Lamb of God & Mastodon co-headlined a show at Germania Insurance Amphitheater in Austin, Tx on July 20th, 2024 with support from Kerry King and Malevolence on their Ashes of Leviathan Tour!
“Ashes of Leviathan” celebrates the 20th anniversary of Lamb of God’s “Ashes of the Wake” and Mastodon’s “Leviathan” albums. Both of these revolutionary albums were released on August 31st, 2004.
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band originating from Richmond, Virginia and was formed in 1994. Their current lineup consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, lead guitarist Mark Morton, rhythm guitarist Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Art Cruz. They have released nine critically acclaimed albums, received five GRAMMY award nominations, and are widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative forces in heavy metal.
Starting off their set reliably heavy, violent, and pissed off as ever they perform through their record “Ashes of the Wake” with the first track “Laid to Rest“. This is actually one of their most popular songs, if not their most popular, hailing almost 140 million streams on Spotify. Everyone was screaming “see who gives a fuck“! They kept up the blistering pace with “Hourglass” and immediately followed with “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For“. Even though it was an anniversary tour it almost felt like they were playing their greatest hits. This is a true testament to how great this album truly is. Song no. 5 is “Omerta” and if you’re a fan of this band then you know you’re in for a treat. The opening for that song always sends chills down my spine. No truer words have been spoken.
Randy Blythe reciting the opening lyrics for “Omerta”:
“Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward
Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both
For a wounded man shall say to his assailant
‘If I live I will kill you, if I die you are forgiven’
Such is the rule of honor”
They concluded their regular set with the title track “Ashes of the Wake” and the final song of the album “Remorse Is for the Dead“. This was not the actual end of the show as they encored with two more of their biggest fan favorites “Memento Mori” and “Redneck“.
Randy Blythe explaining the meaning of “Memento Mori”:
“I wrote ‘Memento Mori’ as a reminder to myself to not be consumed by the omnipresent electronic harbingers of doom that surround us — cellphones, computers and television screens. While these devices can be useful tools, and it is important to stay informed, it is equally important to remain engaged with the real, physical world we live in, not just digitally filtered representations of reality.”
The phrase “Memento Mori” having a particularly special meaning “remember you must die“. This song is one of their dynamic newer tracks off their self titled album, which quickly became an anthem for them and a staple in their set.
Randy Blythe exclaimed before the final song of the evening:
“Have you enjoyed yourselves this evening my friends? Thank you so fucking much. This town never fucking disappoints, nor this state in general. Everybody here give yourselves a huge round of applause. Thank you so much motherfuckers. (crowd applauds) What the fuck was that? You sound like a herd of bitches. Did you all get asthma at once or some shit? This is motherfucking Texas god dammit! I want to hear you make some noise for yourself. (crowd cheers louder) That’s more like it! I know you motherfuckers like to get loud down here. Make some noise for our friends in Malevolence who came here from the United Kingdom to play for you guys. (crowd applauds) Give it up for Kerry fucking King god dammit. (crowd applauds) And of course, all the way from Atlanta, Georgia make some noise for our brothers in Mastodon! (crowd applauds) Fuck yes, This is going to be our last song of the evening motherfuckers. I want to see you open this fucking place up. A huge fucking circle pit. It’s time to get your fucking money’s worth. NO ONE STANDS STILL! NO ONE STAYS SAFE MOTHERFUCKERS! THIS SONG IS FOR MY FRIENDS FROM CAPE FEAR, NORTH CAROLINA! I SEE YOU MOTHERFUCKERS AT MASONBOROUGH! THIS SONG IS CALLED REDNECK!”
Last but certainly not least, they finished with a bang (literally). Pyro was raging across the stage as the all mighty Lamb of God performed their huge hit “Redneck” off their album “Sacrament“. One can only hope they give that album a 20th anniversary tour as well! I’ll hold my breath and remain hopeful until 2026.
Setlist:
Ashes of the Wake
- Laid to Rest
- Hourglass
- Now You’ve Got Something to Die For
- The Faded Line
- Omerta
- Blood of the Scribe
- One Gun
- Break You
- What I’ve Become
- Ashes of the Wake
- Remorse is for the Dead
Encore:
- Memento Mori
- Redneck
Mastodon is an American heavy metal band originating from Atlanta, Georgia and was formed in 2000. Their current lineup consists of lead guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Bill Kelliher, bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders, and drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor.
The highly underrated band started off their masterpiece “Leviathan” with the first song “Blood and Thunder“. This not only being the opening song, but also one of their most popular. The whole experience for this performance was truly a spectacle. They stunned the crowd with outstanding visuals and blazing pyrotechnics. These visuals being some of the best I’ve ever seen. It truly immersed you into the sea, which is the album’s theme and aesthetic. I remember vividly the visuals of the “Megalodon” as they performed that titanic track. Not many artists can top that, except of course Tool.
