Crammed into one of the biggest venues ever to hold a club show you can’t help but notice that metalheads are a foul mouthed bunch. You’re unlikely to see a room so emblazoned with the word ‘Fuck’ unless Justin Bieber unleashes his ‘Anne Frank was a Fucking Belieber’ t-shirt; don’t laugh there’s still time.
Profanity scouting over and Sylosis take the stage to a huge reaction, kicking straight into an excellent set of thrash. Too bad then that the drums are tuned up so high and set up to dominate the sound, tearing Josh Middleton’s intricate soloing from each track and often reducing them to a crushing rumble.
They survive purely on the energy of the audience who offer up deafening screams and vicious pits to show support. Middleton’s crowd control is spot on, clearly enjoying himself and holding the stage like a pro. Sylosis could have headlined tonight, scratch that, should have headlined tonight.
A fan-baiting statement maybe but Lamb Of God fail to stand up to the challenge set by their support. They hit the stage hard but open with a garbled version of ‘Desolation’, sounding anything but tight as Chris Adler fluffs plenty of beats – something made all the more obvious by the fact that the drums are still way too loud – and Randy is a barely audible blur, flitting across the stage and throwing the horns to the fans.
There are highlights; ‘Walk With Me In Hell’, ‘Laid To Rest’ and ‘Redneck’ all the hit right spots, as does the thunderous closer ‘Black Label’, but they’re punctuated by terrible renditions of ‘Ruin’ and ‘Now You’ve got Something To Die For’ as well as some truly awful stage banter.
It’s telling that so many were already outside as the set ended, that so many flittered in the doorways before heading to the bar, that, considering this was a sold out event, the whole thing felt a little empty.
Lamb Of God And Sylosis
Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton UK
August 13th, 2013
Matthew Tilt
Photos: Falk-Hagen Bernshausen
Photo Editing: Blueberryheaven
Lamb Of God – Facebook
Sylosis – Facebook