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10/17/2022

Lamb Of God, with Killswitch Engage, Spiritbox and Fit For An Autopsy at The Theater of the Clouds, Portland OR on 10/11/22 Photos/review

By BENJAMIN MAH //  It doesn’t appear that Lamb of God's extended time off from live performance has affected them in any way, because at this stop on the tour they tore through their material with a ferocity that suggests there’s never been any downtime whatsoever.

Like just about every other band in the world, 2022 has been all about returning to the stage. This is no different for the metal band Lamb of God. With a new album (the stellar Omens) having just been released, the band is currently 2/3rds of the way through a massive US tour along with Killswitch Engage (and openers Fit for an Autopsy and Spiritbox for this stop). Based on the band’s performance last Tuesday night at the Theater of the Clouds - it doesn’t appear that the extended time off from live performance has affected them in any way, because at this stop on the tour they tore through their material with a ferocity that suggests there’s never been any downtime whatsoever.

First up was Fit for an Autopsy. I never envy the first band on a lineup like this, but they had a fairly decent sized crowd awaiting them and made the most out of their brief timeslot. Next up was Spritbox, who was winding down their time w/the tour. Apparently Portland was to be their last stop and they put on a high energy show for the increasingly large crowd. Frontwoman Courtney LaPlante walked the stage with confidence, clearly appreciating the positive reaction the crowd was giving back.

After a slightly longer pause for a set change, the familiar sounds of…Van Halen’s “Jump” came blaring over the PA. As strange as it may seem, this set the tone for Killswitch Engage’s hour-long, mostly career spanning set. It was a tight, high energy set performed by a group that’s been doing it for over 20yrs. Older material seamlessly blended with the more recent songs, and the band kept up the intensity. And while the subject matter of their songs mostly deals with pretty weighty topics, they kept the mood light - closing their set with their now classic cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver”.

At some point after KSE’s set ended, a curtain was lowered from the rafters and a Lamb of God logo was projected on the surface. After a short while music and vocals started from behind the curtain, and then with a loud bang the curtain dropped, and Lamb of God tore into the start of an hour and a half long set full of their signature brand of metal - loud, aggressive, but with a groove. Frontman Randy Blythe spent most of the time running, jumping, kicking, and headbanging in time w/the incredibly well oiled machine that Lamb of God has become over the last 20 plus years.

Out on the road promoting their ninth album, the new songs “Omens” and “Nevermore” come off just as aggressive and heavy as anything else they’ve released, and fit perfectly alongside older classics such as “Walk With Me in Hell” and “Laid to Rest”. The pace was relentless, but not exhausting. A few times Randy was left alone on stage, thanking the crowd and showing appreciation for the support, clearly happy to be back out performing in this post-COVD era. Judging from the deafening applause, the near constant circle pit, and the bodies regularly being passed over the crowd, I think the audience was just as appreciative of being able to share in the live experience.

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