Gig

Lamb of God - Gig Review 20th March @ Northcote Theatre, Melb VIC

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Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Mar 20, 2024

7 min read

Lamb of God
Northcote Theatre, Melbourne VIC
March 20, 2024
Support: Brand of Sacrifice

It had been a long time between Lamb of God gigs down under, their first trip here since supporting Slipknot’s 2016 arena tour. They hadn’t headlined a show here since February 2015 and have released three albums in that time. So it’s a curious decision to host this one in the Northcote Theatre, an inner suburban establishment. (Side note: I actually held my wedding reception here in 2011, in the venue’s past life as the Regal Ballroom.) The band had no problem selling out and it was a tightly packed and thirsty crowd when I walked in.

I arrived halfway through Brand of Sacrifice’s opening set. Brutal deathcore on an otherwise calm suburban weeknight. Pretty awesome they have keys and samples on stage, even if it’s hard to be heavy behind keys, laptop and sampler. Singer Kyle Anderson admitted he had some sickness but still had a lot of energy and led the band through a blinding version of ‘Ruin’. Great sound mix considering the extra stuff alongside bass, drums and guitar. Anderson introduced ‘Millennium’ with a call for a circle pit and crowd surfing and there were certainly willing punters. They closed out with ‘Eclipse’, which was the perfect warm up for the headliner. Its instrumental intro collided with the breakdown and sent people wild in the pit again.

It was quite an unusual crowd, with attire ranging from recent tour shirts (Machine Head at the Forum in particular), casual outfits with hoodies and a smattering of well-worn battle vests. Anticipation built though during soundcheck with a wicked bass drum tone getting nods of approval.

More than worth the wait. ‘Momento Mori’ has the kind of intro that makes it an epic opener and they ripped straight into ‘Walk With Me In Hell’ and ‘Hourglass’. Pity the neck that doesn’t bang. It’s an opening trio that reaffirms my stance that Lamb of God are one of the best metal bands on the planet.

‘Resurrection Man’ got some real movement out of guitarist Willie Adler and was a not-too subtle reminder that Dr Randall Blythe remains a menacing and crowd-pleasing frontman. It’s possible to have that deranged look in his eye but still be welcoming. ‘Ditch’ was no less intense though it lacked a killer connection with the crowd. They fired back with ‘Now You’ve Got Something to Die For’ that sent people streaming to the circle pit, and they chased that shot with old classic ‘Ruin’. Man what a song and great for a scream-along. They delivered a devastating beat down on fan favourite ‘Descending’ before a brief pause that brought forth ‘Blackened the Cursed Sun’. I was rattling my brain to work out how the set could get even better and I got nothin’. They played the same tunes when I saw them more than a decade ago and, whilst John Campbell’s hair is whiter, you wouldn’t think time had passed at all. They’re still tight on the grooves and Randy still screams the shit out of that chorus. Actually, thanks to sobriety, they might even be fitter than they’ve ever been. They smashed through ‘11th Hour’ and newer track ‘Omens’ with a vigour that leaves younger bands with big shoes to fill.

So how do you top that? You put on the intro to ‘Vigil’ on and lay waste to everyone when the song kicks in. That intro was the only respite because they blew the roof off with ‘Laid to Rest’ and then opened the pit right up for ‘Redneck’. And that was it. The sweaty audience was still salivating and called for more, but after ‘Redneck’ where do you go?

I went home to get some sleep before Knotfest.

Yes dear reader, I’m seeing Lamb of God again tomorrow.

Review by KJ Draven (Twitter X and Instagram).

See LoG at Knotfest – Tickets Here

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