I had never heard of Mushroomhead before this tour
was announced. Certainly, if any band worthy of headlining had managed
to elude me, it was for a reason. Indeed, Mushroomhead were pretty silly.
They didn't suck, though. I did watch for a while in curiosity to see
what this band was all about. Their image borrows largely from Slipknot,
as five of the seven members wear (matching) masks. The band has two vocalists:
one who stands in place and one who moves. The band also has two keyboard
players. This seemed exceedingly silly as one keyboard player's job seemed
to consist entirely of holding one key down and occasionally agitate this
flashlight over the audience. As is often the case, the band member with
the smallest actual role in the music is the one who gets the most into
it.
But this is supposed to be a review of Lamb of God.
Strangely, there is relatively little to say about them, as their performance
was plainly excellent. Their pure energy (without makeup or stage antics)
clearly warranted that they be the headliners. Most of their set was unsurprisingly
made up of their only album to date under the current band name. However,
Lamb of God did play one song from their days when they were known as
Burn the Priest, as well as a song from the forthcoming album, which will
be recorded soon.
Somewhere in-between death metal and hardcore, Lamb of God
put on a great show. The already smallish stage was made even smaller
by the drumkit of Mushroomhead that occupied the rear. This meant that
vocalist Randy had to constantly keep one eye on who might be kicking
him while crowd surfing. Randy kept a good demeanor considering, as he
annoyingly threw kids off the stage. Meanwhile, the band flawlessly played
their set, which got the faithful going. I, too, was caught up in the
rhythmic energy. Catch this band if you can.
