Review: Lamb of God, Mastodon celebrate 20th anniversaries of their landmark metal albums in Pittsburgh

An army of black shirt-clad heavy metal fans gathered for the 20th anniversaries of a pair of groundbreaking albums, soaking up the nostalgia.

And by the end of the night Tuesday at Stage AE in Pittsburgh, they were quite literally soaked.

The Ashes of Leviathan tour brought together Lamb of God, celebrating “Ashes of the Wake,” and Mastodon, saluting “Leviathan,” with both albums released on Aug. 31, 2004.

According to Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe, the bands had been talking about doing this tour for years. Mastodon drummer Brann Dailor, who recalled seeing both CDs at Best Buy next to each other on the day they came out in 2004, lauded the fact that the tour finally happened.

“A few years ago, we said, ‘Hey, we should do an anniversary tour of sorts,’” Dailor said. “A 4 o’clock in the morning conversation, they always usually are pipe dreams. But this one came true.”

Lamb of God closed the show, with rain drenching the crowd for at least 15 minutes after starting just three songs into their set. (And the rain might have actually been a good thing for the sweat-soaked and bruised fans who braved the mosh pit that exploded in the middle of a densely packed crowd.)

In “Ashes of the Wake,” their first major-label release, the Virginia band went highly political, protesting, among other subjects, the U.S. war in Iraq and the military-industrial complex surrounding it.

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Lyrically, there was no mistaking where the band’s sights were focused. The song “Ashes for the Wake” includes a spoken word snippet of “We killed a lot of innocent civilians. To us, every civilian in Baghdad was a terrorist.” Or on “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For”: “Bombs to set the people free, blood to feed the dollar tree, flags for coffins on the screen, oil for the machine.”

They blazed through the whole album plus a two-song encore — with rain breaking out again — of “Walk With Me in Hell” and “Redneck” in a crisp, 65-minute set. Twenty years later, Blythe seemed just as intense with his delivery, pacing the stage, as the band showcased their bludgeoning yet precise metal.

More from @lambofgod at @Stage_AE pic.twitter.com/N5sAsBNZ9Q

— Mike Palm (@MikePalmMedia) July 31, 2024

Mastodon seemed right at home at Stage AE, as they should. Bassist Troy Sanders said he and Dailor calculated earlier in the day that they had played more shows at Stage AE (nine) than any other venue in their 24 years as a band.

With Sanders sporting a black and gold Pitt shirt, the band wasted little time and dove right into the entirety of “Leviathan,” starting with “Blood and Thunder.” (Slipknot drummer Eloy Casagrande recently took a crack at it on the Drumeo YouTube page and left impressed. Coincidentally, Lamb of God drummer Art Cruz tackled Imagine Dragons’ “Thunder” in a similar challenge.)

Mastodon’s concept album was inspired by Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick” — triggered by a globe-spanning flight by Dailor in which he finished the book and found similarities to the band. (Sanders goes into more detail in this interview with TribLive earlier this month.)

Sanders, Dailor and guitarist Brent Hinds each took turns on lead vocals, as Mastodon delivered a high-energy performance that showed no signs of going through any motions.

More from @mastodonmusic pic.twitter.com/1hQUGuBMqx

— Mike Palm (@MikePalmMedia) July 31, 2024

It’s been almost five years since Slayer played their last show (but of course, they’re getting back together this fall for a handful of festival appearances). In that time, Slayer guitarist Kerry King put out his first solo album.

“From Hell I Rise,” released on May 17, features King and Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, as well as Death Angel singer Mark Osegueda, Hellyeah bassist Kyle Sanders (the brother of Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders) and former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel. It’s technically not Slayer, but it sure sounded like one of the “Big Four” of thrash metal.

A large mosh pit rejoiced as the band played two Slayer songs late in their set — “Raining Blood” and “Black Magic.”

.@KerryKingMusic bringing Slayer vibes (big surprise, right?)ahead of Mastodon and Lamb of God at @Stage_AE pic.twitter.com/mNpvTFnGHt

— Mike Palm (@MikePalmMedia) July 30, 2024

Malevolence, an English metalcore band formed in 2010 when guitarists Josh Baines and Konan Hall were 12, started the show with heavy riffs and shredding with a Pantera inspiration, closing with a bang with “On Broken Glass.”

.@MalevolenceRiff opening the show at @Stage_AE pic.twitter.com/4PuwvjRp7w

— Mike Palm (@MikePalmMedia) July 30, 2024