Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming
One of the most legendary metal shows to ever grace Omaha went down at The Astro over the weekend. On Saturday 8.31.24 Lamb of God and Mastodon celebrated 20 years of two classic albums, Ashes of the Wake and Leviathan. Dubbed the Ashes of Leviathan tour, Omaha was the very last date and all the bands on the bill gave it everything they had to close things out with a bang. I knew going in that the albums were turning 20 this year but I had no idea they were both released on the same day 8.31.2004! Getting to celebrate the anniversiary with thousands of other metal fans was a total trip. In addition to Lamb of God and Mastodon we were treated to a set from Kerry King's new band and Malevolence from the UK. Let's get into it!
With an early 5:30 start the air was still pretty toasty but that didn't stop the hardcore band Malevolence from absolutely melting faces with their nasty, heavy riffs and sick breakdowns. I was able to see Malevolence last year when they opened for Trivium. I had no idea who they were but when they came out with gym shorts and high socks I knew "We're about to die in this pit". For the second time I was super impressed with Malevolence's unique brand of UK hardcore. Malevolence is currently recording so look out for new material coming soon!
Next up was the legendary Slayer guitarist Kerry King! Kerry's name alone carries a lot of weight in the metal scene but he had some help from some heavy hitters including vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), guitarist Phil Demmell (Machinehead, Vio-lence), Kyle Sanders on bass (Hellyeah), and Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph. I read that Kerry declined to ask Slayer guitarist Gary Holt to play as he didn't want to get "Slayer light" comparisons. While Kerry's new material has his signature speedy riffs I'd say the Slayer feel was more like a light sprinkle. Kerry threw the die-hard Slayer fans a nice little treat and played "Raining Blood" sending the place into a frenzy. The crowd surfers were already giving the security team quite a bit of work, but it starting raining bodies when that classic riff hit!
Kerry closed the set with the title track from his new album From Hell I Rise and the crowd continued to circle pit until the very last note. Kerry/Slayer love is alive and well in Omaha! Kerry King's new album From Hell I Rise is available now on all platforms.
After Kerry King it was time for the first of the two headliners, Mastodon! This was my third time seeing the band and I was stoked to hear Leviathan in full. The first time I saw Mastodon they played Crack The Skye in full. Before the band came out they played a clip from the movie Moby Dick the 1956 version. Leviathan is a concept album loosely based on Moby Dick, but in typical Mastodon fashion it's a wild tripped out 46 minute ride through the raging seas. Guitarist Bill Kelliher has noted that Leviathan is a representation of the water element in keeping with the elemental themes of Mastodon's first four albums.
With heavy pyro and a massive stage the production level for this set was pretty epic. A wall of screens showed trippy visuals of water and a million psychedelic colors. While a lot of the tunes are more sludge-filled proggy romps, it didn't stop the circle pits from raging from start to finish. The Astro security team did their best to keep everyone safe while hundreds of fans flowed across the crowd and over the barrier. Mastodon kept the energy up for the whole album and left the crowd screaming for more! Mastodon has established themselves as one of the biggest prog metal bands out there and after Saturday's face melter it's easy to see why.
As the clock struck 9:00 it was time for the legends Lamb of God! A huge banner swung in the wind as the crowd shouted "Lamb of God", buzzing with anticipation. The banner dropped to the ground as a loud pop of pyro hit. Randy Blythe and crew took the stage with force as they ripped into "Laid To Rest", the first track from Ashes of the Wake. The crowd shouted along as Randy led the chorus like a maniacal preacher. For a guy in his early 50s Randy showed no signs of slowing down. As I stalked back and forth trying to get some clear shots Randy moved from side to side and jumped all over the place! This was my second time shooting Randy this year and it's always a trip.
Lamb of God has garnered millions of fans over the years and I think Randy's vocal stylings play a big part in that. While Lamb of God songs are super heavy, the vocals have a great balance of screams and decipherable lyrics. The crowd was super loud, singing along with Randy beat for beat. The circle pits and crowd surfing was turned up to 11 as hundreds of bodies swirled around like a tornado and flew over the railing in a constant stream. I saw so many comments on social media that people "came out of mosh retirement" for this legendary show. Randy and band do have some massive ragers on this album but I'm still in mosh retirement from the last Hatebreed show, where I lasted like 20 seconds before getting knocked down hard, haha!
After ripping through Ashes of the Wake the band sent the end of the tour off with the bangers "Walk With Me In Hell" and "Redneck". The crowd roared in appreciation for the titans of metal. I'm not sure if we'll see a legendary show like this for a while. Omaha is lucky to have such an awesome music scene and to get a date on this tour, especially the closer and the actual celebration day of these two incredible albums 20 years later. I'm super appreciative I was able to capture these moments.
A huge thanks to Lamb of God management for photo access and the Astro staff for keeping everyone safe. Thanks for reading and we'll see you at the next one!
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