Lamb of God with support from Kreator and Municipal Waste, Manchester Academy 7th March 2023

In the words of Blythe "This is Lamb of God, here and now"

Words and Pictures: Ange Cobham / Cobspix Photography

After a 3 year delay, internationally acclaimed metal legends Lamb of God are back on stage and they were unleashed in Manchester tonight! I knew I was in for an evening of full on aggression with this line up. I do love a challenge, so was looking forward to it.

Municipal Waste

I arrived a little late due to a traffic delay on route, so I only caught the last couple of tracks of support act Municipal Waste. Having not heard of these guys before, having done a bit of research I found they are from Virginia and seems they are regulars in Manchester after supporting Anthrax 6 months ago! They are full throttle thrash metallers that clearly go down well with the Manchester crowd who joined in and contributed with the initial warm up in the venue. The final track “Wave of Death” kicked off a wave of crowd surfers with it! I thought I saw the most crowd surfers at Trivium the other week, but this was a new high! We got told by security that was a new record for the most crowd surfers to be pulled out during one song! [Maybe it’s the effect you have on these crowds Ange? – Reviews Editor]

Kreator

The volume of crowd surfers made me nervous for the next band, Kreator, who graced the stage to a huge roar as the crowd welcomed them. Immediately kicking into their first song their title track from their latest album “Hate Uber Alles” which the crowd sang/screamed along to. Founded in 1982, this German 4 piece thrash metal band are rightly hailed as worldwide superstars. As you might expect , they sure lived up to that, giving bands half their age a real run for their money! Another singalong track followed with “Hail to the Hordes” before they then shifted up a gear and went full on thrash with “Enemy of God”. The venue bounced, the crowd roared, the walls shook. If Kreator ever retire, it will be too soon!

Vocalist/guitarist Mille Petrozza was smashing out the tracks whilst working the willing crowd with ease in between songs. Bassist Rob Fioretti frequenting front of stage to showcase his talent, drummer Jurgen Reil high on his pedestal showing off his awesome set of drums which had the bands logo on them….. and if it’s not obvious, YES..  I was really impressed with them! Teamed with guitarist Sami Yli Sirnio they really prove that they are true icons in the thrash metal scene. It also gives us a real sense that thrash metal is no longer a relic of the 1980s but is experiencing a real resurgence once more, much to the delight of bands and fans alike.

Slower tracks thrown in such as “Satan is Real and “Phobia” gave them a chance to catch a breath to deliver these fan favourites. Props like corpses hung around the stage and Mille waved a flag of hate at the start of their track “Flag of Hate” proving Kreator are “kreating” [I see what you did there – Ed] great gimmicks for the fans’ enjoyment. A great set from these guys, who certainly made their mark in the Manchester community of metalheads!

Lamb of God

With the energy in the venue buzzing like a generator about to overload, the tones rang around the Academy of “Memonto Mori” before Lamb of God burst onto the stage to a loud raucous applause from the fans, and a flying cup of beer into the pit, which I took a hit from. This sadly is becoming all too common with venues at the moment with the perpetrators clearly having more money than sense and having no cares for anyone in front of them especially the guards and the photographers who seem to take the brunt of it all. But all in the name of metal eh!

Launching into their first track “Ruin” and off went frontman Randy with his full on angry vocals and endless energy. He was all over that stage, jumps galore and it saw all the photographers centre stage for his drum riser leap!

“Walk With Me in Hell” heard some incredible guitar work from Mark Morton and Willie Adler who riff like they may never riff again! Along with rhythmic  guitarist John Campbell and tub thumper Art Cruz, all proving they are a really tight band, there’s almost too much going on to keep track of it all. As I tried and track the always lively Randy with my camera the crowd were going mental behind me, with occasional collective chants of “Lamb of God” from the chaotic masses!

“Omerta” taken from their 2004 album “Ashes of the Wake” was introduced by Randy by saying “such is the rule of honour” and they broke into the slow riffs which are not the most technical for these guys but are very effective. Tracks from their latest album “Omens” including their title track and “Ditch” were blasted out along with a slower stomping “Resurrection Man” from “Lamb of God” , the 2021 album. The band returned to the stage for their encore “Vigil” a full on crushing track that kept the fans going like it was the start of the gig! Impressive when you think they’ve already moshed till they dropped thanks to Municipal Waste and Kreator. The band then ramped up to some real showmanship drumming from Art Cruz, who in my opinion is a top class drummer, rounded off by one very cool name! The end of their setlist closed with “Redneck” which sent the place insanely wild, I bet there were some sore bodies the next day! Mine would be one of them!

It’s fair to say that was well worth the 3 years wait for the avid fans who all had smiles on their faces (and sweat soaked shirts) I was worn out after just 3 songs in one of the wildest atmospheres I have witnessed.

In the words of Blythe “This is Lamb of God, here and now”

SETLIST:

Memento Mori
Ruin
Walk With Me in Hell
Resurrection Man
Ditch
Now You’ve Got Something to Die For
Contractor
Omerta
Omens
11th Hour
512
Encore:
Vigil
Laid to Rest
Redneck

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