “It’s going to be packed with fan boys from throughout the Northwest. I just want to make sure that we’re front and center on the floor.”
It would be the first Megadeth concert for Dye and 19-year-old bandmates Jesse Weiss and Alex McDonald, who said the metal group inspires their own playlist.
“It’s the quality of their musicianship and their high energy that encourages us,” Dye said. “The heavy metal genre is a departure from the static stuff, the same four chords and time signatures you hear on the radio. Metal is much more diverse. Actually our band is more of a blend of Megadeth and Led Zeppelin.”
Megadeth, whose members included bassist David Ellefson and guitarist Dave Mustaine, had its start in the early 1980s in Southern California. Three decades later, the band is touring North America in support of its new studio album “Super Collider.”
The tour also was billed to include Black Label Society, fronted by former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde; Device, featuring Disturbed frontman David Draiman; Hellyeah featuring Pantera co-founder Vinnie Paul; Newsted, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted’s new band; and Death Division, featuring Jerry Montano, former Danzig bassist.
Royce Harris, 16, a junior and a choir member at Everett High School, and his friend Peter Smith, 17, a senior at Archbishop Murphy High School, were among the waiting crowd not dressed in black.
“It’s so awesome that Megadeth would come to Everett and play at Comcast. I live right up the street, and to walk over to see one of the big four (metal) bands is amazing,” Harris said. “I’m from a family that likes all kinds of music rap, rock, country, jazz and classical. My dad’s not into it, but once you get metal, you start to love it. Metal music talks a lot about politics, but then music has always been about what’s going on in the world from your perspective.”
Tuesday’s concert followed a string of shows across Canada. In October, the Megadeth tour heads to South America, where crowds of fans have been known to sing the guitar riffs as they wait in line to get into the concert venues, Dye said.
“Maybe tonight, here in Everett,” he said.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
A Herald writer interviewed Megadeth co-founder Dave Ellefson before Tuesday’s performance. Read the story here.
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