Lamb of God at OVO Arena Wembley, London, England 21st March 2023 Review

Kreator Photo courtesy of Dan Peeke

Fresh from their headlining slot at Bloodstock 2022 and the rest of their long-delayed European tour, Lamb Of God finally make it to Wembley for their final night of Civil Unrest. Despite a date, venue, and opening act change, a ferocious crowd is ready and waiting.

Technically phenomenal British death metal band Sylosis open the show with a tight, gritty set of well-received tracks, but Kreator is a little more divisive. Half of the crowd absolutely loves it, but their tired set of bland thrash goes on for too long, with repetitive gimmicks and interchangeable riffs losing the interest of most.

Lamb Of God Photo courtesy of Dan Peeke

Despite being given almost equally long sets, it’s Lamb Of God everyone is obviously waiting for. The curtain falls, and Randy Blythe’s distinctive three-quarter-lengths and dreadlocks are lying in wait on stage. His prowling begins almost immediately, as he wanders the stage snarling and barking the lyrics to ‘Memento Mori’ and ‘Walk With

Me In Hell’ to a rapturous response. ‘Ditch’, taken from their new album, Omens, is filled with punchy riffs and that addictive hook, but the sheer aggression of ‘Now You’ve Got Something To Die For’ is where the band truly shines. The circle pits are coming thick and fast, and that breakdown sends the entire arena into disrepair. Everyone in the room shouts the opening prose of ‘Omerta’ back at Randy, before basking in the effortless groove of their melodic metal.

Photo courtesy of Dan Peeke

After a short lull in track quality (they played an identical set at Bloodstock; I was prepared), we were hit with the ultimate Lamb Of God show-closing double-bill of ‘Laid To Rest’ and ‘Redneck’.

The surge of the crowd during ‘Laid To Rest’ was intense, with those on the barrier looking like toothpaste being desperately squeezed out of an empty tube. Those on stage, however, looked like a well-oiled machine able to pump out this technically complex, rhythmically manic track like it was nothing. ‘Redneck’ had a similar impact, with Randy demanding “the biggest circle pit Wembley has ever seen.” To be fair to the shirtless guys leading the charge on the floor, they had a bloody good crack at it.

Considering this was the last stop on a very long tour performed in front of a crowd that had been rescheduled and moved twice, it’d be hard to see Lamb Of God in better form than this.

Lamb Of God Photo courtesy of Dan Peeke

Set List
Memento Mori
Ruin
Walk With Me in Hell
Resurrection Man
Ditch
Now You’ve Got Something to Die For
Contractor
Omerta
Omens

Lamb Of God Photo courtesy of Dan Peeke

11th Hour
512
Vigil
Laid to Rest
Redneck