Kreator & Lamb Of God

Billing: Kreator und Lamb Of God

Concert on February 15, 2023 | Zenith, Munich

In the case of the State Of Unrest tour, a small virus had a lasting effect and the concert series is finally being made up for following three years and several postponements. Accordingly, the Zenith fills up quickly this Wednesday, while only a few remaining tickets are offered for sale on the street. Nevertheless, the location shines in the “small version”. This conversion measure is carried out quite simply by separating the hall roughly in the middle with a thick, black curtain.

MUNICIPAL WASTE try hard and have fun

The line-up on the tour may not have been thrown together at random, but it might hardly contain more different acts. The US party skate thrashers MUNICIPAL WASTE start at 7 p.m., which is of course a relatively thankless slot. After all, at this early hour, the majority of the audience treat themselves to their first beer following work, which, however, cannot hide the horrible sound. Of course, it’s not the fault of the band, who, as energetic as ever, let their hair fly and created the first circle pits. It’s simply the architecture of the Zenith that no longer allows a defined sound to penetrate the auditorium at the latest when the volume is adjusted to a necessary level. It is a doom-loop. MUNICIPAL WASTE don’t let the fun be taken away, the audience responds mildly generously to singer Tony Foresta’s attempts at animation and overall the 35-minute show is absolutely fine.

LAMB OF GOD aren’t evil, but mean

The co-headliners also come from Richmond, Virginia, and with an opulently furnished stage they definitely have the eye-catcher of the evening on their side. Randy Blythe still occupies a large part of the properly dimensioned stage with his presence alone, while the drums are enthroned on a really high riser. All in all, they agreed on a decent, but effectively used lighting, which harmonizes quite well with the partly progressive and at the same time harsh song material. The band is in an extremely professional mood and seems super tight. At least as far as you can hear it from the ongoing sound mud. Incidentally, even a change of location hardly provides any relief. Of course, Blythe is still annoying following a certain time, his singing becomes too monotonous in the long run. Today, however, the audience is made up of three quarters modern metal fans and one quarter old school grandparents, so that the atmosphere is excellent and the older songs like “Vigil” and “Laid To Rest” in particular have a good impact. LAMB OF GOD would like to thank the fans for their patience who have had to wait three years for this tour. The music, on the other hand, etches its way through the ear canals in thick furrows and levels off at a level that is not always accessible, but at a high level.

KREATOR gather the hordes around them

Later, the stage is covered behind a black curtain, on which the well-known logo of the actual main act is in large letters. The changeover break extends to an unusually long 35 minutes, which are bridged with loudly cranked up NWOBH from the early days. Unsurprisingly, the set list begins with the title track of the current album “Hate Über Alles” and while the props include a few impaled demons as well as some creatures dangling from the ceiling, Mille strolls across the stage in his old age. Technically, KREATOR can’t be beaten by any other band and Petrozza unmistakably nails every passage of the text. A healthy lifestyle pays off in these moments at the latest. Practically all sing-along classics from the younger band phase are served today and while the hall proves its textual security to “Enemy Of God”, “Satan Is Real” and “Phobia”, a few very old hams should not be missing (“Extreme Aggression”, “People Of The Lie”). Of course, opinions always differ in the end as to which KREATOR era is better, but apart from “Pleasure To Kill” as the bouncer, “Hate Über Alles” should of course be the focus tonight, even though the record is only honored with three songs . You can also look forward to some show elements such as streamers and flamethrowers. The sound is even tolerable in the back third of the hall, which may be due to the fact that the volume was turned down to an absolute minimum. Of course, that’s not optimal for a decent Thrash Metal massacre either.

This is how a really nice evening comes to an end, which would have become legendary in a packed backstage and has instead become a standard event in the former industrial hall, which of course still offered the best entertainment.