Kings of Thrash: A celebration of early Megadeth in Tokyo
David Ellefson and Jeff Young performed a celebration of early Megadeth music in Tokyo.
Kings of Thrash: The Mega Years at Space Odd, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan on 21st February 2026
Only weeks after the two former Megadeth guitarists Kiko Loureiro and Marty Friedman performed together in Tokyo, it was time for two more former members to perform together for their Japanese fans.
In 2022, former Megadeth members David Ellefson (bass) and Jeff Young (guitar) formed the band Kings of Thrash to perform material from Megadeth’s early years. Following several international tours and a live album, Kings of Thrash finally came to Japan to perform two shows in Tokyo.
While Ellefson spent decades in Megadeth, Young’s time in the band was limited to one album. He appeared on the 1988 album “So Far, So Good… So What!” and performed on the tour that supported the album, which took place in 1987 and 1988, including four shows in Japan.
This evening in Tokyo, Jeff Young was the exclamation mark. He showed us he is not only an excellent guitar player, but also a terrific showman. Dave Ellefson was, as always, rock steady on the bass. The former Megadeth men were complemented by Chaz Leon, on guitar and vocals, and Fred Aching on drums. The quartet put on one hell of a show.
The curated setlist was excellent with a focus on songs that the current version of Megadeth seldom, if ever, performs live. Sure, we got “Tornado of Souls”, “Symphony of Destruction”, “Wake Up Dead”, “Peace Sells” and “In My Darkest Hour”. But we also got excellent performances of songs such as “502”, “Black Friday”, “Victory”, “Mary Jane” and “Skull Beneath the Skin”. This show was a treat for those of us who love the early Megadeth catalogue.
The band performed one original song, “Lockdown”, hinting at a possible future for this band that not only involves performing old Megadeth favourites. We got one more non-Megadeth song when Japanese vocalist Maki Oyama joined the band on stage for a high-energy cover of the Loudness classic “In the Mirror”.
With Megadeth recently having released their final studio album and embarked on their farewell tour, it is great for us fans to get opportunities to hear their music performed by band alumni. So far, so good… now what? Let’s hope this Megadeth tribute will continue.
