All I can say is, a few years from now, I am definitely going to rub in the faces of my future kids ( and other people of course) that I was present for what could very well be the most epic night of my life so far. I knew from the very second that Soundwave Touring announced a double headliner tour with two of the biggest names in the metal world, that I would be there, even if I had to sell a friggin limb. The two bands that I listen to all the time, two bands who are so insanely different and unique, two bands that can literally shred your ears and rip your face off with their sheer awesomeness.
The queue was insane. people were sloshed, psyched and it just seemed like the perfect night to witness the metal magic of Lamb Of God and Meshuggah. Finally inside, I was in two minds because the Roundhouse has this brilliant balcony giving you a full view of the venue. Eventually I ended up down, and look up about 20 minutes later to see Blythe casually doing some photography and Chris Adler lazing around watching the crowd with that gorgeous beard of his. At around 8.15 the Swedish Djent-lemen, pioneers of a wave of a new musical genre, made themselves present before the gradually building up crowd at the Roundhouse, giving perfect meaning to the saying 'The Calm Before The Storm'. Taking to the stage in an abyss of darkness, Meshuggah burst into 'Swarm', which pretty much melted my very face off. And it was just the first song! The Swedish outfit played quite a few tracks off of their latest album, 'Koloss', such as 'The Hurt That Finds You First', 'Do Not Look Down', and of course 'Demiurge'. 'Demiurge' with it's massive sound was positively brutal live. My man Fredrik Thordendal, Hagstrom and Lovgren were majestic, shredding guitar ever so effortlessly and Tomas Haake being a beast.It was beautiful to watch, although the light show I felt could've been toned down a bit as the band was not entirely visible. 'I Am Colossus' made my heart do funny things to say the least. The band has this powerful aura when performing and watching them while listening to some of my favourite tracks just made me appreciate even more how intense and skilled they are as well as the intricate nature of their music. Jens Kidman was an absolute stunner, his vocals captivating the place, ricocheting off the walls of the Roundhouse, possibly giving new meaning to a literal 'breakdown'. Throughout their set, Meshuggah made it clear that their sole purpose was to destruct eardrums with their deafening and brutal sounds and destruct they did. Ending their set for the night with a couple of tracks off of 'Catch Thirtythree' and another tight song, 'The Last Vigil', it was a performance that will stay fresh in my head for a long, long time to come.
Now the beauty of a double headliner such as this, and despite this being me stating the obvious, is that, it wasn't over. The now packed Roundhouse, people pouring into every nook and cranny possible, it was Lamb Of God time. After what seemed like eons of a wait, they burst onto the stage like raging bullets. I had tears seeing Randy Blythe, considering the ordeal that the man has been through. For him to return on such a massive note, proves that music can break any barrier and he proved it that night. The crowd lost their shit when all of the classics such as 'Ghost Walking', 'Ruin', 'Walk With Me In Hell', 'Omerta' and 'Contractor' blasted on. The atmosphere was signature to that of an LoG concert, a brutal wall of death, circle pits with people giving two shits about losing limbs, not to mention all them headbangers. Chris Adler was the epitome of perfection as Campbell, Morton and Willie Adler brutalized. At this point my neck was, hanging by a thread, literally. Back on stage for an encore, and which I found hilarious, was a random appearance by Michael Starr of Steel Panther who are soon to be touring Australia too. It was a rather amusing and interesting appearance at that, with Starr asking the ladies in the crowd to flash him, generally tripping on Randy and after a point it just got weird, and he was escorted off stage leaving Randy with an extremely shiny blue vest. Putting on said vest, Randy broke into my all time favourite 'Redneck' while I simultaneously went on to break my neck. It was amazing. The love for the band was overwhelming and it just goes to show how strong the metal brotherhood Down Under is.
Ending their epic set with Black Label, Lamb of God left the stage with a heavily satisfied crowd. Randy Blythe -The man is a legend and I have so much respect for him. That night meant the world to me and I'm so happy that I was a part of it. Watching two of the greatest bands that ever existed on the same night put on a show that brutalized minds and bodies, it was perfect.
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