Richmond, VA’s finest metallers Lamb of God are currently melting faces across the United States with Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity. Metal Insider contributing photographer and writer Nathan Katsiaficas caught up with the tour as it made its way to northernmost New England, at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine on May 9th.
The evening’s show saw a huge turnout and was nearly sold out, with more than 1700 fans packing in by the time opener Corrosion of Conformity took the stage. This tour is a big deal for CoC fans as it features their classic ’90s lineup after the return of rhythm guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan in 2014. The lineup change seems to have done a lot of good for the band–they sounded much tighter on this night than when I’d seen them 3 years prior. They had fans of all ages headbanging along as they played through a ~40 minute, 8-song set that included “Paranoid Opioid,” “Vote With a Bullet,” and “Albatross” among other tracks.
Clutch was up next. I may lose some metal cred here but the last time I saw Clutch was on the Black Label Society / Children of Bodom run in 2011 (?) and after seeing a high energy set from COB at that show, I fell asleep during Clutch. Luckily Clutch has gotten more animated since then (and perhaps I’m now old enough to better appreciate their music), with frontman Neil Fallon in constant motion, swerving around the stage as the band played through a lengthy ~55 minute set. The band’s set included several newer tracks off of their 2015 release Psychic Warfare including “X-Ray Visions,” “Firebirds,” “Decapitation Blues,” and “A Quick Death in Texas.” It also included older fan-favorites such as “Gravel Road” and “The Mob Goes Wild.”
After a bit of a wait for the stage to be prepped, the lights went dim and twin LCD panels on the stage lit up playing a video depicting scenes of natural disasters and destruction. As the video began to fade, the opening notes of “Walk with Me In Hell” rang out, and Lamb of God emerged. What ensued was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from them, as they worked through a crushing set that struck a nice balance between new material from 2015’s VII: Sturm Und Drang including “Still Echos,” “512,” and “Anthropoid,” and older fan-favorites like “Laid to Rest,” “Hourglass,” and “Descending,” just to name a few. Also appearing on the setlist this tour was a song I’d never heard from them live, “Blacken the Cursed Sun,” from 2006’s Sacrament. In other words, no matter what era of Lamb of God you’re a fan of, this tour has something for you. Frontman Randy Blythe put on a hell of a performance throughout and was hilarious on-stage between songs as he interacted with the crowd. He seemed pretty pleased with the food offerings in the Portland area, speaking highly of the lobster rolls he’d consumed earlier. It’s nice to see a band that takes the time to check out the local scenery and establishments on their way through. Lamb of God have changed things up this tour–closing with “Redneck” instead of “Black Label,” which they’ve played every other time I’ve seen them–the song was noticeably but forgivably absent this time around. If you can make it out to one of the remaining dates, it’s definitely worth doing so–the tour runs through June, check out the dates after the photos below!
5/12 – St Louis, Mo. @ The Pageant
5/13 – Council Bluffs, Iowa @ Westfair Amphitheater – 89.7 The River’s Rockfest (KIWR)*
5/14 – Somerset, Wis. @ Somerset Amphitheater – Northern Invasion*
5/16 – Binghamton, N.Y. @ Magic City Music Hall
5/17 – Huntington, N.Y. @ The Paramount
5/19 – Toronto, Ontario @ TD Echo Beach
5/20 – Schaghticoke, N.Y. @ Schaghticoke Fairgrounds – Rock’n Derby*
5/21 – Columbus, Ohio @ MAPFRE Stadium – Rock on the Range*
5/23 – Wichita, Kan. @ The Cotillion
5/24 – Morrison, Colo. @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
5/25 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Complex
5/27 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Comerica Theatre
5/28 – Pomona, Calif. @ Fox Theater Pomona
5/29 – Oakland, Calif. @ Fox Theater
5/31 – Seattle, Wash. @ WaMu Theater at CenturyLink Field Events Center
6/01 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
6/02 – Penticton, British Columbia @ South Okanagan Events Centre
6/04 – Calgary, Alberta @ Calgary Stampede Corral
6/05 – Edmonton, Alberta @ Shaw Conference Centre
6/06 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ Saskatoon Prairieland Exhibition Park Hall A
6/07 – Winnipeg, Mantiboa @ Burton Cummings Theatre