Troy Sanders speaking before “Steambreather”:
“Each and every fucking time you keep showing up. More and more people. The shows get bigger and better. More love, more everything, thank you for coming to the show. Mastodon fucking loves you all! This is our last song of the night.”
They concluded their set with encore songs “More Than I Could Chew“, “Circle of Cysquatch“, and “Steambreather“. The latter being my personal favorite song of theirs. I couldn’t think of a better way to end their set. This was my first time seeing this band perform live, but it certainly won’t be my last. If you’re able to catch them on this tour I would make sure to pick up their signed “Leviathan” special edition custom color merge vinyl housed in a gorgeous tip-on style jacket! It’s an absolute beauty and only for $65. Also named “One of the 100 greatest metal records of all time” by Rolling Stone. Truly a steal if you ask me!
Brann expresses the band’s gratitude:
“Anyways, guys thanks so much for coming out to the big rock show. This is day 2 of Ashes of Leviathan Tour. A couple of albums of ours “Leviathan” and “Ashes of the Wake” are both turning twenty years old on August 31st. Way back in 2004 they both came out on the same day! Also, those Lamb of God guys have been very good friends for a very long time. We’ve been talking about doing this tour for a very long time. I thought it was going to be one of those pipe dreams you’re talking about at 4 in the morning ten years ago and it never fucking happens, but here we fucking are and here you fucking are. Thank you so fucking much for coming out to the show! We love you guys very much. As my coworker and best friend Troy Sander said, every time we come here it’s bigger and better and we feel the love from Austin since day one of us coming here in 2001 at Emo’s. R.I.P. Handsome Joel! We love you guys so much! I’m going to give you some wood now, some pieces of wood. We’re Mastodon, Lamb of God is up next goodnight!”
Setlist:
Leviathan
- Blood and Thunder
- I Am Ahab
- Seabeast
- Island
- Iron Tusk
- Megalodon
- Naked Burn
- Aqua Dementia
- Hearts Alive
- Joseph Merrick
Encore:
- More Than I Could Chew
- Circle of Cysquatch
- Steambreather
For decades, Kerry has been the unmistakable guitar slinger in thrash metal gods Slayer. Though the band played the last date of their Final World Tour at the L.A. Forum back on November 30, 2019, ever since, KFK’s been writing music and figuring out how to do the one thing he loves the most – getting back out on the road and playing live. While COVID enforced a two-year “pause” on making that happen, King took advantage of the situation and wrote – a lot. His music and lyrics have been very intentional with song topics covering war (in particular, the Ukraine war that broke out in February 2022), women’s rights, and current American politics. Plus, there’s doomy stuff, punky stuff, spooky stuff, and definitely some of those Herculean speeds he’s known for playing.
Kerry enlisted some of the heaviest names in metal for his new band – vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), guitarist Phil Demmell (Machinehead, Vio-lence), Kyle Sanders on bass (Hellyeah), and Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph – and they’re taking the show on the road in support of KFK’s solo debut release, From Hell I Rise, released in May.
Highlights from this set were the explosive new track “Shrapnel” and of course the two Slayer songs “Raining Blood” & “Black Magic“. This new supergroup was very reminiscent to the legendary metal band Slayer. They might have called it a quits, but Kerry King is here to stay expressing how he plans to continue touring.
Osegueda speaking about “Shrapnel”:
“This song is about the atrocities of war. It was relevant then and it’s relevant now. This song is called ‘Shrapnel’.”
Osegueda speaking before they conclude their set:
“This is the last song of the day for us. We have one more fucking song to make a lasting impression on each other and unleash some fucking energy and pent up aggression with each other until we come back. Let’s get one fucking thing straight Austin, we will be back! So are you fucking ready for the challenge? Are you up for the fucking task? I need you to physically fucking prove it. I want to feel the ground fucking shake! Thank you for you energy. This one is a title track from the new record. This one’s called ‘From Hell I Rise’!”
Setlist:
- Diablo (tape)
- Where I Reign
- Trophies of the Tyrant
- Residue
- Toxic
- Idle Hands
- Shrapnel
- Raining Blood (Slayer song)
- Black Magic (Slayer song)
- From Hell I Rise
Malevolence is an English metalcore band originating from Sheffield, South Yorkshire and was formed in 2010. Their current lineup consists of lead vocalist Alex Taylor, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Josh Baines, rhythm guitarist/co-lead vocalist Konan Hall, bassist Wilkie Robinson, and drummer Charlie Thorpe.
Setlist:
- Malicious Intent
- Life Sentence
- Still Waters Run Deep
- Self Supremacy
- Higher Place
- Keep Your Distance
- On Broken Glass
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