Heavy metal giants Lamb Of God are on the road supporting their tenth studio album, Into Oblivion, including (ironically) a Good Friday night stop at The Masonic in San Francisco with an absolutely stacked lineup, including Sanguisugabogg, Fit For An Autopsy, and Kublai Khan in a wise attempt to expand their fanbase to a younger demographic. No doubt a crushing lineup that had local venues rescheduling shows in fairness to other metal bands who want to play the Bay.
The Masonic was already filling up by the time Sanguisugabogg hit the stage promptly at 7:00 PM, and the general admission floor quickly turned into a broiling pit as crowd surfers began spilling over the barricade. Fit For An Autopsy and Kublai Khan followed suit, each delivering crushing sets for the packed house.
With the sold-out crowd in place and sufficiently warmed up, the road crew set about transforming the stage behind a massive curtain that blocked their view, only heightening the anticipation. When the curtain finally dropped, and the band launched into “Ruin” as frontman Randy Blythe retrieved his mic from the center rise, San Francisco went bananas. Followed quickly by fan favorite “Laid to Rest,” there was no respite for security as crowd surfers continued to surge.
One of the finest frontmen in heavy metal, Blythe absolutely raged on the microphone from atop his risers when he prowled the stage. And while those ankle and knee braces may have hinted at why we weren’t seeing his epic trademark jumps, he was no less a force on stage.
Lamb Of God’s 80-ish minute set hit the highlights from their nearly 30+ year career, which resulted in a lighter than expected touch on Into Oblivion, hopefully suggesting additional touring once the fans have had more time to digest what is now only a week-old release. Yet still, most in the room got to hear “Parasocial Christ,” “Sepsis,” and the album’s title track live for the first time.
It wouldn’t be a Lamb Of God show without an appropriately chaotic send-off to the loyal fans, and “Redneck” provided exactly that. Whatever signs of fatigue may have been previously visible as the set wound down were quickly erased as the band sent the San Francisco crowd home fully sated.
KUBLAI KHAN
FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY
SANGUISUGABOGG
