{"id":942,"date":"2012-11-03T02:46:22","date_gmt":"2012-11-03T10:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/?p=942"},"modified":"2012-11-17T21:55:42","modified_gmt":"2012-11-18T05:55:42","slug":"lamb-of-god-makes-long-awaited-return-to-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/2012\/11\/03\/lamb-of-god-makes-long-awaited-return-to-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamb of God Makes Long-Awaited Return To Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Elena Whidden,\u00a0<\/strong>October 31st 2012, The Palladium, Hollywood CA:<\/strong> Halloween night is always a night for celebrating, but this year was special: Wednesday night marked the second show of Lamb of God\u2019s first United States tour in two years, and all present at the Hollywood Palladium exalted at the return of vocalist Randy Blythe from his incarceration in the Czech Republic. They, along with supporting acts Sylosis, Hatebreed and In Flames, made for a show that had to be the best Halloween party in Hollywood. Definitely the most metal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>The first band up was Sylosis<\/strong>, out of England.\u00a0 Apparently Lamb of God specially requested this foursome to tour with them, and Sylosis made it very clear why with their impressive opening set.\u00a0 This band produced an incredibly full sound for a group of four guys, a sound which is also very hard to describe\u2014melodic death metal might come close, but their music contains elements of everything from progressive rock to metalcore.\u00a0 The expressive and melodious lead guitar playing of Josh Middleton, which was especially striking during the introductions to a couple songs, set this group apart from the other bands on the bill, as did the conspicuous lack of breakdowns in their music. Middleton by the way, had his hands full, as he performs vocals for the group too.\u00a0 Sylosis are touring in support of their third full album, Monolith, <\/em>although their set contained songs from their previous albums as well.\u00a0 I picked up Monolith <\/em>at the merch booth after the set (best $15 I\u2019ve spent in a while), and it seemed many other people at the show did the same.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say this surprised me though; many horns were raised as Sylosis left the stage.<\/p>\n

Hatebreed<\/strong> came next, a band which emerged seventeen years ago from the formerly thriving hardcore\/metalcore scene in their (and my) home state of Connecticut.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say I\u2019m the biggest fan of metalcore in general, but Hatebreed really won me over with their live show: they played all their songs incredibly tight, and frontman-since-\u201994- Jeremy Jasta got the whole floor riled up.\u00a0 During \u201cThis Is Now,\u201d he pitted left and right sides of the auditorium against each other in a contest to see who could be louder and more vicious, declaring drummer Matt Byrne\u2014who played excellently, despite a flight through Hurricane Sandy to get to LA\u2014the judge.\u00a0 \u201cEveryone Bleeds Now\u201d off the band\u2019s 2009 self-titled album came next, and during its breakdown the band sounded like they were working, straining even to rein in and hold back the speed of the music: the result was a fantastic sort of tension, just the kind breakdowns are meant to create.\u00a0 In the middle of the song, Jasta told fans how he liked seeing \u201cunity in music bringing people together,\u201d a great message (true, coming from anyone an ounce less genuine, it might have seemed cheesy, but not from Jasta).\u00a0 Hatebreed dedicated \u201cPerseverance\u201d to Randy Blythe, before ending with \u201cLive For This,\u201d that paean to hard core and heavy metal fans that earned the group their 2004 Grammy nod.\u00a0 I understand why Hatebreed fans are \u201cAs Diehard As They Come\u201d after seeing this band\u2019s performance, and the amount of energy they pour out for all who support them, old fans and new.<\/p>\n

Sweden\u2019s In Flames<\/strong> was the final band to play before Lamb of God.\u00a0 The biggest treat from this group were the shredding twin guitar harmonies of Bj\u00f6rn Gelotte and Niclas Engelin, which were absolutely beautiful to hear, and which brought an almost power metal vibe to the show.\u00a0 I think my favorite moment from them was when they faced each other and played a solo together which tore through the middle of \u201cDeliver Us.\u201d\u00a0 The band switched things up with \u201cTake This Life,\u201d featured a fast-paced thrash beat interlude, after playing a couple heavy songs.\u00a0 I thought the keyboard samples on some of the songs were interesting, but I guess In Flames don\u2019t consider the keys a big enough part of their sound to warrant a live keyboard player.\u00a0 After vocalist and front man Anders Frid\u00e9n jokingly told the crowd to shut up when they started a \u2018Lamb of God\u2019 chant, in Flames closed their set with \u201cMy Sweet Shadow,\u201d one of the singles off of Soundtrack To Your Escape<\/em>.\u00a0 Shutting up the crowd was far from the weirdest thing he did though: he compared following Hatebreed to \u201ca small morning fart,\u201d which my friend Avinash and I decided was meant to be complimentary, and he called out a guy named Jack in the front of the pit from falling asleep, which resulted in a hilarious \u2018fuck Jack!\u2019 chant from the crowd.<\/p>\n

