It’s hard to find words to describe how intense and awesome Lamb of God, Decapitated, and Anciients were as they made their way into the Bible Belt to crush Nashville, playing at Marathon Music Works. I’m not certain if the show fully sold out but the venue was definitely packed to the gills with metalheads anxious to have Lamb Of God hit the stage, with the crowd already chanting the band’s name before the first support band could even take the stage.
This leg of the tour was to feature hardcore band, Terror, but the group dropped off the tour just days before it was to kick off. Luckily, Vancouver’s Anciients, whom you should remember from Metal Insider’s Unsigned & Streamed a while back (they’re now signed to Season of Mist), were able to make themselves available to join the tour in their place–obviously a HUGE opportunity for the band! I’d heard some of their discography in the past, but I didn’t fully realize their awesomeness until I had seen them live this night. In terms of their sound (though you should try listening to them yourself), some elements of their music remind me of Mastodon, with screaming vocals that I’d compare to those of Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. Their heavy grooves got the crowd moving and pumped for Decapitated, who were up next.
Polish tech-death outfit, Decapitated, picked up where Anciients left off and put on a hell of a show with a set that featured mostly newer material off of their 2012 release Carnival is Forever including the tracks “Homo Sum” and “View from a Hole”. I wasn’t sure how the audience would take them, as they aren’t as well known as the headlining act of the night, but based on the intensity of the mosh pit (one fan broke his ankle only 2 minutes into their set!), the band seemed to go over well. The crowd really went nuts towards the end of their set as they launched into the fan-favorite (and my favorite) song, “Spheres of Madness”.
By this time, things had started to get so hot and humid inside the venue, that the high, vaulted ceilings were dripping onto the crowd, but that didn’t stop people from going wild once the mighty Lamb of God took the stage. They did not disappoint with their set, playing some of their newer material off of Resolution, while also covering classic Lamb of God songs, like “Walk With Me in Hell” “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For,” “Ruin,” “Laid To Rest” and many more. Randy and his bandmates were in top form, with the frontman leaping and bounding around the stage. At one point, Randy took a moment to address the unfortunate situation in the Czech Republic and the tragic loss of Lamb Of God fan Daniel Nosek, telling the audience to have fun but to also be safe. Lamb of God ended with the song, “Black Label,” leaving a very sweaty, yet satisfied audience.
Check out photos from each band’s set in the gallery below.
