Lamb of God strikes emphatic note
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(From left to right) Lamb of God's guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, vocalist Randy Blythe, drummer Chris Adler and bassist John Campbell. [China Daily] |
American heavy metal band Lamb of God promises to "throw down as hard as we can" at their first show in Beijing.
Even after 15 years on the rock scene, Lamb of God, a Grammy-nominated heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia, is not quite sure what to expect from its first appearance in this city.
"We have no clue That's what makes it exciting. We're going to throw down as hard as we can and hope the fans do the same!" says Mark Morton, guitarist and founding member of the band, which will perform for two nights in the capital.
"We have no idea about Chinese fans. But I figured there had to be some kind of scene going on now that we were going all the way to China," Morton says in an e-mail interview with China Daily.
"You need metal especially when the world is getting harder to live in," he says. "A lot of people need to release some pressure, and I think heavy metal helps people do that."
Actually, nearly 2,000 fans are waiting for their two-nights of shows at the newly-renovated Starlive, one of the best live houses in Beijing, with the capacity to accommodate 1,200 people.
What about the warm-up?
"I actually don't warm up much before a show. A lot of guys are very ritualistic about their pre-show warm up, but I've never noticed a difference in my playing whether I warm up or not. A couple of cold beers before the gig seems to help me more than anything," he says.
The band backed their 2006 album Sacrament with a worldwide tour spanning 19 months. They also performed with Ozzy Osbourne at Ozzfest 2007, Slayer on the Unholy Alliance tour, and Megadeth on the Gigantour. In recent years, they have made multiple European festival appearances, headlining tours across North America and elsewhere.
Asked what kind of audience participation they could expect, considering this is their first time in the capital, Morton says, "The interaction with the fans depends on the size of the show. When we're in a theater or club type room, it's more personal, more face-to-face and direct.
"In arenas and stadiums things are more distant and disconnected so you have to be a bit more animated on stage and try to cover more ground.
"For me though, it's always about how I'm feeling personally. I'm not comfortable 'acting' or playing a role, so if I'm feeling aggressive and hostile, that's how I'll come across on stage and if I'm feeling goofy and playful, that's the type of presence you'll see."
One of the great things about shows such as Ozzfest is that it gives the band the opportunity to play in front of people who would otherwise never see a heavy metal band, says the guitarist.
"A lot of the older fans there to see legends like Ozzy or Judas Priest or someone like that may not really know what a band like Lamb Of God has going on. We've found that we can gain a lot of new fans in those settings," Morton says.
After all these years of touring together, every member of the band has his own way of keeping the journey fun.
"I work on new music quite a bit while on the road. So much of my life has been so directly tied to heavy metal, that I find myself seeking other genres of music to listen to recreationally. I'm a big fan of rap, blues and country music. Lots of older classic rock type stuff as well. I think it winds up keeping me fresh and inspired when I get back to creating metal," Morton says.
Self-described as "the pure American metal band" since it started 16 years ago, with guitarist Willie Adler, Willie's drummer brother Chris Adler, bassist John Campbell, guitarist Mark Morton and vocalist Randy Blythe, Lamb of God rose from being an underground, non-commercial metal act.
They cut a deal with "upper-echelon" Epic Records in 2004 and reached their peak with Ashes of the Wake in 2004 and Sacrament in 2006. They had a big year in 2009, with Wrath, their sixth album, which debuted at No 2 on the Billboard Top 200 when it was released in February 2009.
After more than a decade of countless bands arriving and disappearing from the music scene, Lamb of God's success can be attributed to a combination of integrity, hard work and even harder riffs.
The band has also been credited with the re-birth of American Metal, although they themselves play it down.
"We do what we do. It seems to have struck a nerve with a large part of the metal community around the world, which is incredibly exciting for us, but doesn't really change our methods or objectives as a band," says Morton.
"Metal has seen a huge resurgence in the past decade. During the 90s, it had all but disappeared, but a new generation of heavy, death and thrash-inspired metal gave a new energy and spirit to the entire genre. We were excited to have been a part of all that," he says.
Lamb of God will hold two shows at Star Live. Their Beijing concerts will also be released as DVDs.
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