In a dream double-bill for heavy metal fans, Lamb Of God and Killswitch Engage joined forces for their tour opener on Friday, September 9 at the Ford Amphitheater in Brooklyn. With a chill in the air signaling that the fall season is nearly upon us, the initial throng of what would be nearly 5,000 guests excitedly began to file into the covered, open air venue fronting the Atlantic Ocean at the 5:00 pm doors call. The Spanish Colonial style venue, complete with nautical-themed motifs, is a New York City designated-landmark originally constructed in 1923 that was restored to its former glory in 2016.
Hailing from Richmond, Virginia and originally formed in 1994 as Burn the Priest, Lamb of God are at the forefront of the new thrash metal movement. Vocalist Randy Blythe and company will be releasing their ninth studio album Omens (Epic Records) on October 7. Described by Blythe as an “extremely pissed-off” record, it is a self-reflective piece of work regarding the fragile state of the world in which we currently reside. Omens was recorded at Henson Recording Studios (formerly A&M Studios) in Los Angeles, California with their longtime collaborator since 2006, Josh Wilbur.
Although they are not touring in support of a recent release, the last being their eighth studio album Atonement in 2019, metalcore giants Killswitch Engage are the featured special guest on all 28 dates of the current tour. Formed in Westfield, Massachusetts in 1999, Killswitch Engage’s lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D’Antonio and drummer Justin Foley.
However, prior to Killswitch Engage taking the stage in a couple more hours, the first band to warm up the crowd would be Suicide Silence, formed in 2002. With a lineup of vocalist Hernan “Eddie” Hermida, dual guitarists Chris Garza and Mark Heylmun, bassist Dan Kenny and touring drummer Ernie Iniguez, the deathcore quintet established in Riverside, California performed a 7-song set showcasing varied speed changes, complex time signatures and plenty of death growls from Hermida. In early-2023, Suicide Silence will be releasing their seventh studio album, Remember… You Must Die.
Hitting the stage promptly at 7:00 pm, Baroness followed with their own blistering, 6-song set. For the next 35-minites, these sludge metal heavy hitters from Savanna, Georgia would melt our collective minds with heavy distortion and frontman John Baizley’s harsh and abrasive vocals. Baizley is also an accomplished painter whose artwork has been incorporated into album art for Baroness, amongst many other bands. The rest of the quartet, formed in 2003, is rounded out by Nick Jost on bass, Sebastian Thomson on drums and Gina Gleason on lead guitar. Fans of Baroness will also be happy to learn that they are currently in the writing stages for their sixth studio offering.
As the last remaining light of the day peaked through the openings in the venue’s massive canopy, and plenty of fans still lined up at the long merch table positioned at the top level of the amphitheater, Killswitch Engage appeared onstage shortly after 8:00 pm. Leach and his bandmates knocked it out the park on the first pitch, as they launched into “Strength of the Mind” with a ferocious intensity, an offering from their seventh studio album Incarnate (2016).
Up until this point in the night, fans in attendance had been relatively subdued, but not for much longer. During 2006’s “This Is Absolution,” from their fourth studio album As Daylight Dies, Leach descended into the pit and engaged with several lucky fans in the front rows, sharing his microphone as he made his way along the rail, before climbing his way back up to the stage.
The band continued to dig into the early part of their discography, giving us “Rose of Sharyn” from 2004’s The End of Heartache and “To the Sons of Man” from 2002’s Alive or Just Breathing. During the remainder of the eleven songs that followed, an endless stream of crowd surfers seemed to emerge from out of nowhere – each metal head riding the wave of outstretched arms of their brethren to the front rail – where they were safely collected into the waiting arms of a security team member.
The surprise of the night was a cover of Dio’s metal classic, “Holy Driver,” released by the metal legends in 1983 as the lead single from their debut album of the same name. Killswitch Engage had originally covered the song as part of compilation for Kerrang!, the British weekly magazine. The Killswitch Engage set would end after a little more than an hour, but not without a few offerings from their most recent studio work, 2019’s Atonement, including “Unleashed,” “The Crownless King” and “Know Your Enemy.” Killswitch Engage closed their hard-hitting set with “The Signal Fire,” the recorded version of which featured guest vocals from Howard Jones, the band’s lead vocalist from 2002 to 2012 when Leach had left the band.
During the much-needed 30-minute break when the stage was turned over by Lamb Of God’s roadie, most of the fans dripping in sweat hastily exited the General Admission floor as they slipped by one another on their way to the restroom, grabbed a quick bite to eat (hot dogs and Bavarian-style soft pretzels were the only two options that I saw) or bought one last cold beer from the concession areas strategically placed throughout.
