REAL GONE GOES OUT: Lamb of God – Wembley Arena, London 3/11/2018

When Lamb of God headlined a cold January night at the Brixton Academy in 2014, their performance bordered on woeful. Bad sound, a short setlist and a lot of time spent talking between songs resulted in a massive disappointment. With hindsight, the night’s opening act wiped the floor with them. In an energetic half-hour slot, Huntress, fronted by the spirited Jill Janus, showed a lot of energy and a willingness to please the audience, obviously being more than aware of how hard it is to be a relatively unknown support band. After the revelation that Jill took her own life in August 2018, that set is now a memory to treasure. Lamb of God’s, not so much.

Wembley Arena is packed to the rafters this evening. The night’s event – headlined by Slayer, but also featuring Obituary, Anthrax and Lamb of God – is a metal fan’s dream. Obituary have shown themselves to be true professionals even as underdogs, and Anthrax – stalwarts of 80s thrash – have put on a really fun support slot, showing why they’ve retained their legendary status.

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BACKDAWN – I Shall Burn Your Empire

backdawn lpFrench metallers Backdawn released their first full length release ‘Through Extermination’ in 2013. The hard working band then spent the following years promoting that album and setting about creating even stronger material for its successor. That successor, 2016’s ‘I Shall Burn Your Empire’, was crowdfunded by fans and mixed by Annihilator’s Jeff Waters. The results are spectacular.

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ANGERDOME – Angerdome

angerdomeGroove metal arguably came of age with Pantera’s third release for East/West Records, 1994’s ‘Far Beyond Driven’. Taking the sound the band had pretty much perfected on 1992’s ‘Vulgar Display of Power’ and cranking the dials into the red on all fronts, it became the blueprint for all to follow. There have been some great bands working within the metal subgenre since that time, of course, but arguably, Lamb of God set a new standard with ‘Ashes of the Wake’ in 2004.

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: Lamb of God – Brixton Academy, London 18/01/2014

After Randy Blythe was arrested on a charge of manslaughter in the Czech Republic in June 2012, the future of Lamb of God was uncertain.  If found guilty, it would put the band on hold for approximately a decade – and given that their 2011 release ‘Resolution’ placed the band further into the big league, the timing could not be more unfortunate.  Understandably, given the good news of his innocence – a decision reached in March 2013 – the band’s first return to the UK just under a year later is cause for celebration; their show at London’s Brixton Academy is, unsurprisingly, a sell-out.

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