Kings of Thrash in New Bedford, MA – May 5, 2026

In 1988, Megadeth started the tour in support of their third album, So Far So good so what, at the Providence Civic Center. Now nearly 40 years later, founding Megadeth bassist, David Ellefson, and former Megadeth guitarist Jeff Young made a stop up the road at The Vault in New Bedford, Massachusetts, with their new project, Kings of Thrash. The band is paying tribute to that era of Megadeth, performing songs that have not been played in many years. Joining the band for this little East Coast run were singer songwriter Screaming Mad Dee Calhoun, as well as the hard rock band Gravel.

Screaming Mad Dee Calhoun

Screaming Mad Dee Calhoun, best known as the singer for the doom metal band Iron Man, kicked off the night with his unique style of music. His set of five songs just featured him and a down-tuned semi-acoustic guitar, played through a layer of distortion, giving very dark and ominous undertones to his songs.

Gravel

Gravel is a hard rock band from Colorado, and their performance hit with the kind of unapologetic energy that feels engineered for live settings. Leaning hard into their in-your-face identity, the band was locked into a driving rhythm from the first downbeat. Their set included hook-heavy songs of their own like xxxxxxx, while later in their set they played a unique cover of Tiffany’s classic hit, “I Think We’re Alone Now.”

Kings of Thrash

The Vault filled in as the Kings of Thrash prepared to take the stage. Joining David and Jeff were vocalist/guitarist Chaz Leon, and drummer Fred Aching. Their set began with a fitting performance of Megadeth’s entire So Far, So Good… So What album, which was the one Megadeth album that Jeff played on. Before the show I spoke with David and Jeff, and they both mentioned “Mary Jane” as being a song they were really enjoying revisiting. That song hasn’t been played by Megadeth since 1988! The crowd was really appreciating the opportunity to hear these songs again.

Chaz is the perfect singer for this project, giving a faithful, powerful performance, while Fred carried the thunderous low end, perfectly in sync with David. The playing was tight, and the atmosphere felt reverent without being overly polished, packed with riffs, speed, and pure headbanging chaos.

Beyond the performance of SFSGSW, they featured more classics and deep cuts, first with “Rattlehead,” off Megadeth’s debut album. The crowd went absolutely wild for “Tornado of Souls,” before an encore of the first King of Thrash original song, “Lockdown.” The show came to a grand finale with David’s iconic bass intro to “Peace Sells.”

Kings of Thrash delivered exactly what longtime Megadeth fans came hoping for: a loud, unapologetically old-school celebration of the band’s early years, with raw energy and clear affection for the material. The performance captured the chaotic speed and snarling aggression that made those songs cult favorites in the first place.