After a short break, the Palladium went completely black.\u00a0 Two large monitors on stage flickered, and began playing clips of buildings collapsing and of Lyndon B. Johnson\u2019s Daisy Girl nuclear weapons PSA from the 1960s.\u00a0 As strobe lights started up, Chris Adler ascended his drum kit amid manic chanting.\u00a0 He played a short solo, which was nonetheless louder than anything all night, as John Campbell, Willie Adler and Mark Morton took the stage.\u00a0 Finally Randy Blythe made his entrance, his face streaked with vertical stripes of black paint.\u00a0 The lights had gone completely red by now, four columns of fog blasted upward from the front of the stage, and in that atmosphere Mr. Blythe looked positively demonic as Lamb of God<\/strong> started into \u201cDesolation.\u201d Willie Adler\u2019s hysterical Kenny Powers costume (as in, the jerry-curl-sporting pitcher who is the main character in HBO\u2019s comedy series Eastbound and Down<\/em>) kept things from getting altogether too brutal.<\/p>\n

Blythe cued the crowd and they shouted for \u201cWalk With Me In Hell,\u201d one of my favorite songs of the set.\u00a0 Fires blazed on the monitor for the fast-paced \u201cSet To Fail,\u201d before Lamb of God flew into \u201cRuin,\u201d during which the animations of fires switched to images of Pentecostal healers and the crowd chanted \u201cFear! Pain! Hatred! Power!\u201d\u00a0 After this song, Randy Blythe spoke ever so briefly about his incarceration.\u00a0 It was the only time he touched on it all night, and all he said was that he \u201chad a brief stay in a gated community,\u201d and that he was \u201cglad to be back here in the land of the free and the home of the brave.\u201d\u00a0 No ranting, no whining.\u00a0 It was such a stoic way of dealing with what happened- the crowd went absolutely wild.<\/p>\n

This preceded the introduction to \u201cNow You\u2019ve Got Something To Die for,\u201d a song which included a tribute to U.S. soldiers, their photos flashing on the video screens.\u00a0 I think my buddies who are Marines would have been absolutely thrilled to see this, and would have found it appropriately badass.\u00a0 \u201cThe Undertow\u201d featured mean guitar parts from Adler and Morton, and after this followed the menacing spoken intro to \u201cOmerta,\u201d awesomely threatening live: \u201cWhoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward, whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both, for a wounded man shall say to his assailant, \u2018If I live I will kill you, if I die you are forgiven.\u2019 Such is the rule of honor.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cContractor\u201d followed, and because it is such a fast song the pit in the center of the Palladium started whirling again, so fast that a helpless crowd got stuck in the middle (this happened several times during the night, in fact).\u00a0 The double bass drumming was so fast on this song that it seemed at times to fit in time with the assault rifle fire on the video screens.<\/p>\n

A giant black and white Lamb of God flag dropped from the ceiling for the band\u2019s encore, which consisted of \u201cIn Your Words,\u201d \u201cLaid To Rest,\u201d \u201cRedneck\u201d\u2014the crowd sang most of this one\u2014and \u201cBlack Label.\u201d\u00a0 Blythe\u2019s voice stayed strong throughout the entire seventy-five minute set, and during the breakdown on this last one, he tore back and forth across the stage in great spirits.<\/p>\n

Lamb of God Set List:<\/strong>
\n1. Desolation
\n2. Ghost Walking
\n3. Walk With Me In Hell
\n4. Set to Fail
\n5. Ruin
\n6. Now You’ve Got Something To Die For
\n7. Eleventh Hour
\n8. The Undertow
\n9. Omerta
\n10. Contractor
\nEncore:<\/em>
\nThe Passing
\n11. In Your Words
\n12. Laid to Rest
\n13. Redneck
\n14. Black Label<\/p>\n

All in all, it was an awesome night, and it is so cool to have Lamb of God and Randy Blythe back in the states.\u00a0 My one qualm might be the price of tickets, which were reasonable on their own at $35, but prohibitively expensive when internet service charges were added on, bringing the price up to about $50 per.\u00a0 The great lineup and the show all the bands put on was certainly worth the money in my opinion; simply put, Halloween next year has a lot to live up to.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Overall gig rating: 10\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Lamb Of God setlist courtesy of Setlist.fm]<\/p>\n

Related: Photo Gallery<\/a> | Lamb Of God interview<\/a> | Sylosis interview<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Elena Whidden,\u00a0October 31st 2012, The Palladium, Hollywood CA: Halloween night is always a night for celebrating, but this year was special: Wednesday night marked the second show of Lamb of God\u2019s first United States tour in two years, and all present at the Hollywood Palladium exalted at the return of vocalist Randy Blythe from … <\/p>\n

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