lamb-of-god-17

Lamb of God, Anthrax, Deafheaven & Power Trip played Hammerstein Ballroom (pics & review)

photos by Nick Karp, words by Andrew Sacher

Lamb of God / Anthrax / Deafheaven / Power Trip
Lamb of God
Anthrax
Deafheaven
Power Trip

The wild quadruple bill of Lamb of God, Anthrax, Deafheaven and Power Trip finally rolled into NYC last night (1/25) at Hammerstein Ballroom, after being delayed a few days due to Winter Storm Jonas. Power Trip kicked things off, and even though we’re used to seeing them in much smaller venues, they were still kind of the perfect opening band for this kind of thing. They’re always super fun, frontman Riley Gale really knows how to get a crowd going, and even if you don’t know their music you can just hop in the circle pit. All of those things were in full effect last night, and it did seem like they brought out enough of their own fans to this huge show too. Even if not, they definitely won some people over.

Deafheaven were the least perfect band for this bill of the four, but they were still great and it wasn’t nearly as awkward as I was afraid it’d be. Part of this is no doubt because of their darker new album and its thrashier riffs. Sandwiched in between two more-fun bands, Deafheaven sounded straight up evil. Frontman George Clarke was doing all his usual hand motions that got the crowd roaring more than once. And their not-so-secret weapon remains drummer Daniel Tracy, whose hands never stop moving a mile a minute. He’s honestly as much of a thrill to watch as George. It was of a course a shorter set than their recent headlining gig at Webster Hall, and they gave us “Brought to the Water” and “Luna” off the new album, plus one-off single “From the Kettle Onto the Coil” and Sunbather‘s “Dream House.”

The best band of the night though, was Anthrax. Maybe that seems obvious, like of course one of “The Big 4” would be the best band. But coming right after Deafheaven who are currently more relevant, and before Lamb of God who are currently more successful, I didn’t expect it. It’s kind of incredible how wild Joey Belladonna still is on stage — more so than a lot of singers half his age — and Scott Ian is still stomping around like crazy too. We got plenty from their prime era: three songs off Among the Living, their version of Trust’s “Antisocial,” and their punked-up version of Joe Jackson’s “Got the Time.” Those songs still sound fresh as ever, and both the band and crowd couldn’t have seemed more stoked on them. They also played a couple off 2011’s Worship Music (their first album with Joey Belladonna since 1990) and “Evil Twin” off the upcoming For All Kings. And, their set included a tribute to the recently-departed Jimmy Bain and his old bandmate Ronnie James Dio.

Lamb of God wrapped up the night. I’m admittedly not really a fan and don’t have much to say, but clearly they were super tight and the crowd was loving them. The tour hits NJ at Starland Ballroom tonight (1/26), and there are still some tickets available. More pictures of all four bands below…

Power Trip

Power Trip

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Deafheaven

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Anthrax

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Lamb of God

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Lamb of God

Lamb of God

Lamb of God