POCATELLO — Metalheads rejoice! One of four bands that pioneered the sound of thrash metal is set to grace the Gate City this summer.

As part of the Metal Tour of the Year, Megadeth, along with Lamb of God and opening acts Trivium and In Flames, will perform at the Bannock County Wellness Complex’s Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre in Pocatello on July 30.

“To land a band of this magnitude at such a pivotal point of their career here in East Idaho at the amazing amphitheatre, I don’t even have words for it,” said KBear 101 morning host and lifelong metalhead Viktor Wilt. “This is the kind of show that metalheads in East Idaho have been begging to have come to this area for many years. To have just one of these bands from the bill come through would be super exciting, so to have all of four of these headlining acts come through for one show is huge.”

Wilt says that ever since Korn played at the amphitheatre in 2017, metal fans have been pounding the table for an act of the same genre and almost nobody is more metal than Megadeth and Lamb of God.

According to Spinditty.com, Megadeth is one of four bands to pioneer the sound of thrash metal. Spinditty.com says, “In the minds of many fans, the 1980s and early ‘90s were the greatest periods in metal history. … For anyone into metal and hard rock at the time, this “speed metal” featuring blazing fast guitars and double-kick beats came as a welcome surprise. Groups such as Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer were the leaders in a new genre. Together they became known as the ‘Big Four’ of thrash.”

Frontman Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth in 1983 after an acrimonious split with Metallica, where he was the original lead guitarist, according to a June 2019 BBC article.

Their independently-released debut album, Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!, won them a major recording contract with Capitol Records, which released the platinum-selling Peace Sells... But Who’s Buying? in 1986, the BBC said.

In 1992, Megadeth released it’s most commercially successful album, Countdown to Extinction.

A decade later, the band nearly came to an end when Mustaine fell asleep with his arm over the back of a chair — causing severe radial nerve damage, said the BBC, adding that doctors told Mustaine he might regain 80 percent of his movement back — but he’d never play guitar again. Undeterred, the star went through 18 months of painful therapy and got himself back on stage by 2004.

Their last album, Dystopia, was released in 2016, and the title track earned the band their first-ever Grammy for best metal performance, the BBC said.

In March of last year, Megadeth released the career retrospective Warheads on Foreheads, and were set to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! before Mustaine was diagnosed with throat cancer, the BBC said.

But late last month, Mustaine said he is “100 percent” cancer-free during Megadeth’s concert at the SSE Arena in London on Jan. 31, according to a Feb. 3 article in Rolling Stone.

“I can’t say how awesome it is to land one of the ‘Big Four’ here in East Idaho, especially with Dave Mustaine back on the mend, cancer-free and during a big time for Megadeth,” Wilt said. “It’s going to be crazy.”

According to Allmusic.com, “A linchpin of the new wave of American heavy metal movement with an uncompromising approach that garnered both respect and sales, Richmond, Virginia’s Lamb of God began under a more inauspicious name. Employing a versatile blend of metalcore, thrash, punk, sludge and groove-laden death metal, the band issued an eponymous full-length outing under the moniker Burn the Priest before changing their name in 1999 to avoid being mistaken for a Satanic metal outfit.”

Lamb of God would go on to release a string of high-profile studio albums and enjoy tremendous commercial success via gold-selling outings like Ashes of the Wake and Sacrament, Allmusic.com said.

Between 2000 and 2019, the group carved out a notable swath of sonic real estate, selling millions of records and landing multiple Grammy nominations, without ever compromising their sound, Allmusic.com said.

Guy Patterson, director of the Portneuf Wellness Complex and Events Center, says he is hopeful the Megadeth and Lamb of God show set for July is one of four concerts hosted in conjunction with contracted promoter Live Nation, which is based in Utah. In total, Patterson said Gate City area residents can expect to see eight to 12 shows of varying genres at the amphitheater this year.

But considering the Megadeth and Lamb of God show in July will mark the first metal band to play in Pocatello since Korn in 2017, Wilt says metalheads throughout the area intend to prove to amphitheater officials that future lineups should definitely consist of more metal.

“The East Idaho metal scene couldn’t be more ready for something like this and will really surprise people with the numbers they come out with in support of this show,” Wilt said. “They know that this is an opportunity to show the massive support for big metal shows in East Idaho.”

Megadeth VIP Meet and Greet plus side stage packages are on sale now and can be purchased online by visiting, megadeth.com/vip-packages. Members of the Megadeth Cyber Army can also purchase tickets now by visiting, megadeth.com/cyberarmy.

Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. and can be found on Live Nation, KBear 101 or most ticket hosting sites.