The night was young and everyone was running around trying to get to where they needed. There was a sea of Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God shirts, you couldn’t escape them even if you wanted to. Metal fans are one of the best. This leg of the tour is special too because there are two new opening bands compared to the first leg of the tour. While waiting in line for the show to start a fan pulled up with a flat tire and two fans came to the rescue. The metal community is one of the best and they always have each other’s back. It was finally time for everyone to go inside, find their seats and enjoy the show that was about to start.
The first band to start the night was Fit For An Autopsy, an extreme metal band from New Jersey. They formed in 2008 and the band consist of Will Putney – guitars, Pat Sheridan – guitars, backing vocals, Josean Orta – drums, Tim Howley – guitars, Joe Badolato – lead vocals, and Peter “Blue” Spinazola– bass. The band came straight onto the stage and instantly began to play “The Sea of Tragic Beasts”. The fans began to sing along, bobbing their heads.
You could also see the magic in some of the photographers’ eyes and they were photographing one of their favorite bands. Their energy was perfect! They were moving from side to side and Badolato was working the crowd, gearing them up for the bands for the rest of the bands.
The next band to take the stage was Animals as Leaders. This progressive metal band from Washington D.C. helped keep the audience going. This band has no vocals and are a technical trio similar to Polyopia. Tosin Abasi, the guitarist, is very exceptional. He plays the guitar using techniques to play bass, giving his guitar a unique and fun sound that is not typical. Their set included “Arithmophobia” and “Gordian Naught”. The crowd began soaking up their sound, their faces in awe of the music this band was putting out. For the most part the band stayed in one spot but their performance was top notch.
The crowds slowly grew and more people were trickling in as the show progressed. The fans were growing eager and were ready and ready to keep the night going. The next band to come onto the stage was none other than Massachusetts own Killswitch Engage.
Forming in 1999 in Westfield, the metalcore bands line up is made up by Mike D’Antonio-bass, Joel Stroetzel-guitar/backing vocals, Adam Dutkiewicz-guitar, Jesse Leach-vocals and Justin Foley-drums. The band came out and the crowd went nuts! The band jumped all over the stage, Leach would point his microphone to the crowd and they would help finish the song. The minute “My Curse” started playing everyone was ready to song and scream their hearts out. They also played “Holy Diver”, a cover of Dio’s original, towards the end of their set.
The night was starting to get old and getting towards the end of the show but there was still one more band left. The band that was about to come out was Lamb of God. This Virginia based heavy metal is touring the United States to accompany their newest album, Omens. Everyone was ready to watch this band play, the minute the lights came on, chaos ensued. Everyone began to scream with happiness, joy and excitement. The bands line up is John Campbell-bass, Mark Morton-guitar, Willie Adler-guitar, Art Cruz-drums, and Randy Blythe-vocals.
The bands energy was skyrocketing. They opened their set with “Memento Mori” followed by “Walk with Me in Hell”. During their second song, “Walk with Me in Hell”, the fire show began. Flames were spat into the air from the length of the stage closer to Cruz who was on drums. Blythe ran around the stage singing and headbanging. He then climbed up the platform Cruz was located and then jumped off the five-to-ten-foot platform while fire was being to shoot into the air. It was a truly magnificent scene.
Blythe the began to address the audience. “It feels good! Fuck Yes Arizona. For those of you who do not know, we are Lamb of God. We hail from Richmond motherfucking Virginia. We returned to Arizona to do one thing and one thing only, completely fuck this place up! Are you ready to have a good time?!”
He than began to introduce their new album and stated that they would play some new songs from it but first they wanted to play an older song. Blythe then dedicated the song to members of the audience who had been there 16 years earlier when Lamb of God was touring With Megadeath. He then introduced the next song, “Ruin”. Overall, Lamb of God put on an amazing show that everyone will remember for the rest of their lives. It was definitely a show you needed to be at and they are a band that everyone should at least see once in their life.
Lamb of God
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Killswitch Engage
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Animals as Leaders
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Fit for an Autopsy
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Arizona Financial Theater
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