Heavy metal returns to Irvine as Five Finger Death Punch and Megadeth headline a stacked show at the FivePoint Amphitheatre. The old Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre was no stranger to metal as they hosted shows from Ozzy Osbourne, Anthrax, and Iron Maiden. Now FivePoint looks to pick up where its predecessor left off when the two hard rock bands, supported by The HU and Fire From the Gods, will stop in Irvine on August 24th.
Hailing out of Las Vegas, Five Finger Death Punch recently released “Afterlife,” the title track off of their upcoming ninth album. This will be the band’s first full-length album since 2020’s “F8.” The album would ultimately be longtime lead guitarist Jason Hook’s last with the hard rock act, as he would leave the band in October that year. Hook initially had missed some dates touring behind “F8” and Andy James temporarily filled in before becoming his eventual replacement. Five Finger Death Punch hope to capitalize with “Afterlife” continuing their streak, having their last six albums achieve either platinum or gold status. This has cemented their legacy as one of the most successful bands in the hard rock genre, despite having just formed in 2005.
We finally have a release date for Megadeth’s next album, “The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!” The band announced it will be released July 8th, which puts it six years since 2016’s “Dystopia,” and marks the longest period that Megadeth has gone without releasing new material. “Dystopia” marked the band’s 15th studio recording and received critical praise, as well as a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2017.
The band announced in 2019 that all future shows would either need to be rescheduled or cancelled because Dave Mustaine, lead singer, guitarist, and brainchild for Megadeth, had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Fortunately, Mustaine appears to have made a recovery since then and Megadeth and Five Finger Death Punch were able to tour Europe early in 2020.
Megadeth and Lamb of God were supposed to co-headline the Metal Tour of the Year before COVID cancelled all touring plans, but the two bands are currently on the road for the rescheduled dates.
Offering arguably the most unique experience on the tour will be openers The HU, a Mongolian folk and heavy metal act (yes, you read that correct). Becoming somewhat of a viral sensation, partially due to their interesting sound and background, their two music videos have garnered over 160 million views on YouTube. Most recently, The Hu just came off of back-to-back weeks playing for a sold-out crowd at Coachella.
Rounding out the line-up will be Fire From the Gods out of Austin. Moving between rap metal and melodic hard rock, their sound is reminiscent of bands such as Sevendust and Deftones. Lead singer AJ Channer recently stated that the band would be heading into the studio to begin recording a follow-up to 2019’s “American Sun.”
If you like your music loud, soul piercing and in your face, this may be the show for you!
