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LAMB OF GOD - ATLANTA, GA 08/29/07
by Derek Carey
American metallers Lamb of God, who took part in this years Ozzfest, are
one of the top metal bands on the scene at the moment. Their brand of heavy
metal music has gained them a lot of notice from the people and in the past
few years the band has gone to higher places and is continuing to grow and
expand on all levels. Maybe the public is just getting more open to heavy
music or maybe Lamb of God has such an impact the people just have to look
into them! This night would be an “off-date” for Lamb of God
who brought along probably the best hardcore band out; Hatebreed, Polish
act Behemoth and the metal titans 3 Inches of Blood. All of those bands took
part in Ozzfest this year as well. Traffic was brutal on the way there which
forced me into missing 3 Inches of Blood which I was highly upset about.
Upon arriving at the venue the first thing I noticed was the numerous protesters
outside. Even though it was raining it didn’t seem to phase them and
they were standing around with their “religious” signs and speaking.
Obviously, I don’t think it helped dampen the crowd goers!
Behemoth
Being that I was disappointed I missed 3 Inches of Blood, I was
very relieved to know that I wasn’t going to miss Behemoth! I have
been waiting to see this band live for quite some time now and it was finally
about to happen.
They play a brand of blackened death metal. Interesting genre I might add.
I think Behemoth is the best in that area and no; I’m not just saying
that because I really like them. They are brutal, technical and precise
on all albums so I was very interested to see how they would do live. They
entered
the stage to a warm welcome and went straight into a heavy assault of music.
Everything was so blistering and loud I really couldn’t make out
much except the vocals!
They played a variety of material but only including
one
song off the new album “The Apostasy” (besides the intro) which
was a little disappointing. During the set lead vocalist Nergal spoke to
the crowd and said that earlier he went up to one of the protesters and
asked what
he was doing. He said the protester gave him a bible; “He didn’t
even read it to me!” Nergal said. Then, the proceeded to rip it up
and throw it into the crowd and then the appropriate song was played after
that
scene; “Christians to the Lions”. On the last song of the set
the band came out with “blood” on them and Nergal was in a
mask that was ancient looking and spit “blood” at the crowd.
The entire set was relentless and one of the best live shows I have seen.
They played
all
the songs very well which, if you have heard them, is something really
impressive. Behemoth Setlist
Rome 64 c.e (intro)
???
Demigod
Prometherion
Summoning of the Ancient Ones
Conquer All
Christians to the Lions
Chant for Eschaton
Hatebreed
I have never been really too big on Hatebreed and I haven’t
seen them live so I wasn’t sure what to expect from them. The crowd
was ready for them that’s for sure! After about a 15 minute switch
over the lights went out and the band proceeded to take the stage. They
had an interesting
intro (which I cannot remember what it was exactly, I just know it was
some weird song) They opened with a song I know (“To the Threshold”)
and then that pretty much set everything for their entire performance.
During the second song vocalist Jamey Jasta told the crowd to make the
pit look
like Michael Vick’s backyard which I found very hilarious and I believe
the audience did so too.
Like I mentioned before I am not big on them so
I don’t
know much of what they played, only a few I knew and then a couple I remember
Jamey announcing. Their performance was very high energy and Jamey did
everything to get the crowd into it. Other songs in the set included “This
is Now”, “Destroy
Everything”, and “Live for This”. Apparently they did
a lot of older songs since Jamey kept saying stuff about this and that
going
out
to the old school fans. All in all Hatebreed put on a good show. I wouldn’t
mind seeing them again. Lamb of God
The main band of the night. I’m sure everyone was ready
for Lamb of God but of course, the set change around had to fake forever!
About 30 minutes
or so it seemed. I have seen Lamb of God three times before and they never
let down. They put on one great show in all aspects. After the long wait
the lights finally went out and the crowd roared. They entered the stage
very slowly
with their huge banner in the back from the “Killadelphia” dvd.
Once Randy hit the stage the band went opened with “Hourglass” and
all hell broke loose and that’s pretty much how it would be the rest
of the night. During “Walk with me in Hell” Randy caught me singing
along and screamed “THAT’S RIGHT!” at me. That was the
second time he has an interaction with me (last year he pointed down at me).
After
I left the photo pit I just kind of hung towards the back and got a great
view of the stage. The band played a good bit of ‘newer’ material
(the latest cd “Sacrament” came out last year) which included “Descending”, “More
time to Kill” and my personal favorite “Blacken the Cursed Sun” which
Randy dedicated to Behemoth. Randy seemed more talkative this time around;
he had the crowd make some noise for the hometown heroes Mastodon (who weren’t
even playing but some members were in attendance). The band treated us to
a few older songs “As the Palaces Burn”, “11th Hour”,
and the heart pounding “Ruin”. Nearing the end of the set we
got a few special songs, those being “Omerta” and “The
Subtle Arts of Murder and Persuasion” which was very shocking but very
cool at the same time.
The band left the stage for a minute or so and then
came
back out and began the intro to “Vigil” and many lighters appeared
in the air for that opening piece. During the mid part of the song (the fast
part) Randy asked for a circle pit to be open and this huge circle pit emerged
out of nowhere and erupted when the band kicked back into the song. The band
played a few more and then called it a night. This was the best performance
I have seen of Lamb of God. Everything was precise; they were right on the
whole time. No sound problems at all and the light show was eye catching.
Definitely hope to catch them next time around!
Lamb of God Setlist
(intro)
Hourglass
Again we Rise
Walk with me in Hell
Ruin
Pathetic
As the Palaces Burn
Descending
More time to Kill
Blacken the Cursed Sun
Omerta
11th Hour
Now you’ve got something to Die For
The Subtle Arts of Murder and Persuasion
Laid to Rest
Vigil
Redneck
Black Label
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