Live Review: Lamb Of God, Vancouver 04/08/09
Apr1503:26 PM
Filed in: Opinion
This is a guest post from local music industry veteran, and devoted metalhead, Lyle C.
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Lamb Of God
Children Of Bodom
As I Lay Dying
God Forbid
Municipal Waste
April 9, 2009
Thunderbird Arena
Vancouver, BC
The idea of a five band metal show never goes out of style. When I started going to gigs we had three band bills and they were always big on the desire list. But logistics often get in the way of things that make sense. Having a metal gig of this calibre in a new arena is appealing, but compared to the PNE forum it may as well be in another time zone for most metal heads. UBC isn't easy to get to, even if you live in Greater Vancouver. The crowd was good but I can't think of how many more fans would be there if it was at the old Forum. 1000 more perhaps?
I missed Municipal Waste while stuck in our city's very own municipal waste of a traffic jam. It took over an hour to get here from Coquitlam. God Forbid got things going nicely while they punished the crowd, with their sound reflective of early Shadows Fall. The band's singer was constantly asking the crowd for weed, saying it would be great "...if you brought some by the merch table when we are over there signing." If they focused on writing memorable songs as much as they remember to beg for weed, maybe they wouldn't have to beg. And the tired old bitch session from the stage about the Canadian Border Patrol is just plain boring. Guess what? We hate the US Customs when we go South, so it goes both ways.
As I lay Dying were up next and this band continues to impress. Their flare of guitars take from some the best thrashers like Megadeth, while playing in a precise way, similar to Iron Maiden. But like many bands in the genre today, they fail to write a good vocal hook. But after 8 years, they are getting better. Their fan base is getting larger and more fans are stepping up and laying down cash for their swag.
Children of Bodom hit the stage next. No other band can, or has, combined the metal sounds of the last thirty years and made it sound this original. But then they go even further back, into the 60's, by adding keyboards...which at times dominate their sound, not unlike what Deep Purple did. These guys are fantastic musicians, not trying to survive by being the fastest...but the heaviest. The tripiest. The darkest. And at times, the sludgiest. Think Sepultura riffs, with outstanding lead keyboards. This is not keyboards like at a Queensryche show, there's are up front and with blistering metal. These guys are a trip, which is why the crowds are buying in. I love these guys more every time I see them. 'Blood Drunk' was a standout in the set. Topped by Randy Blyth coming out to sing Happy Birthday to the singer/guitarist of CoB. As great as they are, I still think they're in need of better vocal hooks and choruses. Proof of this was that the second CoB's set ended, the PA was blasting Motley Crue's 'Wildside' and metal heads everywhere started playing air drums and singing along. And no, these dudes were not casual metal fans, they were here for the Pure American Metal that only Lamb of God can deliver.
Doing stuff like be autograph signings at places like JJ's Scrape Records to sign your CD and posters is part of their charm, they even did that again today on this tour...five albums into their career. They're even smart enough to make shirts just with the Vancouver date on the front, Limited Edition, local tour swag. How cool is that? No longer do you have to look at the back of your shirt and see the names of tour cities you'll never go to, or that tour shirt that doesn't even have Vancouver on it. So good on them for having shirts that say Vancouver, Canada.
Now for the set, a set which promised lots from their very recent album Wrath, and that's exactly how the gig starts, and with a stunning stage set. They were four songs in when they got to "Walk With Me In Hell". The fans were chanting along and the show was totally lit up. Chris Adler owns and runs this band on and off the stage, and his drumming has the whole band locked tight. Meanwhile, his brother is shredding along on guitar in "Ruin" from When The Palace Burns. It's here that the LoG trademark stomp, along their buzzing guitars, have now fully captivated the metalheads in the crowd and a full-on trance came over those throughout the new Olympic arena.
Like Slayer and Pantera before them, Lamb Of God deliver the classic Pure American Metal. The more you soak in it, the deeper you go in and never want out. Their albums are amazing and their concerts are something to behold. The band has stayed very true since being on a major label, something to be credited to both the label and the band. But now we have to wonder when will they take that next plunge and write a song that is true to metal yet incredibly unforgettable? This must take place for them to take the BIG boys on. Right now, You've Got Something to Die For, is their best and absolute classic tune. But that was written 3 discs ago, they have to get back to that and more. The crowd goes nuts when Blyth screams the tune for the intro, and the fans sing the chorus like its Master of Puppets.
While Wrath debuted at #1 in Canada (#2 in the US) and is a pleasing metal moment, it left many wanting more. The show was very strong but why don't they run a follow-spotlight on Randy so that while he's stomping around and singing you can see him better? Then they would look like the stars they are poised to become, as they display on tunes like "Laid to Rest".
Should Blyth ever sign about anything happy or lifting, like say Hetfield does now, that could end Lamb of God. So instead, we continue to respect this unique metal band and love how they delivery molten rock, such as the song Redneck, which happened to createe one of the biggest circle pits ever seen in Vancouver.
