After a long-ass day at Knotfest, it was once more into the breach for the Lamb of God sideshow at Eatons Hill Hotel with Brand of Sacrifice. It had been seven long years since Randy and Co. graced our shores and they were back with a vengeance, delivering a blistering set in the depths of suburbia on a cold rainy Monday. Brand of Sacrifice were here for the first time and despite playing without vocalist Kyle Anderson they delivered an intense instrumental set.
Heralding the beginning of the show was the theme to Pokemon, perhaps a nod to the children in the upper gallery. Once the band filed out however, it was down to business. With a video loop of demons and fire as a backdrop, Brand of Sacrifice launched straight into a set of tight heavy industrial metal. Featuring soaring and ominous techno backing, the band delivered their signature digital drums, heavy deathcore riffs and slow final breakdowns. For many punters this night followed an entire day of metal but regardless a pit opened up for Lifeblood and continued for the rest of the set, ending in a wall of death for Eclipse, which somehow evolved into a rowing pit in the vein of Amon Amarth. It was quite the warm-up for the main act and certainly showed Brand of Sacrifice what we were capable of.
After a brief intermission it was lights-out again and the intro to Memento Mori began playing. What followed is what we’ve come to expect from the Virginians; Sheer brutality. After 30 years of music Lamb of God showed us there’s still fuel in the tank, and we showed them we can still party with them. All through the set we sang when Randy called out for crowd favourites such as Walk with Me in Hell, Hourglass, Now You’ve Got Something to Die For, Ruin, and Laid to Rest. As he introduced the drinking song 11th Hour he noted how he was 13 years sober thanks to drunk Brisbane. It was quite the honour.
Now, of course the pit was the usual liveliness for a Lamb of God show, replete with crowd surfing, but for the last song Redneck, Randy called for it to truly take off. It was a fitting end to the night as we sang along Just One More Time. Tonight was the end of the Omens tour and Lamb of God did not disappoint delivering their usual heavy groove, face melting solos, screaming, and a southern drawl.
Once again Eatons Hill Hotel hosted a room full of drunks as some of the heaviest music worldwide played live. They’re stuck with us now, especially as the next generation of metalheads were in attendance. My thanks to Brand of Sacrifice, I for one will look forward to seeing them the next time they make the trip from Canada with a recovered singer. And of course my thanks to Lamb of God, hopefully they’ll be back much sooner than another seven years.
