Lamb of God: How I survived the Wall of Death
How I survived the Wall of Death
(A firsthand account on a chaotic evening that is Black Dahlia Murder and Lamb of god)
By: Archi Asis
Photos By: Chippy Rivera (Band Manager of Ennui Breathes Malice, who opened the Lamb of God x The Black Dahlia Murder Concert.
Probably one of the loudest and heaviest foreign metal acts that landed on our shores this year is the Lamb of God x Black Dahlia Murder. It was one hell of a show last Saturday at the World trade center, Pasay city. Metal dudes and dudettes filled the hall as they ripped their heads and threw their fists in the air on that crazy night. And yes, my dear friends, I was there, I was there in the middle of the madness and chaos.
The moment I heard that Lamb of God would be back in Manila, I was stoked! I was not able to see them at the Pulp Summer Slam X and I mourned for that reason. So I made a vow to myself that I, by all means, will see them perform live, be it even if I have to shed blood or offer a chaste virgin to Dagon. Luckily I didn’t have to do those tasks, atthewomb sent me there! Fist bump, atthewomb!
I almost ate my right leg when I heard that not only will Lamb of God be performing, fronting them is one of the sickest black metal bands I know, The Black Dahlia Murder. So there will be no reason whatsoever not to come to this event.
My friends and I drove to Pasay city; we went there earlier than the expected time the gate opens. A lot of metalhead kids were already lined up in front of the entrance sporting their LOG and BDM shirts waiting for that damned gate to be open like a bunch of ravage wolves, well, at some point I, myself became a ravage wolf that night when the gates had a delay opening.
Inside the concert grounds, I was lucky to have a good spot just a couple of meters away from the stage. The crew, still doing final gear preps for BDM, and just after some minutes of gearing up, the place went dim. The crowd started to chant. I couldn’t contain myself; this is it, seeing Black Dahlia Murder live, feels so unreal. As the audio sample for A Shrine to madness began, I braced myself, the moment the spot lights turns up, there it was, in the flesh, Trevor Strnad and the rest of his gang ripping. I was like “Whoa! HD!” then It hit me that I’m actually seeing the real thing!
I started throwing my fists in the air, singing along with high grunts and gradually slamming as my fave BDM hits that were being played live. It was so awesome seeing Trevor perform, flexing his biceps, running around like an ape, doing high and low gutturals, and so was the rest of the band as they all looked like they’re just having a good time. It was still a mystery for me though who the hell is with them playing bass? It wasn’t Ryan Williams, it was some dude who looked like a hunk? Anyway, they played a 10-song set and they really blew the crowd away. I must say I am really looking forward for them to play again here in the Philippines not as a front act but as the main event.
After BDM’s performance, I admit I felt a bit worn-out with all the slamming and fist pounding; I haven’t been to a gig for a quite a long time, thus I’ve became rusty. I worried that I might not have energy for LOG, but I was wrong. Enter Chris Adler, the legendary drummer, as white spotlights hit him, and he started throwing kicks for their first song Desolution, followed by the rest of the band, Randy Blythe jumped in the stage and yelled “What’s up, Manila!?” It was like I was injected with adrenaline as I started air punching again. This is Lamb of God, yeaaaaah.
The crowd became more aggressive. The people suddenly became an army, the Lamb of God army, and Randy Blythe was the commander. Randy commands a circle pit, then a circle pit it is. I pushed myself a bit more up front, and I actually avoided the circle pit for I’m not a fan of it. I’m the kind of gig goer that enjoys the performance by just nodding my head, raising my fist and gradually puts up a little effort of slamming. But then I realized this is not just any other gig, this is Lamb of God! And so the madness began, I slam danced like I’ve never slam danced before, Head banged like there was no tomorrow, and I threw my fists up in the air like I would dislocate them. Seeing (and hearing) Chris Adler’s mad drumming skills and Mike Morton’s sick riffs are truly a sight to behold.
Then it came down to their last song, Black Label, any LOG fan knows that this is their ultimate Wall of Death song. As the wall turned to formation, the crowd waited for the cue, after the intro everything will come to chaos. I was hesitant with the wall, for I’ve never been, nor ever seen an actual wall of death. The moment I decided to back off, some dude pushed me to the wall, inside the wall of death, funny I never thought that it would be that great! Though it looks violent, Pinoys did it with smiles, if they knew they went too far barging they’ll apologize and flip a peace sign. It was a fun experience! After the last set, the wall has been settled, the crowd was still in hype and I have survived the wall of death, I survived Lamb of God. Truly an awesome night, and a great metal experience!
