Lamb of God has brought chaos and pandemonium every place they’ve visited. The latest casualty: D Marquee, Singapore on Apr 15.

No prizes for guessing what concert venue you had come to, as metal heads were clad in their uniform of black t-shirts with some even sporting the band’s name emblazoned across their tees. The Singapore metal horde was chanting for the quintet from Richmond, Virginia and their wish got granted when the acoustic intro from “The Passing” began to play.

Songs from their latest album Wrath such as “In Your Words” and Grammy-nominated “Set To Fail” followed suit. That album, which is what this tour is promoting, has even outperformed Slash’s eponymous debut, selling 68,000 copies to the iconic guitarist’s star-studded album, which sold about 50,000 copies in the first week.

Perhaps because this was the first time Lamb of God has been seen on our soil, the fans behaved like caged animals deprived of music. As soon as the band started to play their songs, the audience started writhing in the mosh pit.

Despite the group’s name, which Christians associate with Jesus Christ, the crimson light that shimmered on drummer Chris Adler made him look more like the reincarnation of a devil. That title was apt for him as he dazzled the Singapore army of metal heads with his intense blast beats and amazing footwork on the double bass pedals.

The energy from lead singer Randy Blythe was contagious as the crowd looked enthused and head banged when he belted out those low, sweet growls for “Walk With Me In Hell” and “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For”.

There were circle pits front, left and centre. However, the size of these pits grew during “Hourglass”, a hit from the 2004 album Ashes Of The Wake. The crowd went into frenzy when Randy screamed, “Open it up!”

Guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, Chris’s brother, took centre stage with the intro of “Grace” from the latest album. The crowd created a diffused atmosphere by raising their lit lighters and swayed side to side as the undistorted, melodic riff of the guitar resonated throughout the D’ Marquee Theatre at Pasir Ris.

You might not have guessed from the ferocity of the music and the gothic gear, but the congregations of metal heads were friendly, helpful and they always looked out for each other as they followed the unwritten etiquette of a metal concert. Whenever any metal brethren fell down, people would be trying to pick him or her up and lost items can be found easily as concert goers will hold the lost possession high up until it’s reclaimed.

It was funny to see that hardcore dancers were greatly frowned upon and ostracised by the metal purists.

Fans who came from different parts of the region weren’t forgotten as Randy thanked them for coming the distance and watching them play live. “For the people who came in from Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo, this song’s for you. Laid to Rest!”

The highlight of the night had to be the massive Wall of Death. The crowd divided themselves into 2 when Randy announced that they are going to play the last song, “Black Label”, from the album New American Gospel. On the count of 4, chaos ensued as fans from both sides of the wall ran into each other at top speed. Bodies were stacking on top of one another like a deck of cards. Overall, it was done in good spirits and everybody was having a fun time watching Lamb of God.

“Black Label”, the most prominent song used by Lamb of God for the Wall of Death, was definitely one sick finale to cap off a magnificent yet brutal set. The intensity and enthusiastic crowd interaction demonstrated by Lamb of God has showed us why organisers LAMC had once told Today that they had waited over for 2 years to get them to come, and why this is one of the biggest metal acts in the world.

Photos courtesy of Darren Ng.