LAMB OF GOD

AS THE PALACE GROUNDS BURN

Currently, as I pen down the opening lines, my throat is croaked, neck is stiff, knees are achy, eyes are puffy. Having a sick day? No. Its one of the best days of my life. Or more accurately, the hangover of one of the best days of my life. I truly feel blessed by God. More accurately, Lamb of God.

History states that I started following Lamb of God six years ago. At that time, I had only heard '11th hour' from Freddy Vs Jason soundtrack and did not think much of it. Then I listened to 'Ruin' from MTV 2 Headbanger's Ball. While '11th Hour' had a Death Metal touch, 'Ruin' was more thrashy. It got me hooked. But then sometime later I heard 'Black Label'. This track took the hook all the way down to the gut. I turned fanatic and then simply had to get the albums Ashes of the Wake, As the Palaces Burn and New American Gospel. After dosing on these albums for years, saw the 'Wall of Death' phenomenon in one of their videos. This made attending their concert a must. The thought was still far-fetched as this band was still gaining popularity. With the releases of 'Sacrament' and 'Wrath', their fame had reached heights. India has usually witnessed bands in their decline state. But Overture threw a shock by inviting them over and announcing a concert in Bangalore on 15th May.

And the RACE WAS ON. The action stepped up. Only me and my roommate, Sunny were interested in heading all the way down, some 2400kms just to see a concert. There was quite a lot of trouble regarding the tickets. My usual source, rsjonline.com had shut down. So, getting information was tough. Tickets were being sold by only kyazoonga.com and that too, only online. No counter sales. My lack of trust in online transactions meant that we would have to do the purchase by the harder method of heading to their office, pay the cash and get receipt. Sunny was chosen as the guy for this job. He did the job perfectly. We also went to Clyde's to buy Tees specially for the concert. Our journey plan was to travel by train. Given my shortage of leaves, I chose to return by flight. Tickets were booked and then checked daily to see the waiting status rise slowly and slowly.

But painfully, eventually, the D-Day came. I had never worked fast enough in the office before. I made sure that my work was done in time and left the office at 5:30 PM. We had booked a cab from our place to the New Delhi Railway station. Gurgaon is chaotic from 6 to 8 PM. We had to take the road out of Convergys, go till IFFCO Chowk for U-turn, cross the Toll Plaza. All these points are immensely jammed. Two-wheelers are still lucky as they can go off-road and squeeze through. But then, some smart-ass in a car tries to mimic them and ends up blocking the road for miles. We watched patiently as our cab crawled through the traffic. Our first step towards God's blessings was going painfully slow. Luckily, we had taken into account ample of time and the cab driver avoided Dhaula Kuan and we reached the Railway Station well in time.

I like train journeys. Its a different experience. You have ample time to waste around. How many times you get that opportunity nowadays? I was well armed for the next 40 hours on tracks. I was carrying two-halves of Old Monk in baggage(Temple Tap Twice). Yes, there's always a risk of police catching it and you get into trouble. Sunny was nervous crossing the metal detectors. I've done so many times and just glided along. Someday, I know I'll glide too comfortably and get caught, but till that time, lets just enjoy.

We had RAC tickets. A difficult deal considering that you have to share a bunk with one of the largest man around, Sunny. Luck favoured and the bunk above us was available till Bhopal. Enough time to sleep well. However, we were not lucky to get ample food as we were counting on the platforms to provide some. Rum has a power to drown out any such inconvinience. It did for me, but not for Sunny as he did not taste any. I always believed Rum to be the real nectar of Gods. I sure hope we did not attract attention beacuse of drinks. I was careful not to reveal the content in Coke bottles.

We did not have very good co-passengers. No F18-25s. So, we slept off early.

14th May. The next day. This day was to be spent entirely in the train. Usual events of hunting for food and snacks with the rum. Nothing special.

15th May. We were to reach Bangalore today. We finished all the Rum. Yes, even Sunny joined in this time. Today was the day of the concert. The time for laziness was over. From this moment on, it would be one wild rush till we were in Bangalore. I like speedy plans sometimes. You don't get the time to relax. You are continuously on the move serving one cause or the other.

