Broken the Paradigm, an example must be set. Invoke the Siren’s Song and sign the Death Warrant.

Lamb of God and the Ashes of Leviathan Tour. 2024. Vol II.

Lamb of God has been one of my favorite bands since I first heard them. I got into punk and hardcore way before I really ever got into metal. The beauty of Lamb of God is how they have such these strong and prominent ties to punk and hardcore, Randy Blythe being that key way to blending everything together. When I got ahold of “Ashes of the Wake” it was the other side of the bridge that I had been walking towards. They completed the Godhead, Clutch, Mastodon, and Lamb of God. The big three in my hormonal high school years. They had that DC hardcore vibes laid down by Bad Brains and Clutch and absolutely turned it upside down into the heavy, high energy, Pure American Metal sound they are known for. They were an absolute game changer for me and have consistently been one of my favorite bands to see live for the last 20 years.

What a billing, Mastodon and Lamb of God playing these monster records.

I’ve seen Lamb of God many times over the years, with Clutch, Slayer, Megadeath, Slipknot, Killswitch, and more. Every time the band delivers and Randy reinforces his position as one of the greatest frontmen of this dispensation.

Unearth shipped down from Boston to kick off the evening, another band that I got really into as my path into Metal had begun years ago. They got the blood flowing to open the night and sounded as good as I remember from catching them 20 years ago on the same stage as an apart of the Sounds of the Underground fest in 05. I haven’t kept up too much with the band over the years, but their record “The Oncoming Storm” also turned twenty this year and they served as a stalworth opener for this one.

(Photo credit Tanner Coward)

Kerry King’s new group provided direct support to Mastodon. I never got huge into Slayer, I like the Seasons of the Abyss record, but have never really dove into their catalogue.

I ended up leaving about three songs into their headlining set years ago, a lineup that included Children of Bodom, Mastodon, and Lamb of God. I was there for the openers, but planned on staying for Slayer. This long blonde haired kid behind us at The Joe spent the entire night screeching with his pre pubescent shrill “Slayer! Slayer!” That got very old very quick and proved to be an agitating distraction during Mastodon and Lamb of Gods sets. I had hoped once Slayer came out he would shut the fuck up, but only amplified his tormenting of the crowd. So Billy and I had dipped out pretty early.

Probably the most obnoxious fan base in music, chants of Slayer run rampant at rock shows, it’s right up there with Free Bird, a chant that gyrates the nerves and seems to find it’s way into as many shows as possible. For no real reason other than people being unoriginal and unfunny. Tonight was no different as Slayer yelps were peppered in throughout the night. No as obnoxious as it could have been, but enough to trip my wires.

Kerry King is a monster on the axe, and regardless of your thoughts on his music, he is an absolute joy to watch shred. He has put together a solid lineup of heavy hitters from the depths of Hell on this new project. Paul Bostaph from Slayer working the skins, HellYeah! Bassist Kyle Sanders, Machine Head’s old axe man Phil Demmel and Mark Osegueda of Death Angel working the mic. They all kind of look like some variant of Tom Araya, and as a whole carry a very “Great Value” Slayer sound. But it was entertaining enough of a set and seeing legends of the game is always a worthwhile adventure.

(photo credit Tanner Coward)

Mastodon came on and killed (read about it in my previous post) leaving the crowd ready to get assaulted by the stars of the night’s show, “Lamb of God all the way from Richmond Mother Fucking Virginia”

If you have an opportunity to catch Lamb of God love you gotta do it. They are such a brutal force of unrelenting high octane energy, it’s never a waste of time or money. After all these years Randy still delivers the havoc with ease. Or at least he makes it sound easy. The strain he has got to put on his pipes every night is wild to think about. Must have a solid Tea and Honey connect.

They played Ashes track for track and it was like taking a Time Machine back to the first time I saw them live. Slight change up to the line up as Chris Adler left the band a few years ago, and was replaced by Art Cruz.

The band delivered a scorching performance, and it was great to hear all old stuff, some songs I had yet to experience live.

After Ashes finished up they gave us two tracks off their 2006 release “Sacrament” Walk with me in Hell and Redneck dedicating the latter to Detroit Hardcore legends Negative Approach.

It would have been cool to hear something from As the Palaces Burn or even a Burn the Priest track, but the entire set and performance was so incredible and such a good time I really can’t complain.

If you’ve never experienced the raw power of Mastodon’s Leviathan or Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake give your ears a little something to cream too and indulge in both. They still hold up after 20 years and both bands are still sounding better than ever live. You can find both records on Spotify and I suggest you hop to it and check em out.

Also if you have made it this far, thank you, I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to indulge me in this little hobby of mine. If you haven’t already please subscribe, and tell your friends. The bigger following I can get, will hopefully lead to getting access to more shows and eventually interviews. Thanks for the support! I love and wanna French all y’all.