Live Review: Lamb Of God

Lamb Of God delivered a gruelling set list comprised of the hardest hitters in their extensive back catalogue. It is highly commendable that Lamb Of God took the initiative to visit Adelaide and Perth for headline shows between their east coast tour dates with Slipknot.

Adorned with a gorgeous back line of symmetrical Ampeg cabinets and a hefty drum riser, Lamb Of God took to the stage opening with the anthemic live weapon Walk With Me In Hell. The soaring pre-verse transformed the crowd into a fervent amoeba of flying limbs, and Mark Morton delivered his first taste of effortless guitar solos to much ado. Taking it back a few eras to perform Ruin saw Randy Blythe's vocals flourishing, and Chris Adler's time with Megadeth had him teaching his kit a punishing lesson. Moving onto Resolution-era tune Ghost Walking showed that the groovy powerhouse is one of LoG's most thumping tunes to date, Willie Adler's rhythm section furiously unrelenting.

512 was the first new offering, touting the benefits of Chris and Morton writing collaboratively for the first time in history, trading off licks with ease. The show then moved to their Ashes Of The Wake release with Blythe sneering; "So I ran into some drunken idiots dressed up for some horse racing thing... This one goes out to the horse who won," before performing the unsympathetically heavy Now You've Got Something To Die For. LoG then played The Faded Line, a technically astounding feat. It's worth mentioning how cohesive the band is a unit; however much there is to glean from focussing on an individual member the product is a powerful whole, with John Campbell never once pausing from head banging the entire set.

"This one's about a shitty place I spent a little bit of time in," states Randy as the band tears into Still Echoes, the lead single from the band's latest album VII: Sturm Und Drang. It's a manically fast and cut-throat number, designed to tear you asunder. Recent track Engage The Fear Machine and Sacrament cut Blacken The Cursed Sun proved to be highlights of the show, the themes of media distrust and self-power in the face of bleakness striking home. Thrashy new track Anthropoid also made an appearance, along with older cuts Descending and Vigil. The concise but high quality set ended with Redneck, leaving the audience hungry for more.