As soon as we got off at the Cantt Railway Station, we took a pre-paid auto to my college-mate Harish Nair's place. He had arranged our stay at one of his friend's, Puneet's place. The ticket said Gates open at 2 pm. At 2 pm, we were in Puneet's house and getting dressed for the concert. We quickly picked up beer cans from the first theka and took an auto. The beer added to the vigorous energy of the day, more so because it was Knock-Out. You dont get this beer in the North. As we neared Palace Grounds, we could spot some of other concert-goers in other autos. Communication was wild, greeting each other with devil horn symbols, \m/ shouting "LAMB OF GOD" at the top of our voices. Thats Heavy Metal Brotherhood.

We yelled and hailed all the way to the Entry Gates. There brothers met with hugs. They had come from Kerela, Tamil Nadu. We found that the entry was not from this gate, but far away from the Fun World side. We stopped another auto and got off there. After passing through the gates, there was another long walk to the main entrance. It must have been around 3:30 that we entered the premises. By now, one of the four Indian bands to play had done their part and the second, Scribe was doing the sound check.

We strolled around the venue looking at the stalls. I met Sahil Makhija, the Demonstealer, at his stall. He's always a joy to see, reminding me of good old days at Mumbai. I looked around hoping to see more familiar faces, but there was none. I had expected two or three of my close buddies and many of the Indian band members, specially Bhayanak Maut, to be present among the audience, but there was no one. It seemed, Sunny will have to bear the brunt of my thrashy nonsense. I did meet the guitarist of Bhayanak Maut, Baba at the show. He told me that Vinay wont be attending. Another person I missed was Arfaq from Infernal Wrath. He's one of the bad-ass moshers. Another noticable thing was that the concert area looked too small.

The good news was that Tuborg beer was available inside the venue, although at an exaggerated price of 100Rs per glass. Since our day was rushing so fast that we hardly had the time to booze, we took the beer gratefully.

The vocalist of Scribe was upto his usual pranks on stage. Normally, I enjoy listening to Scribe, but the day was dedicated to Lamb of God. I was saving all my energy for that. The opening bands never get any recognition whenever you have a huge headlining band, no matter how good they are. By the time, the opening bands had finished, it had got dark.

By now, even the crowd was packing up and the area that looked so small earlier, showed how much people could be swallowed. The stage was getting set up for Lamb of God. Big banners showing the Wrath artworks were on display. Chris Adler's drumset occupied most of the stage. There were two projector screens on either side of the stage. But I could not see them function. As time dragged, on the mob started chanting, "Lamb of God", "Lamb of God". I handed over my cellphone to Sunny for safekeeping while I do the moshing. He obliged. He knew that I wont be standing still at this concert.

One of the Overture guys came on stage saying to the crowd to move back a little as some of the front rowers were getting crushed. I personally feel that its the norm for front rowers to feel the pressure and if you cant take it, do not take that position. The crowd booed. Bring on the band, damnit. Even after repeated requests, there was no relenting. Then we saw Randy Blythe, the vocalist at the corner of the stage. Everyone gave a loud yell. The Overture guy was talking with him about the situation. He came back and gave a stern warning that the crowd must move back or else the show would be cancelled. After 4-5 warnings, the crowd did relent and moved back. Everyone knew that once the music started, all hell will break loose.

Now passed another 5 minutes of blistering wait. Then came on the music of The Passing, the intro to Wrath album. THIS was the moment for which we had travelled 2000+ kms. I had dreamt about this moment and it was happening NOW. One by one, the band members came on stage. Willie Adler, Mark Morton, John Campbell and Chris Adler. The shout was maximum when Chris Adler came on. He's the guy that gets the most respect from me. A mind-numbing drummer with ferocious pounding power.

The Passing has a melodic tone that goes on for a minute. Then this track gives way to the typical Lamb of God thrash style track - "In Your Words". Its during this track that Chris Adler turns into his form. After the intro of In Your Words, Randy Blythe came screaming onto the stage and the crowd exploded. The moshpit also grew active as if turned on by sound mechanism of vocals. I love moshing.

For those who don't know what a moshpit is, here's a brief description:

In a Heavy Metal concert, the level of aggression is very high due to fast and loud music of guitars and drums and their players. In such a highly aggressive state, there forms a space near the stage where the loudest part of music is heard. This area is called the moshpit. The audience tries to mimic their favourite artistes in this pit and behave like the guitarists themselves. The headbanging turns more fierce. As the tempos rise and the movements of these people within the confines of the crowd increases, they bump into each other. These bumps then turn into pushes and shoves and finally, slams. People enjoy these crashes and try to push everyone within this pit. For better explanation, they are like steam filled ping pong balls in a small container, colliding with each other and the walls and so on. This activity is called as moshing.