As the time approached 9:30 pm, the atmosphere inside Ford Amphitheater was now intense with excitement as fan chatter calmed in anticipation for headliner Lamb of God to appear. Moments later, as the instrumental anthem and introduction to their 2020 self-titled new anthem “Memento Mori” was played over the house PA, bassist John Campbell, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler and drummer Art Cruz entered stage left. As they took up their instruments, Blythe appeared in his customary stage attire – black running sneakers, long, vintage-style cargo shorts and a Cinemetal t-shirt featuring a mashup logo with a nod to the iconic German film director Werner Herzog and heavy metal titan Danzig. Blythe is also the first performer I have ever noticed wearing knee pads and ankle support braces, and in short time, I would see why. The 51-year old Blythe hardly ever stands still. If he is not pacing furiously from one end of the stage to the other, he is either getting a running start for a giant leap off the top of the drum riser (set to a backdrop of pyrotechnics explosions) or can be spotted perched atop his own center stage riser, windmilling his long dreadlocks at a dizzying speed.
After breakneck executions of “Walk With Me in Hell” (Sacrament, 2006), “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For” (Ashes of the Wake, 2004) and “Resurrection Man” (Lamb of God, 2020), fans were finally treated to the first of two tracks they would hear tonight from Omens, the thunder-inducing “Nevermore.” Before the thrash metal veterans would tear into “Ruin” (As the Palaces Burn, 2003), “something a little bit older” that Blythe dedicated to “anyone who’s ever been to the club CB f***ing GB,” Blythe addressed the audience at length for the first time. “What the f**k is up motherfuckers? Holy s**t. Look at all you beautiful people gathered here in one of the coolest places, Coney f***ing Island. For those of you who do not know, or for those of you who smoked too much weed on the train on your way over here and cannot remember where you are anymore, we are Lamb Of God. We came to New York together today to do one thing and one thing only, completely f**k this place up. Are you ready? Welcome to the first night of “The Omens Tour.” We got a new record coming out October 7, pick it up if you want.”
It was near the middle portion of Lamb of God’s 80-minute set when not one, but two circle pits formed the number ‘8’ a mere few rows back from the stage. It was an incredible sight to behold firsthand, from the safe confines of the periphery of course, as frenzied tornadoes of souls twirled around and collided heavily into one another, and more than occasionally, falling hard to the ground. However, in keeping with the mosh pit code of etiquette, any fallen mosher was quickly pulled up to safety by the nearest person, before rejoining one of the flowing circles of bodies yet again.
At the conclusion of the title track from Omens, the fans were more vigorous than ever, repeatedly chanting “Lamb Of God,” “Lamb Of God,” “Lamb Of God,”” Lamb Of God,” . . . Blythe, visibly thriving on the adoration, then said “It is always a f***ing pleasure to be back here, give yourself a big round of applause. Make some noise for the other bands that have played here for you this evening, goddamnit. First up, all the way from California, make some noise for Suicide Silence. And from down our way in Georgia, give it up for Baroness. And of course, make some noise for our brothers Killswitch Engage.”
The final five songs of Lamb Of God’s set would be their best, including “512” from VII: Sturm und Drang (2015), a song about Blythe’s self-proclaimed “extended European vacation that [he] took a while ago,” referring to his manslaughter court case that stemmed from a 2010 concert in Prague. “Ghost Walking” (Resolution, 2012) highlighted Cruz’s nuclear bomb drum slams and Campbell’s swift and velocious bass picking, while “Vigil” (As the Palaces Burn, 2003) featured intense groove metal shredding by guitarist Morton. The penultimate offering from Lamb Of God, “Laid to Rest” from 2004’s Ashes of the Wake, was the night’s highlight as the crowd went berserk during the chorus, “Smother another failure, lay this to rest. Console yourself, you’re better alone. Destroy yourself, see who gives a fuck. Absorb yourself, you’re better alone. Destroy yourself.”
Blythe acknowledged the packed amphitheater one last time before the band burst into the fan favorite from 2006’s Sacrament. “Do you want one more f***ing song? Let me hear you! I think we can oblige. Before we do this, I need all you to do me a favor. As I said [earlier], tonight is the first night of the f***ing tour. You guys showed up and you showed out as New York City always f***ing does. I need every single mother***er in here to give themselves a big round of applause. Alright, I wanna see a f***ing big circle pit down there, set this mother***er off old school style. No one stands still! No one stands safe! This thing is called Redneck!”
“The Omens Tour” runs through October 20 and will conclude in Irving, Texas at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory.
Killswitch Engage Setlist: Strength of the Mind > This Is Absolution > Rose of Sharyn > To the Sons of Man > Unleashed > The Crownless King > Hate by Design > Know Your Enemy > My Curse > A Bid Farewell > This Fire > The End of Heartache > In Due Time > Holy Diver (Dio cover) > The Signal Fire
Lamb Of God Setlist: Memento Mori > Walk With Me in Hell > Now You’ve Got Something to Die For > Resurrection Man > Nevermore > Ruin > 11th Hour > Contractor > Omerta > Omens > 512 > Ghost Walking > Vigil > Laid to Rest > Redneck
Killswitch Engage
Lamb Of God
