Sheer Thrash Class
My brow furrowed when I heard that Richmond's thrash masters, Lamb Of God, had been included on the Heaven And Hell tour. They were an odd choice especially when you bear in mind that eighty percent of Heaven And Hell's audience would be aging rockers and their other halves. A generation of fans who probably hate all that 'Woooaarrgghh shouty' vocals and long for a return of the classic 'rock song'. My prediction was correct as a lot of fans upped and went to the bar after a couple of minutes. What I didn't anticipate was the large support Lamb Of God received by the huge crowd of thrash fans who'd turned up to see their heroes. I was expecting them to play to an almost empty room but it was quite the opposite as the fans went mental and the pits started to open.
Vocalist Randall Blythe called everyone a mutha fukker and finally injected some life into the evening after Iced Earth bored everyone into submission. The energy from the band, their music and the reaction of the fans just went to prove how much class they have. The musicianship is first class and they have hook laden guitar riffs oozing out of their pores. Even though my colleagues loathe Randall's vocals they admitted that the music was superb. The band delivered 'Redneck', 'Walk With Me In Hell' and 'Pathetic' with rhythmic precision and it was disappointing when the band ended their all too brief set.
At the end I still think the band were an odd choice for the bill, but a necessary one as it drew in a legion of young thrash fanatics that helped swell the audience figures. Lamb Of God aren't everyone's cup of tea and were perhaps too heavy for the Heaven and Hell audience but they were the band of the evening for delivery, attitude and presence.