Lamb of God are one of the forerunners of NWOAHM; their latest album (Sacrament) reached #8 on the charts in the first week. Before this was released however, they had been on tour supporting their third full length album [I[Ashes of the Wake[/i]. They had been touring for close to two years prior to the filming of this concert. The idea of a DVD had been floating around for a while, so during their two day stay in Philadelphia, the cameras were a rolling, and thus we have Killadelphia.
Note: This section of the review is for the CD, not the DVD. There is a difference, the CD has the entirety of the performance, with the whole version of Vigil, and Randy talking in between tracks. I'm not going to try to talk about the instruments to much, other than how clean the people who play them are, or the tone, or things of that nature, seeing as how this is a live album. If you'd like to find out about that other stuff, then your best checking out the individual album reviews.
This was my very first time encountering any live Lamb of God material, but when I first heard this I was blown away. The guitars were spot on at almost every moment of the show. At points it almost sounded better than on record. Tonality it was pretty good too. Think As The Palaces Burn-esque sound (for the guitars), but a little bit more choppy. Overall a great performance from both Willie and Mark. Though each them did miss a few parts here and their, and the harmonies didn't really shine through to much they were solid.
I had liked Ashes of the Wake for a while, so I wasn't expecting to hear much in the bass department, and I was right. It's almost like he's an unnecessary part of the band. I'm glad he's with them, without the bass it would probably sound horrible, but they could at least turn him up a bit. Chris Adler however is mixed perfectly in with the band. He's not incredibly high in the mix, but he is still always audible. Sometimes though it can be a bit tedious. For example the very beginning of Laid To Rest, his opening fill completely overshadows the guitars, but after that everything was fixed and it sounded fine.
Vocally Randy was superb. His voice is just as brutal live as it is in the studio, if no more so. His voice is incredibly powerful, and when he screamed the songs from As The Palaces Burn it sounded much better than it did on the album. My one complaint from him is that his higher pitched screams don't sound as good live. At points he just doesn't bother to use it, and others he just does a sort of weak scream. Don't get me wrong when he uses it, it sounds awesome. Rarely though he'll hold a high note for more than a second or so, unlike the album which can be a bit disappointing.
The crowd was incredibly energetic this night as well. From the opening seconds of Laid to Rest, to then chanting the chorus of Now You've Got Something To Die For you can tell that are enjoying every minute of the show. Luckily though, they don't overpower the band at really any points, and they don't take away from the performance. They also respond very well when Randy tries to get them pumped up.
This section will talk about the DVD features of Killadelphia.
The camera angles on this DVD are very professional, and varied a lot. During the solos the camera are on the guitars, the fills on the drums etc. The one complaint about it is the song lengths, the entire opening clean section is edited out on the DVD, and you can't see/hear Randy talking between tracks. However it has its ups. Along with a live performance you also get to see behind the scenes of Lamb of God during their Ashes of the Wake tour. Including John putting exploding cigarette loads into Chris' cigarettes, the band skydiving, and the band being completely shi
tfaced.
Another good thing about the DVD portion is each member (crew included) has their own special video where the rest of the band talks about them. And, each member shows you how to play a part of each one of their songs! Willie shows some of Hourglass, Mark of The Faded Line, John of Laid to Rest, and Chris shows the Ruin fill, and the intro to Now You've Got Something To DIe For.
Conclusion: This is an extraordinary DVD/CD. Not only is the live concert very good, but the behind the scenes is interesting, and incredibly funny at times. You learn a lot about the band's personal lives. If kind of helps you understand the craziness that makes up Lamb Of God. You'll understand why Chris doesn't drink a huge amount, or why Randy seems so incredibly angry all the time. I definitely recommend this DVD if you're a fan of Lamb of God, or even if you're looking a laugh.
