Words and Photos by Jose Serrato
Lamb of God and Mastodon have once again joined forces and hit the road on the “Ashes of Leviathan” tour. It’s been 20 years since both bands released two of the most influential albums, “Ashes of the Wake” for Lamb of God and “Leviathan” for Mastodon. It was only fitting that they tour together for this landmark moment and play both albums in its entirety. The tour kicked off here in Grand Prairie, TX at the Texas Trust CU Theatre with metal legend Kerry King and Malevolence opening up.
English metalcore band Malevolence from South Yorkshire started off the night with their tasty mix of metal and groove. I have been able to catch a few shows from these guys in the past couple years as they have been picked up by multiple bands to tour with. With Alex Taylor and guitarist Konan Hall sharing vocal duties, the band came out punching with the track “Malicious Intent” and didn’t let up for their 30 minute set.
Kerry King is a legend in the metal world as the guitarist for the Big Four band that is Slayer. After Slayer decided to call it a career in 2019 and went on a farewell tour, King spent the Covid years writing material for what would end up being his solo album named “From Hell I Rise” which was released this past May. King enlisted Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda, Hell Yeah bassist Kyle Sanders, Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel and former Slayer bandmate Paul Bostaph on drums. With topics about war, women’s rights, politics and the typical metal themed topics, King’s sound isn’t far from Slayer but it is definitely his own. The majority of the 9 song setlist were from the solo album, but there was no way he wasn’t going to throw in a couple Slayer songs. The unmistakable intro to Slayer’s biggest single, “Raining Blood,” blew the pit wide open as fans went crazy. Followed by 1983’s “Black Magic” metal heads were more than satisfied to hear a couple of the favorites. This was only the third live performance of King’s newly formed bad, but when it’s filled with metal veterans, they sounded as if they’ve been touring for years. Excited to see what is to come in the near future with Kerry King’s next chapter.
Leviathan was released August 31, 2004 through Relapse Records and has been mentioned on numerous lists for best metal albums. This was only Mastodon’s second album and they were already being placed as one of the top metal bands in the world. 20 years later and this album still makes the list. The crowd took every punch given and asked for more. It’s always a treat to hear an album played live cover to cover. It takes me back to when you first buy the album and you listen to each track in order. Unfortunately, we couldn’t yell at the band to ask them to replay “Iron Tusk” as if we’re hitting replay on our then CD player. Heat was rising as the boys crushed though the 10 song album and ended with a few additional tracks like “Circle of Cysquatch” from their 2006 album Blood Mountain.
Lamb of God broke into the scene in 2000 and it wasn’t long after that they placed themselves on top of the metal scene. Just like Mastodon’s album, Ashes of the Wake was released on August 31, 2004. Two iconic albums released on the same day. It was a good day for the metal world. “Laid to Rest” is likely the most popular song from all 9 studio albums LoG have released and rather than waiting until the end to play it, the show started off with it as it was the first track of the album. The intensity of Randy Blythe on stage is like no other I’ve really seen. He owns both the stage and crowd, even without his iconic dreads that he recently cut off. With flames shooting up into the air, Randy, John, Mark, Willie and Art ripped through their hour long set that just wasn’t long enough for the crowd wanting more. Watching an intense metal band that has been around for 20+ years perform at a level you expect to see from younger bands is amazing. I’m tired just watching a show, so I can’t imagine being on stage and putting on a show like Lamb of God does.
