REVIEW AND PHOTOS: Lamb of God and Mastodon’s ‘Ashes of Leviathan Tour’ Hits Astro

Last night, Lamb of God performs on the stage at Astro Amphitheater in La Vista, Nebraska. [Photo credit: Robert A Chadwick]

WORDS BY DAVID TAYLOR AND PHOTOS BY ROBERT A CHADWICK | Go Venue Magazine

August 31, 2004, is a day that went down in the heavy metal history books. Both Lamb of God and Mastodon respectfully put out game-changer albums with Ashes of the Wake and Leviathan, respectfully. I couldn’t imagine at that time thinking these bands would still be around twenty years later, co-headlining amphitheaters with each other, and playing those albums in full. Well, here we are twenty years later, and they are still crushing live and wanting to celebrate these momentous albums for themselves and the fans. It was the final show of their Ashes of Leviathan tour when they came to play the Astro Amphitheater in La Vista, Nebraska on that same date, Saturday, August 31, dusting off some of these tunes for the last time (for now).

Malevolence from the UK was the first band on the bill to play. I had the chance to cover them last year, opening up for another co-headline of Trivium and Beartooth. These guys got the show started in heavy fashion, with their blend of heavy vocals and melodic guitar playing. They got the pit going, and it was a breath of fresh air seeing these young guys on this tour with these guys performing onstage that are around 50 and older. They have recently been in the studio, writing and recording their fourth album with a release sometime next year, so keep an eye on that.

Legendary metal guitarist Kerry King from Slayer and his band were next on the bill. I had a good feeling Kerry King couldn’t sit still while Slayer hung up the towel. The man’s guitar playing is important to the heavy music, and he wants to continue preaching the word of metal through his own music. So, he assembled this all-star crew of metal musicians such as Paul Bostaph, the last drummer of Slayer, Kyle Sanders, former bassist of Hellyeah (also brother of Troy Sanders of Mastodon), Phil Demmel, former guitarist of Machine Head, and lead vocalist Mark Osegueda of Death Angel. It felt like a continuation of Slayer, but still its own thing. Like Slayer is a genre, while this was a thrash metal band with Kerry King’s guitar playing all over it. It was amazing to see all these musicians who I’ve admired all have this purpose of playing these original tunes. It felt old school in the best way. Check out Kerry King’s album, From Hell I Rise.

The first of the co-headline came from the almighty Mastodon from Atlanta, GA. Before the set, they played a clip from Moby Dick (1956), which makes sense since Leviathan is based on the Herman Melville novel. They kicked off their Leviathan set with one of the best metal songs of the 21st century, “Blood and Thunder”, which got the pick going right away. Between Brent Hinds’s ripping guitar solos, Troy Sanders’s heavy bass playing, Brann Dailor’s progressive drum playing, and Bill Kelliher’s thick guitar playing, this band was on a mission to make the heaviest live show possible. They had incredible pyrotechnics and video visuals backing them. Every time I’ve seen them live, it’s another killer set from them. As the members of the band enter their 50s, the fact they can still play this kind of progressive heavy music is amazing. Brann Dailor told this amazing story about twenty years ago, he walked into Best Buy and saw his band and his buddy, Randy’s, band, Lamb of God, new CDs next to each other and called him up about it. It puts you in perspective on where we are now in the music industry. I’m excited to hear what they have cooked up for their next album.

Finally, it was time for the Richmond, VA boys in Lamb of God to grace the Astro stage. It was another banging opening for them with “Laid to Rest”. The whole band was firing on all cylinders. Randy Blythe was jumping up and down the stage.  Mark Morton and Willie Adler were playing their guitars fast and heavy. The rhythm section of John Campbell (bass) and Art Cruz (drums) kept it tight. This was when the pit was going insane for the whole set. They are another band getting up in age, but they play like they’re in their 30s. I am excited for this next phase of Lamb of God. I hope they head back into the studio soon to record their 12th(!) album. Also, here’s to hoping for more larger-scale hard rock/metal shows during the summer months at the Astro Amphitheater.

Lamb of God

Mastodon

Kerry King

Malevolence

All images © Robert A Chadwick | Robert Chadwick Photography

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