Megadeth with Mötley Crüe

Originally, this Maximum Rock tour was supposed to be sort of a Monsters of Rock 2000, with Mötley Crüe and Megadeth taking up where Slayer and Metallica left off. But that was before thrash metal pioneers Anthrax got axed from this celebration of Reagan-era rock excess. “They really lit a spark under our ass every night,” Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx says about Anthrax’s dismissal, “but we just haven’t been playing long enough for our fans.” Worry not, fans: Even though all the founding members are around 40, the group was just on Live with Regis, and the Crüe recently recruited a woman to take the position Tommy Lee made famous (Hole drummer Samantha Maloney is filling in for recuperating regular Randy Castillo), some things are still sacred. The band’s latest release, New Tattoo, includes such future Hessian romance classics as “Treat Me Like the Dog,” “Punched in the Teeth,” and “Porno Star,” and, if allegations out of Mexico City are true, Sixx will still jump in the crowd and kick a heckler’s ass during the ballads. Stay alert during “Home Sweet Home” — you’ve been warned.