As previously mentioned on this blog, I caught the Killswitch Engage/Lamb of God/Unearth gig last night. Let me state from the outset, I have never seen The Palace so jam-packed with bodies in over 20 years of attending gigs there. It was mayhem! I had a good vibe about the night when I bumped into some of the Lamb of God guys at Nando’s on Acland St, St.Kilda before the start of the show. I didn’t bother the guys who were obviously there to get a meal but it would have been great to take some pics but if I was having dinner and some geek wanted to take photos, I’d politely tell them where to go. Out of respect to their privacy, just a polite nod would suffice.
Opening proceedings were I Killed the Prom Queen. I’m really not a fan of that sort of Metal so I didn’t really pay much attention to them and there was nothing on stage that warranted me ever checking them out again. Sorry guys. Same went for Unearth. Pretty uninspiring and nothing you haven’t heard a million times before.
As the road-crew were setting up the stage for Lamb of God, you could literally feel the buzz in the air as the crowd were vehemently chanting “LAMB OF GOD” 30 minutes before the guys hit the stage. You just know it’s going to be a fuckn wild night when you can hear the electricity humming through the Marshall stacks way before the band have even played their first note.
Bombastically, Lamb of God hit the stage of the Palace with an amazing wall of sound. Crystal clear. Insanely loud. And the finest slab of pure American Metal power you will ever hear. These guys are beyond good. It would be no exaggeration to suggest that as of right now, they are one of the definitive exponents of the Heavy Metal genre. Meticulously precise in the execution of the songs, the drumming of Chris Adler is simply astounding. He completely and utterly drives the entire band providing such a steady and synchronistic back-beat that it would be really hard for a band to sound crap when the foundation is so damn good! With killer riffs and vocal insanity topping it all off, they were one of the tightest and heaviest bands I have seen in a long, long time. Amazing gig. Amazing band.
Headliners Killswitch Engage would have a massive job overcoming the set that Lamb of God put forth. Although they too are one of my faves from the newly spawned American Metal movement, and although they were great tonight - I don’t think they came close to delivering the goods like Lamb of God. The sound wasn’t as clean and I thought the band sounded a little sloppy in places. The one great bonus for Killswitch though, is that their songs are so catchy and have such great vocal hooks that the crowd sang along to the majority of the songs. They have a great repertoire of heavy and vocally catchy songs that they’d be hard-pressed not to be enjoyed but tonight, Lamb of God were monumentally supreme!
A great night out, but I would have preferred just a double-bill instead of four acts. I’m getting too old for this shit! heh!
I’m surprised Killswitch were the headliners, even though they would have been my favourite on that bill too. I just find their stuff to be very uneven. Some spectacular songs and some filler.
Lamb of God are masters at what they do, but it’s not my chosen style either.
Very jealous. That show was a sell-out, so I had to content myself with watching the 90-minute Making of Sacrament DVD today, which comes with the CD. They seem like great fellas who are dedicated to their art. I went to a pub gig last night and asked the vocalist if the first band would play some Lamb of God for me, but he didn’t know who they were. He was quite bemused by the name and said it a few times between songs. He even said “Lamb of Rod” once, heh heh.
Your gig report reminds me of the first time I saw Fear Factory in Brisbane during their first tour. Awesome.
Great show, I was there, a damn intense pit for LOG, I couldn’t stand up properly after half an hour in there, I was dehydrated too. All the bands kicked, Unearth played way too short, their new album is sweet as. LOG ripped a kickass set. Killswitch were good too, have to agree that LOG played the best, but I enjoy the melody alot.
Good show.