Megadeth, Type O Negative, and a host of hard rock heavy hitters took the stage Wednesday night to help Concrete Marketing celebrate 15 years in the business, raising $56,000 for the T.J. Martell Foundation in the process.

While giving a boost to the Foundation's fight against pediatric AIDS, the show (which also featured Puya, Full Devil Jacket, and DDT) also gave artists a chance to thank Concrete for years of continued support of hard rock and heavy metal acts.

"It's good to be able to give something back to the community, whether it's the rock community at large or specific small communities in different states, like me giving the proceeds from a game show I just did to the Boys Club in my hometown," Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine told MTV News the day before hitting New York's Roseland Ballroom for the benefit.

"I think first and foremost [the appeal of doing this show] is to do the benefit for the children with AIDS," Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele added, "and to play to show our respect to Concrete, and finally, but not lastly, to come and play a show for our fans who have been extremely loyal and they have been with us since day one, which was ten years ago, and they're still with us now."

"I've always loved doing benefits," Puya vocalist Sergio told MTV News. "And what better way to help congratulate Concrete on their anniversary than to just come in and kick some jams for them."

Of course, while all the acts on the bill were mindful of Concrete's legacy, most were sketchy on the details.

"Can I be perfectly honest with you? I really don't know what they do," Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele joked. "No one really tells me anything. I signed a contract 15 years ago with someone named Lucifer, and here I am. All I know is that Concrete's been belly belly good to me."

"I will say that I'm happy to pawn off all the extra work to these people behind the scenes," Full Devil Jacket guitarist Jonathan Montoya noted. "They're doing a hell of a job. Without them, this wouldn't be possible."

Beyond the charity work and the congratulatory vibe, there was the music... served up loud, dark, and in heaping helpings. Type O Negative passed on the chance to roll out material from its upcoming album "World Coming Down" in favor of a tight set rich with crowd favorites. However, the band did reach into its bag of tricks to pull out a uniquely Type O cover of the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R."

Megadeth then filled its ample set time with a blend of fresh material from the newly released "Risk" (which hit stores this week), and road-tested classics like "Peace Sells," "Trust," "Symphony Of Destruction," and "Sweating Bullets." Mustaine and company also headed for cover country in closing their set, delivering a blistering version of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" that helped to bridge the gap between the show and an evening-capping Sabbath jam session that featured Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson as well as members of Anthrax, Type O, and Rob Zombie's band.

-- Robert Mancini