On September 18, 2020 we should have been at the halfway point of the Megadeth, Lamb of God, In Flames, and Trivium tour. Unfortunately, COVID-19 postponed that tour until Summer 2021. And now the majority of concerts have turned to the internet so fans can still see their favorite bands perform live. When Lamb of God announced they were going to perform not one, but two livestream performances I was elated. Lamb of God is a must-see band for live performances and the opportunity to see them perform was not one to miss. At each of these performances, Lamb of God would be performing one of their albums in full. At the one for this show, they would be performing their recent self-titled Lamb of God, released via Epic Records, in full. The livestream also included the Scottish metal band Bleed From Within as the opener.
The pre-show was hosted by Jose Mangin who is the director of programming and host for SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal and Octane stations. Jose started it off with an interview with Ali Richardson, drummer from Bleed From Within. The two started off discussing Ali’s tattoos and then into Bleed From Within‘s Blood Orange IPA Afterlife (titled after one of their songs) and then into their current album Fracture released via Century Media Records. Ali talked about how excited they were to get the opportunity to open for Lamb of God and Bleed From Within is planning to tour in 2021 pending COVID-19.
Bleed From Within had a phenomenal 5 song set. Each of the members, Scott Kennedy (vocals), Ali Richardson (drums), Craig Gowans (lead guitar), Davie Provan (bass), and Steven Jones (rhythm guitar) all performed on their own space so the band stayed socially distant from each other. This was my first time hearing and seeing Bleed From Within and all I could think was, “Why have I not heard of them sooner?!” Bleed From Within treated the performance as if they were performing with a crowd and held nothing back. With Scott‘s strong guttural vocals, Ali‘s thunderous drumming, Craig and Steven‘s fast paced riffs, and Davie‘s reverberating bass, Bleed From Within sounded amazing. The band even included the use of pryo during their set, which just made it all the more intense. I only wished the band played a longer set. I will definitely go check out the rest of their music. You can find the band’s music and merch HERE.
Their setlist was:
- Night Crossing
- Into Nothing
- Afterlife
- Fracture
- The End of All We Know
After the performance, Jose Mangin was back with an interview with Lamb of God vocalist D. Randall Blythe (aka Randy Blythe). Randy and Jose know each other well and both were showing off items for Lamb of God‘s IPA Ghostwalker. One of the topics they talked about most was the passing of Riley Gale the lead vocalist for Power Trip. Randy retold the tale he posted on his Instagram (@drandallblythe) when Lamb of God and Power Trip were on tour together. Randy explained how he was hanging out backstage while Power Trip was sound checking. Their guitarist started playing a Cro-Mags riff and Randy ran into the venue and started moshing and screaming by himself because he loves Cro-Mags. Riley asked Randy if he wanted to perform the Cro-Mags song, “We Gotta Know”, with them that night and Randy was all in. He explained how he and Riley were each doing a line in the lyrics trading back and forth. It was a good memory for Randy.
Jose asked him what he’s been going during most of the quarantine and Randy said photography. For those who don’t know, Randy is an amazing photographer and explained how he’s taken the time to shoot during these times and capture images of Richmond, VA and even the protests. He has a phenomenal interview with RVA discussing his photography, the protests, and more (Randy was wearing an RVA shirt during the interview). Jose and Randy talk briefly about the tour that was supposed to happen and the livestream. Randy said he would love for people to mosh in their living room and take photos of their broken furniture after the show, but don’t break your parent’s good china. They wrapped up the interview discussing some of Randy’s favorite songs from the self-titled album. Randy called out “Resurrection Man”, “Reality Bath”, and “Memento Mori” because he gets to use a creepy voice at the start of the song. Right after the interview, the switched over to the livestream performance.
Lamb of God‘s D. Randall Blythe (vocals), Mark Morton (guitar), Willie Adler (guitar), John Campbell (bass), and Art Cruz (drums) were ready to rock. Randy started off with that creepy voice he discussed during the interview before the band let loose for the opening track of Lamb of God titled “Memento Mori”. And it was at that moment I said, “Damn I missed seeing them!” Between Art’s rapid fire drums, Mark and Willie’s crafty riffs, John’s headbanging bass riffs, and Randy’s haunting and powerful voice, they keep you engaged, headbanging with them throughout their songs, and want the fans to ride the wave with them. “Gears”, the single they released when the album released, had me headbanging away with its fast pace. I was seriously enjoying this show. Randy made a dedication to Riley Gale when they performed “Reality Bath”. The livestream itself was well shot between the camera angles and the sound was perfect. There wasn’t a single hiccup in the stream. Lamb of God powered its way through the self-titled album from first track to the last and it was a great time getting to see them play it live.
After finishing the album, Lamb of God, had a few songs for the fans as an encore. They started it off with “Contractor” from their 2009 album Wrath. Randy called it “a punk rock song” and then the band ripped into the song. They followed up with “Ruin”, the opening track to their third studio album from 2003, As the Palaces Burn. During the instrumental, Randy screamed into the microphone, “Break your fucking house!”. Next was a new song that was written for the soundtrack for the movie Bill & Ted Face The Music titled “The Death of Us”. Randy dedicated the song to their good friends Bill and Ted, which got a chuckle from Art before they started the song. The closed out the show with “512” from their 2015 album VII: Sturm und Drang. Randy thanked everyone for watching as they closed out and rolled the credits.
Their setlist was:
- Memento Mori
- Checkmate
- Gears
- Reality Bath
- New Colossal Hate
- Resurrection Man
- Posion Dream
- Routes
- Bloodshot Eyes
- On the Hook
Encore:
- Contractor
- Ruin
- The Death of Us
- 512
This was such an amazing livestream. The only thing that was missing from it was one of Randy’s atheltic stage jumps (the air he gets underneath him is incredible!). If you didn’t get the chance to see this livestream, you still have one more chance! Lamb of God will be performing again on Friday, September 25th at 5 PM ET where they will perform their 2004 album Ashes of the Wake. Once again Jose Mangin will be hosting the pre-show interviewing a member of Whitechapel and Lamb of God. The pre-show will also air Whitechapel‘s 2014 performance from their hometown of Knoxville, TN. Don’t miss this show!
Buy your tickets for the September 25th livestream at http://watch.lamb-of-god.com.
You can connect with Lamb of God at their links below:
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