For a complete description read, http://www.moshing.org. Heavy Metal fanatics will enjoy reading this.

The energy flow around the area drove me insane. At that moment I didn't care for the rest of the world. I was moshing like crazy. As In Your Words ended, the band continued on to Set to Fail, without pause. It was like a never-ending adrenaline injection. Wrath is one beautifully crafted album. Such was the intensity that I grew tired at the end of the track. Maybe, age is catching up with me or maybe, I pushed myself too hard.

After the 2nd track, Randy Blythe came out with "Hello Bangalore". The crowd responded with a loud roar. He was speaking with genuine appreciation of the crowd when he said, "India? Does anyone know us there?" and "We'll go back and tell the other bands about what we saw and tell them to come here". Yeah, some of it is just to please the crowd, but it sounded honest. He also made a hilarious comment by calling Gandhi a "dude". It set the crowd rolling.

The next track was one of my favourites, Ruin. I screamed my lungs out along with Randy over the vocals throughout. All my tiredness had faded.

One by one more memorable tracks followed. Walk with me in Hell, Now you've got something to Die For, Blacken the Cursed Sun, Descending, Reclamation, As the Palaces Burn.

It was during Walk with me in Hell, that a girl fell into the moshpit. I helped her up quickly as this was no place for females. What surprised me most was my strength as to how I was able to pick her up with one hand. I mean, yeah, she did not have much flesh on her but still it would have been more than 40 kgs. My muscles were pumping. This gave a new surge in my moshing. The kids in the pit faced the brunt of it. They were seen flying here and there.

It was during Now You've Got Something to Die For that Randy asked for a circle pit. Sadly, not many moshers present there knew how and instead of the circle, there was just mish-mash. The banners now had also changed to Ashes of the Wake artwork.

One thing happens in all pits is that you face one person and you know that this guy should not be messed with while in the pit. There is a feeling of mutual respect and it shows. Who says heavy metal is for hooligans?

Then came Laid to Rest. The crowd had been demanding this track for long. And when Randy announced it, the mob went berserk. During the track, 3 people fell over my leg and I was pushed to bite the dust. It did take sometime to get back up and I worried about the condition of my newly healed leg. But only momentarily. As soon I was back on my feet, I went back into action. My throat had become hoarse now due to all the roaring. I was hell-bent on making it worse.

When the band starts playing their most popular songs, you know that they are nearing the end. That also means that you have only a few minutes left to savour the moments. The next track was Redneck. This track has amazing riffs that give a real high. Who needs drugs? You push with all the enthusiasm you've got, and then more. "This is a motherfuckin' invitation".

Black Label. This was to be the last track of the night. This track brings out the demons within. It creates the Wall of Death. When the intro started, moshers knew the moment had arrived. Its amazing to see how much space can be squeezed out of a packed crowd when the "Wall" is created. The audience divides into two like the faces of a wall facing each other. As the intro led into the main sequence, the walls run towards each other and slam in the middle. Body parts fly here and there and then the process repeats. I must have run some 3 kms during this track. The band said goodbye after this track.

We were left tired, but ecstatic. The thing about this band is that there are so many great songs that they are not covered in a single concert and you end up somewhat disappointed. I felt that Fake Messiah and Broken Hands should have been played. Another disappointment was that there was too much dust on the ground that kicks up during moshing. But it turned out to my advantage. As I was hanging around after the concert, I found Willie Adler's pick. To make you realize what it means, imagine a cricket fan getting Sachin Tendulkar's glove. Its a treasure.

My Thanks to Overture for bringing these guys over.

Thanks to Harish Nair and his friends for treating us royally.

Thanks to Sunny for being my companion.

What I still don't understand is why do bands pick Bangalore as the venue? I did not see as much enthusiasm there as I used to. Plus, Bangalore seems like a place which has westernisation thrust on people not so willing to accept it. Pick Mumbai instead.

Now that I've seen Lamb of God, I would travel the long distance only to see Slayer or Kreator or Vader or Behemoth. RSJ, are you listening?