On paper, this tour has a lot going for it. Two full-production headline sets from two of the most respected names in metal – both with brilliant new albums to draw from. It also boasts Meshuggah’s first full-scale shows since 2008 and Lamb Of God’s first Australian visit since vocalist Randy Blythe was acquitted of charges following imprisonment in the Czech Republic after the death of a fan.
To say that these shows were highly anticipated would be an understatement, and the welcoming committee was out in force in Melbourne as a colossal army of metalheads massed inside Festival Hall. Did they get the exquisitely brutal show that would only be fair to expect? Yes, and then some.
Meshuggah is Yiddish for ‘crazy’, and that’s a pretty accurate representation of what you get from these Swedes. Eight-stringed ironing board guitars and enough rhythmic complexity to confuse a mathematical genius, the Meshuggah formula is one-of-a-kind.
Punters are greeted by the sounds of angry insects and intense strobing from the band’s monstrous lighting rig as the band ascend the stage. “Swarm” opens the show, and the ensuing moshpit is ridiculous – slightly astonishing given the newness of the song. Things are taken up a level with “Combustion” and again with “Rational Gaze”, which sounds absolutely huge.
The way people react to Meshuggah is different to almost any other band and headbanging is rarely in sync; courtesy of the irregular time signatures that the band utilise. Even in common time, Meshuggah mess with punters by applying polyrhythms, and the only real unity in the pit comes with the odd steady beat on Tomas Haake’s inverted crash cymbal or when crazy-eyed vocalist Jens Kidman leads the headbanging charge himself. The rest is no-holds-barred chaos, which is magical to experience.
Where sound has fallen short at their last few festival performances, Meshuggah have no problem at all tonight – the sound is near perfect and the incredible light show adds an entirely new aspect to their performance. Given the musical complexity, the execution was incredible on the bands behalf, but alas, they did prove that they were actually humans and not robots when they muddled the intro to obZen masterpiece “Bleed”.
Once back on track, the song was as potent as ever and one of the night’s many highlights. A throwback to 2005’s Catch Thirtythree saw out the band’s set, with a recording of the highly suspenseful “Mind’s Mirrors” played the crowd separated at the front and back of the pit for the night’s first ‘wall of death’ with the intro of the “In Death – Is Life/In Death – Is Death” combo.
Ask a handful of Lamb of God fans their favourite album and you’re likely to get a different answer from each. It’s not often that a band’s seventh studio album is as well-received as Lamb of God’s Resolution, and set-opener “Desolation” verifies the point with all-in punter pandemonium from the first note of the blistering intro.
“Ghost Walking” maintains the new-album energy while Sacrament heavyweight “Walk With Me In Hell” sees hundreds of fans jumping around in unison to the ethereal guitar-intro. “Set To Fail” is an early highlight with thick chainsaw grooves and whirlwind drumming, while “Ruin” and “11th Hour” from As The Palaces Burn hit home with long-time fans.
With a balanced mix of songs from across their back-catalogue, each song feels fresh and vital. Even with Blythe stopping for banter with every few songs, the show never feels dull or tired. At one stage, Blythe dedicates a song to awesome Melbourne alt-rockers Sydonia – one of his personal favourite bands.
In the latter half of the show, two gigantic pits had solidified on each side of the room, and the blistering pace of “Contractor” tempted some of the night’s most frantic circle-pit antics to see out the band’s pre-encore set.
A recording of “The Passing” reintroduces the Virginian’s to the stage before ripping through Wrath opener “In Your Words.” Now at the business end of the set, Lamb Of God unleash “Laid To Rest” and “Redneck”, both involving mass participation of the usual moshpit antics and word-for-word sing-alongs.
As per Lamb Of God tradition, “Black Label” was offered as the last chance to dance, and as per fan tradition, the crowd split in two to partake in an epic wall of death. Only, it wasn’t so epic, and was the only real dampener of the night. A first wave of fans broke the wall early (at the start of the song, rather than fourth repeat) which caused a clusterfuck when the second wave charged and all fell into a dangerously huge pile on the floor, much to the visible displeasure of Blythe.
Generally, Meshuggah would be a hard act to follow, but Lamb Of God are a very hard band to fault.
Both are absolutely crucial to the metal world, and each provide an entirely different live experience. For this reason, combined with extravagant production, smooth-running and exceptional sound quality, this show was one of the best Melbourne has seen this year.
Meshuggah Setlist
Swarm
Combustion
Rational Gaze
obZen
Lethargica
Do Not Look Down
The Hurt that Finds You First
I Am Colossus
Bleed
Demiurge
New Millennium Cyanide Christ
Meshuggah Encore
(Mind’s Mirrors )
In Death – Is Life
In Death – Is Death
Lamb Of God Setlist
Desolation
Ghost Walking
Walk With Me In Hell
Set To Fail
Ruin
Now You’ve Got Something To Die For
11th Hour
The Undertow
Omerta
Contractor
Lamb Of God Encore
(The Passing)
In Your Words
Laid to Rest
Redneck
Black Label
