Lamb of God & Mastodon have joined forces celebrating the 20 year anniversary of both albums Leviathan and Ashes of the Wake. Both albums were released on the same day in 2004. Support included Kerry King & Malevolence.
Lamb of God has been selling out arenas since the 90’s, and still consistently put out new music. They have been the staple band to take on the festival circuit. There doesn’t look like to be a stopping point yet for this adrenaline-fueled band. They have a loyal fanbase that spans multiple generations also integrating the youth into a heavier sub-genre. They even have cultivated a cruise called “Headbanger’s Boat” which sets sail October 28th-November 1st.
The opening band Malevolence hauls all the way from England. Malevolence is a metalcore band formed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, in 2010. The best way to describe their sound is “the perfect crossover between hardcore meets metal”. They are best categorized as beatdown hardcore, metalcore, hardcore punk, and sludge metal. It’s like if Hatebreed and Pantera had a baby that’s what Malevolence would sound like. Their setlist included “Malicious Intent”, “Life Sentence”, “Still Waters Run Deep”, “Self Supremacy”, “Higher Place”, “Keep Your Distance”, & “On Broken Glass”. They are welcomed addition to this tour package and are band you don’t want to miss. So come early and check out Malevolence.
Kerry King is the god father of heavy metal. So it’s fitting to see him on this tour opening for the greats like Mastadon & Lamb of God. His new supergroup band just released their debut album “From Hell I Rise”. The current lineup consists of Mark Osegueda (vocals) from Death Angel, Phil Demmel (guitarist) from Machine Head, Kyle Sanders (bass) from Hellyeah & Paul Bostaph (drums) of Slayer.
The band was firing on all cylinders, was very impressed with the showmanship. There were moments of Aww throughout the performance. Kerry King has such a signature sound that comes out of his guitar when he is shredding. This was the first time Kerry King toured through Portland with his new band. They were greeted to a warm welcome from the crowd. The setlist included “Diablo”, “Where I Reign”, “Idle Hands”, & “Toxic”. There were also some fan favorite Slayer songs played “Raining Blood”, “Black Magic”, & “From Hell I Rise”.
The band that surprised me most was Mastodon. Their set was a psychedelic filled drug induce wonderland of visuals. They had all the check marks a great lightshow with lasers, pyro technics, and a comic book style of visuals that blows your mind. They even brought a Yeti on stage during their set. Mastodon is known for their long intricate groovy sound mixed in with some sludgy doom metal and endless guitar solos.
This was a special moment for they were celebrating the birth of their first album ‘Leviathan’. It’s truly a marvel as a band to have been performing for over 20 years and still delivering a great performance. They are true masters of their craft when it comes to metal. Some highlights through the setlist included “Blood and Thunder”, “Iron Tusk”, “Megalodon”, “Circle of Cysquatch”, & “Steambreather”.
At the very end of their performance the drummer came out on stage to talk about how both Leviathan & Ashes of The Wake came out on the same day. Brann Dailor (drummer for Mastodon) went on to explain that when the album came out, he went to his local Best Buy and found Leviathan in the new releases section next to Ashes of The Wake. Jokingly he went on to say, “Yeah I called up my friend Randy and told him both our albums are side by side at Best Buy”. So there always was this running joke if we survived this long and it’s the 20th anniversary let’s do a tour together. “Hence why we’re doing this tour right now”.
The anticipation and wait was finally over the time had come for Lamb of God to make their way to the stage. They had a curtain drop to the floor, and off to races we go with the opening track “Laid to Rest”. “Ashes of the Wake” was such a integral album that made Lamb of God a household name and put them on the map as a serious metal band. Originally named “Burn The Preist” they have gone on to be well respected within the metal community.
Breakout tracks on the album included “Omerta”, “What I’ve Become”, & “Ashes of the Wake”.
There so much to take away from a show like this. It’s a adrenaline filled cocktail of emotions ripping right through your veins. Randy Blythe has a way of commanding the crowd into ensuing chaos as he belts out his gut roll screams. Each member has an integral part in making the sound super tight and precise. The allure of this band is that they are all great players in master their craft. Lots of hours have been spent meticulously cultivating their sound. Well the hard has defiantly paid off.
It’s nice to experience a different show every time you see Lamb of God, last time they were at the Moda Center in 2021 they just released self-titled album “Lamb of God”. Which the album came with solid reviews and had the approval of longtime fans adding in new tracks to an extensive catalog.
There was a cool moment during the show where Randy brought up a kid named Caleb on stage who made a sign for the band and dedicated the “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For” to him. After the finished their playthrough of Ashes, they came back out for two song encore that included “Walk With Me in Hell” & “Redneck”.
The Ashes of Leviathan tour ends August 31st at Red Rocks Amphitheater, and then a couple festivals Rocklahoma September 1st & Riot Fest September 22nd. With Lamb of God ending the year with Headbanger’s Boat October 28th through November 1st.
