LAMB OF GOD w/ Killswitch Engage, Baroness and Suicide Silence FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th at Coney Island Amphitheater, NY

Photos and Words : Jacob Klee

I must admit, I was skeptical when I heard that lamb of God was playing at cony island amphitheater. This was a Household name in the metal scene playing at a venue that I, a metal fan heavily involved in the scene had never of despite living 40 minutes from it. When I saw the rest of the lineup, I was even more unsure…. But boy was I wrong, from the nice walk on the beach to the quick-moving VIP entrance and straight into the well-sized venue I enjoyed the atmosphere of this newfound venue!

Suicide Silence went first opening with one of their well-known songs from one of their early albums in“Unanswered” although it was still very early in the show and the doors had just opened, you could sense the excitement as they went through the first track and transitioned smoothly through the setlist. In the 7 slots they were given they did a great job of warming up the crowd and building up towards the finale of their set the song they are most well-known for “You Only Live Once”.

Following up Suicide Silence was a band that I was not familiar with known as Baroness. Despite having never heard of them I must say I thoroughly enjoyed their performance and the energy they displayed on stage; from how the members of the band interacted with each other to how they spoke to the crowd I would highly recommend giving them a listen If you’re a fan of Progressive Metal.

Now by this time into the show, it was pitch black outside the only illumination coming from overhead lights and the stage… you could feel the palpable energy with the venue now full and everyone teaming with excitement as they await Killswitch Engage. The guys opened with “strength of mind “a song that up until that moment I hadn’t heard of (though I must admit, halfway through the performance I made a mental note to add this hard-hitting song to my workout playlist) from then on, they started going through the set list, poking fun at the crowd and putting on a fantastic performance. I specifically recall right before playing one of their most popular songs “My Curse “Jesse Leach addressed the crowd and said, “when this song comes on it’s party time, take a shot…. Drink your drink and let’s have some fun” at this point into the show the lighting and effects were in full effect painting the stage in a host of beautiful colors and strobes. All in all, Killswitch Engage was fantastic live and I will jump at the opportunity to see them again.

What is there to say about Lamb of God … I suppose a good place to start was the introduction to the first song… the stage was dark as the intro to “Memento Mori” began to play the stage was bathed in dim blue light as Randy Blythe approached the front center stage and stepped up onto a platform. The stage then exploded into a chorus of light and smoke as the entire band got into their element and put on a fantastic opening act that did a fantastic job at setting the standard and expectation for the rest of the show. With each song coming and going the effects and lighting got a more and more impressive following suit to the energy of the band and even making use of some very well-done pyrotechnics which I was not at all expecting from this venue that was brand new to me! with the mosh pit going hard and crowd surfers coming out in troves Lamb of God did not disappoint!