DISTURBED + MEGADETH @ LONDON O2 ARENA – 26TH OCTOBER 2025
Disturbed bring their tour to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of their debut album The Sickness to London’s O2 Arena. Surprisingly — and luckily for us — in support they bring thrash metal legends Megadeth. However, the moment they take to the stage at the O2 is not my first encounter with the band today. Megadeth have stepped into the world of brewing, and today they have a launch event for two new beers — and I am one of eighteen lucky souls invited to a press conference to mark the launch. This takes place in a hotel near the arena, where we are invited to taste the beers and witness a Q&A session between the band and journalist Phil Alexander. We are invited to submit questions on the understanding that “only one or two of them” will be addressed. Also, as the focus is on beer, the band will not answer anything regarding next year’s tour or their forthcoming album.
The band enter and sit in a row of chairs at the front of the room. They are certainly very affable (we meet them later) and are extremely enthusiastic about their beer. We learn the two new beers are a 4.5% IPA brewed under licence by Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, Yorkshire, and a 0.5% IPA Zero brewed under licence by Butcombe Brewery in Wrington, Somerset. This is not simply rock stars lending a name to a product — the band have been hands-on in experimenting with recipes and flavours. The week before the gig, they visited Black Sheep to go through the brewing process and test the finished product. Having tasted them myself — alongside their existing 4% Pilsner on draught — I can confirm the beer is excellent. Megadeth: so much more than just a band.
Actually, Megadeth have never been “just” a band. As thrash metal pioneers, their catalogue has never been substandard, each record building on the last. Despite only having sixty minutes tonight, they give us a good sweep through their back catalogue — plus Tipping Point, a taster for their upcoming album Megadeth. When Dave Mustaine announces Tipping Point, one fan yells, “It’s fucking awesome!!!” — succinct, yes, and he’s not wrong. Dave’s solo is spectacular — and Teemu Mäntysaari’s tapping likewise.
I’d forgotten how well Megadeth harmonise. Seriously! Listen to Hanger 18 from Rust In Peace — the dual lead work is stunning. As the only constant member of Megadeth, Dave Mustaine is the undisputed band leader — but he’s a benevolent one. He shows no need to hog the spotlight, content to stand back playing rhythm while Teemu Mäntysaari solos on She-Wolf from Cryptic Writings. At one point, someone heckles Dave — he responds: “Gives me a migraine headache to get down to your level”. Fair enough.
Peace Sells is an obvious highlight — effectively the title track of their major-label breakthrough. Rattlehead, their mascot, joins the band onstage. I’d met him earlier. Didn’t say much — just growled. Dave confirms the new album will be out next year before telling us the final song Holy Wars…The Punishment Due is “about what’s been going on in the Middle East for fucking years”. He’s got a point. The song has an oddly Motörhead-like pulse, and Teemu’s second solo is explosive. This has been short — but very entertaining. Roll on the headline tour next year.
Shows celebrating a particular album can be hit and miss, but Disturbed take the correct approach: they play The Sickness in sequence. An album is a stand-alone work of art — not merely a set of songs. Sequencing is part of that art. Disturbed understand this perfectly.
The show also demonstrates how much Disturbed have changed since The Sickness. There’s relatively little lead guitar on the album — or in the first half of tonight — something that changed significantly later. The staging is fairly minimalist and the drum riser unusually low — as if nodding to their earliest touring days. There’s theatricality too: vocalist David Draiman is brought onstage on a trolley. And the pyrotechnics are ferocious — during Stupify, the flames make my face feel genuinely hot. The crowd sing every word of Down With The Sickness.
Disturbed have always excelled at covers — making them their own. Their version of Shout (originally by Tears For Fears) on The Sickness was an early example — and tonight’s rendition is outstanding. It’s recognisable — but industrialised, heavier, modernised. David Draiman reminisces about their first show at the LA2 — they’ve come a long way. Want is particularly powerful, prompting a run of crowd surfers. David’s vocal is almost rap-metal here — he’s an extremely versatile singer. More theatrics appear for album closer Meaning Of Life — David returns in an orange prison jumpsuit, strapped into an electric chair. The staged electrocution is convincing — before he unstraps, stands atop the chair and sings while apparently bleeding from the head. The band are now similarly attired. He even drops a snippet of Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne before they leave the stage for a twenty-minute interval. As album recitals go, triumphant.
After the interval, the stage set changes — the drums are now much higher, and David Draiman wears a long leather coat. The second set opens with their latest single I Will Not Break — with a monstrous guitar solo from Dan Donegan that feels like it could split the sky. On Ten Thousand Fists, John Moyer stands on the drum riser steps like a kid who’s found his new favourite toy. David asks, “Shall we take things up a notch?” as a towering black figure appears behind Mike Wengren. They launch into Bad Man from Divisive. Dan Donegan delivers another blinding solo full of blur-tapped lines. Next comes a cover of Land Of Confusion by Genesis, which Disturbed released in 2005. Unsurprisingly, it’s heavier — and brilliant. Dan turns in yet another storming solo.
Another cover follows — The Sound Of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel — which they released as a single last year. This is largely performed on the walkway into the crowd. A grand piano sits at the end, played by an unnamed guest pianist. David sings there; Mike Wengren plays timpani; Dan Donegan and John Moyer remain onstage with acoustic guitars — joined by violinist and cellist. It’s sensitive and powerful — a true moment. Flames erupt from the piano — hopefully gas jets! Ahead of The Light, David gives a moving speech about the times we live in — and the set is brought to a rousing close with Inside The Fire from Indestructible. Tonight, Disturbed have illustrated where they began, where they are now, and how they got there. It has been a pretty awesome journey.
Words: Mark Kelly Photos: Robert Sutton
