Live music review: Lamb of God played Moody Amp for Into Oblivion Tour despite storm
One thing I love about metalheads is their undying love for the music and its culture. They wear old band T-shirts from twenty years ago like a talisman against the world, they tattoo band logos on themselves to show devotion, rock patch-covered battle vests, and will stand in the middle of a rainstorm without considering moving because the band is about to go on. That’s serious commitment.
April 10th, Lamb of God pulled into Austin’s Moody Amphitheater on their “Into Oblivion Tour.” After thirty-plus years in the game, the boys from Virginia still deliver the goods — even in a torrential downpour.
Backed by a heavy undercard — Kublai Khan, Fit for an Autopsy, and Sanguisugabogg — this was a straight-up heavy bill with no label-mandated safety filler. Each band kept things moving with short, aggressive sets that pushed the crowd early, with Kublai Khan getting a particularly strong reaction from the Texas crowd.
By the time Lamb of God hit the stage, the pit was already active and the energy was where it needed to be — no ramp-up, just straight into it.
All four bands delivered with no weak spots. I’m the first guy to go stand outside when a band is lame, but top to bottom on this tour there’s enough meat on the bone to keep heads banging. Fit for an Autopsy and Sanguisugabogg held their own, with a lot of the crowd clearly there early to catch their sets. Given the length of the merch lines, we had plenty of lifers in the house.
Mosh pits, circle pits, hardcore dancing — all the nuances of big metal show crowd energy were on display. No crowd surfing, though, which is a firm no-no at Lamb of God shows. Singer Randy Blythe was acquitted of manslaughter charges in the Czech Republic after a fan died following a stage interaction years back. The no crowd surfing rule makes sense in that context.
Lamb of God was exactly what they are — a professional, polished, big room band that has been doing this for over three decades. They’ve shared stages with Black Sabbath, Pantera, Slayer, and Metallica. Playing live is a business for them, and they run it well. The setlist covered their catalog but skipped New American Gospel, which is a shame because that album rules. You’re not getting surprises with Lamb of God — you’re getting consistency and execution, and a first-timer absolutely gets their money’s worth. Naturally, the crowd lost their minds for “Laid to Rest,” screaming the anthemic “see who gives a fuck” back at the stage.
Kublai Khan, on the other hand, are right at the inflection point. On their own they’re playing venues holding around 2,000 to 3,000, and as their fanbase grows it’s worth noting they’re not far behind Turnstile and Knocked Loose in terms of bands genuinely breaking out. Randy Blythe dubbed them “the new kings of Texas” — an obvious nod to Pantera — which landed hard in front of nearly 5,000 people screaming along to singer Matt Honeycutt’s crowd calls. They earned that – dog barks and all.
Rain came down in sheets, turning the lawn slick and the pit into a churn of mud and beer, but nobody moved. If anything it made it better — something about standing in it together, soaked through, waiting for the next band to hit. That’s metalhead communal energy at its purest.
Did you miss an all-timer? Nah. Was it fun? Absolutely. I got rained on, heard “Ant Pile” by Kublai Khan and Lamb of God’s “Walk With Me in Hell,” and nobody was on their phones. This wasn’t Coachella. This was a gnarly Texas heavy metal show in the rain, and Austin never once ran for shelter. Metalheads are committed. Those old shirts don’t lie, they just get more faded over time.
All photos by Justin Clark
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