In what was undoubtedly the heaviest sideshow of the Knotfest tour this double billing was guaranteed to be relentless and unforgiving on our necks tomorrow morning. Having been a casual fan of Lamb Of God for years I have to admit I was super excited to finally catch them live. There is a power to the band that drew me to them and I guess in many ways they became that band that replaced the then thought to be defunct Pantera. Songs like ‘Redneck’ just gave off that same energy and as a band Lamb Of Gods progression and evolution has been a fun one to follow.
Tonight, I was seeing a band I knew almost nothing about Brand Of Sacrifice. Sure I had had a listen to them when they were announced on the Knotfest line up to see what they were about, but as a whole this band was a mystery to me. Deathcore isn’t a part of my daily musical diet, sure I can appreciate it and actually enjoy it, it’s just not my go to. Brand Of Sacrifices intro tape played, the bright Pokémon theme led us into what would become fifty minutes of pure brutality, when I say brutality, I mean that in the most respectful way.
Frontman Kyle Anderson announced to the crowd tonight too that he was unwell and do his best to give his all, vocally how he pulled of a set that just delivered some of the most guttural vocals and high squeals is completely commendable. If Anderson hadn’t said anything you would have been none the wiser, his vocals were exceptional. At every moment possible the now near capacity Northcote Theatre was invited to create circle pit after circle pit and to spin things. The bands keyboardist, sample controller and digital percussionist kept the sound production quality high and close to the original recordings.
Drummer Charon Anderson was an absolute beast delivering some incredible bursts of blast beats and in general some mighty fine technical playing. Riff master Michael Valeri executed his parts with razor precision and bassist Andrew Kim just held everything in place switching from his locked in role with Anderson to delivering an onslaught of riffs with Valeri. Huge breakdowns, blast beats and guttural vocals were the order of the day and the serving size was plentiful. Song highlights of the set were ‘Ruin’, ‘Eclipse’ and ‘Lifeblood’.
Brand Of Sacrifice Setlist: Dawn, Demon King, Lifeblood, Altered Eyes, Exodus, Purge, Ruin, Millennium, Eclipse
The stage cleared opening up for the band that everyone was here to see Lamb Of God. It’s been eight years between drinks so to speak and the band have offered up two might fine albums since then, so there was a lot of ground to cover in order to play catch up. The haunting into to ‘Memento Mori’ eventually gave way to the full power of the track and Northcote Theatre simply erupted at Randy Blythe’s scream of WAKE UP. ‘Walk With Me In Hell’ followed and that riff, god damn it’s so good. ‘Hourglass’ kept things moving and the now completely engaged crowd was in full flight.
Blythe has a menacing demeanour on stage when truly engaged in song he gives it all and while he has this incredible intensity there is a charm he exudes. The band are just insanely good too, the delivery of the plentiful riffs on offer was tight and the hints of harmony guitar parts were glorious. ’Now You Have Got Something To Die For’ received the best interaction of the night with a full house in fine voice. ‘Ruin’ left the pit fiery and voices going. The energy within Northcote Theatre now is at fever pitch. ‘Descending’ refuses to let go and just furthers the frenzy within the pit. The intro to ‘Blacken the Cursed Sun’ gives us a window to catch our breath before they launch into it. Drummer Art Cruz just plays the shit out of this song.
‘11th Hour’ is a trip back the early days and it is followed up with ‘Omens’ from 2022. It’s the precision and execution of the last three songs ‘Vigil’, ‘Laid to Rest’ and ‘Redneck’ that simply drove the message home that Lamb Of God do it better than most; in fact tonight’s show was a playbook that every new and younger band needs to study. For the better part of a quarter of a decade this band had been nothing but consistent in fact have gone from strength to strength with no signs of slowing down. Tonight’s set was a great overview of the Lamb of God catalogue with material spanning pretty much their entire career quite concisely.
Surprisingly this set only included a pair of songs a piece from their last two albums, but that lays hope that there is a planned return sooner rather than later. But please don’t let it be another eight years between visits. Thankfully I get to see both bands again tomorrow at Knotfest.
Lamb Of God Setlist: Memento Mori, Walk With Me In Hell, Hourglass, Resurrection Man, Ditch, Now You’ve Got Something to Die For, Ruin, Descending, Blacken the Cursed Sun, 11th Hour, Omens, Vigil, Laid To Rest, Redneck
Photos by Shot by Slaidins Photography
With special thanks to Dallas Does PR and Destroy All Lines for the media access.
