Lamb Of God Tour
Marathon Music Works
January 20th, 2016
Nashville, TN
Contrary to popular belief, Nashville hosts more than just country artists. Shocking, I know. In case you weren’t convinced, on January 20th, Lamb Of God’s tour stopped in TN to play a sold out show at Marathon Music Works. With multiple dates still left on the tour, be sure to snag a ticket if you still can. Read on to hear about all four of the amazing bands that were on the bill.
Power Trip
“We’re Power Trip from Dallas, TX, and I am way too fucking high to be here right now. Let’s do this!” was probably the best ice breaker that I’ve heard in a very long time. Diving straight into their song “Manifest Decimation”, the entire band was full of an electric energy that overflowed into the audience and had people screaming the lyrics back at the band right from the start. The second song of the night, “Heretic’s Fork”, had Power Trip’s vocalist, Riley, calling for a circle pit—he has such an outgoing personality and easily talked to the audience in between songs.
The turnout for an opening band was nothing less than impressive, and the level of crowd participation was high—there was a lot of small talk in between songs with people shouting out requests. Closing the set with “Hammer Of Doubt”, Riley made a point to tell the crowd to “never stop learning” & that “if you stop learning, you might as well be dying.” Short, but powerful. Power Trip are definitely a band that you should make a point to check out if you haven’t already.
Deafheaven
I had previously seen Deafheaven once before, at Revolution Music Hall in Amityville on Long Island. The show here in TN was different due to the fact that the previous time they had been playing to, at the most, 200 people. Marathon Music Works, however, has a capacity of 1,500. Playing tracks from their latest release, New Bermuda, there was little to no dialogue in between songs. Their eerily beautiful, almost trance inducing music, mixed with hypnotizing green, blue, and purple lights added to the overall experience of their performance. Finishing their set with “Dream House” from their 2013 release Sunbather, it’s safe to say that if you haven’t already listened to them, you’re missing out.
Anthrax
Joey Belladonna is one of the most energetic vocalists that I have ever seen. From running around the stage for the entire duration of their set, to taking time in between songs to high five people and shake their hands, as well as to continuously thank the audience for all of their support, he proved to be extremely personable and appreciative of fans. Anthrax have been a band for around 35 years—I can only say that I hope the bands that are around now will have the same level of energy and passion to stick around for that long.
“Fight ‘em ‘till You Can’t” and “Caught In A Mosh” kicked off their set. Playing a cover of Joe Jacksons “Got The Time”, as well as their new single, “Evil Twin” the entire band had the crowd engaged from start to finish. Keep an eye out for a new album coming out later this year.
Lamd Of God
By the time that Lamb Of God took the stage, the entire place was riled up and ready to let loose. Running around the stage with what seemed like an endless amount of energy, Randy talked to everyone and cracked jokes throughout the stacked set list which included “Walk With Me In Hell”, “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For”, and ended with “Redneck”.
Playing “512”, which has been nominated for a Grammy Award For Best Metal Performance, as well as multiple other tracks off of their latest album, VII: Sturm und Drang, released back in July of 2015, Randy called for moshing, crowd surfing, and people shouting along with every word. Formed in Richmond, VA, back in 1994, Lamb of God have been putting out album after album ever since. Check out their latest music video here, and see if you’re lucky enough to have their tour be stopping anywhere near you!
