Live Review: Lamb Of God w/Killswitch Engage, Spiritbox, & Fit For An Autopsy Moda Center, Portland Oregon October 11th, 2022
The night started with me waiting in the front lobby of the Moda Center. There was roughly 5-6 other photographers waiting too. We then were escorted through the parking lot through a corridor of doors and hallways finally making it to the front of the stage. I can recall a fan on the other side of the barricade screaming ” I want their job can I be where they’re at”. We then patiently waited for the first band to setup their gear and get started.
The first band of the night was a band called Fit For An Autopsy. The band was comprised of guitarists Pat Sheridan and Tim Howley, drummer Josean Orta, lead vocalist Joe Badolato, and bassist Peter “Blue” Spinazola. They are a band from Jersey City formed in 2008, they are an American extreme metal band. Their setlist included “The Sea of Tragic Beasts”, “Your Pain Is Mine”, “Pandora”, “Far From Heaven”, “Heads Will Hang” & “Black Mammoth”. They are amazingly talented musicians and deserve the opening spot for this tour.
The second band of the night was a band called Spiritbox. They have been making a lot of noise and building up hype over the last couple years. They had a lot of success with their break out hit “Holy Roller”. Some honorable mentions would be “Constance”, “Blessed Be”, & “Circle With Me”. The band is comprised of husband and wife duo Mike Stringer (guitarist) and Courtney LaPlante (vocalist). Spiritbox is a Canadian heavy metal band established in 2017. They have been headlining festivals and have earned their spot in the metal community. The crowd was definitely excited to see them play and added a much needed punch to the night. Also added diversity to the line-up, boy can Courtney scream. Their set was comprised of six songs mixing material from External Blue & their most recent EP Rotoscope.
Killswitch Engage has been a favorite of mine for awhile now. They were a band that got me through my high school years. Their current line-up brings back Jesse Leach the founding vocalist of the band. Between 2003-2011 they had Howard Jones, he has since formed the band Light the Torch. No bad blood between both vocalist for they have shared the stage together on a few occasions. All around a really fun band to see live, one of the guitarist has a pizza guitar he brings out on stage. Some highlights from the show included “Strength of the Mind”, “Hate by Design”, “My Curse”, & “Daylight Dies”. They finished out the show with “The End of Heartache”, “In Due Time”, & a (Dio cover) of “Holy Diver”. They were my favorite for the most entertaining and energetic.
We started off the show with a curtain behind the stage and Randy Blythe is singing the intro to “Memento Mori” when you hear a big click boom and then the curtain disappears. Through the chaos of this big reveal this easily set the tone for how the show is going to be. Lamb of God are considered to be one the biggest metal bands in the world. Veterans in the metal community, they have shared the stage with some of the greats Metallica, Slipknot, & Megadeth to name a few, who are considered to be among the big four of Metal.
Lamb of God’s sound is a mix of heavy metal, thrash, & hardcore punk. Their influences take from different genres outside of metal itself. Originally named Burn The Priest, after two albums they changed and remain to be Lamb of God.
Tonight’s show was a special one because it was one of the first shows where they got play some new songs from their new album Omens. The setlist was a mix of new and old starting with “Walk With Me In Hell”, “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For”, & Resurrection Man”. They finished out the night with crowd favorites “Laid to Rest” & “Redneck”. Be sure to check out their new album Omens out now! And don’t miss the remaining dates of this tour.
