THE OMENS TOUR

MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Boston, Massachusetts
September 21, 2022

Photos & Review by Michael LaFleche

SUICIDE SILENCE

This is the most genuine hardcore metal band I have seen in a long time. Suicidal Silence and Eddie Hermida pulls no punches The lyrics are direct and to the point for the Fenway crowd to soak in without equivocation. The reaction: a throng of young metal fans all moving in unison, hair flying everywhere, and it was only 6pm!!!!! This was their first theatre tour ever. And the lovely mosh pit style, The Wall of death as Eddie Mermidia says on vocals, was here too, so paramedics were on standby.

Unanswered
Wake Up
You Must Die
Fuck Everything
You Only Live Once

BARONESS

I saw Baroness at the Middle East a little while back and was really impressed with the band, This time I am even more impressed, in a larger setting with room to spread out at the MGM Music Hall, Baroness unleashed the beautiful abilities of the band. The setlist blow had a good range of hardcore metal, plus melodic guitar sounds that are like a Queen – Brian May psychedelic Get Down Make Live style solo from the 70’s. This is a fantastic band musically. The energy and polish is visible. Gina Gleason on guitars really is something to see, so much power and positive energy, but props go to the whole band here.

The Sweetest Curse
Isak
A Horse Called Golgotha
March to the Sea
Shock Me
War, Wisdom & Rhyme
Take My Bones Away

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

Local crew Killswitch Engage were up next. I love Killswitch Engage, so it is hard to write an objective review. They really sounded on point for the crowd at the new hall near Fenway Park. Since the band is local, bandmembers’ parents were there, and the grown up kids mercilessly took turns kidding with mom and dad, and main guitarist Adam D even shared with us a story of how his mom and dad got stuck in a fire escape before the show. I am sure all the joshing was out of their true love for the family. The same feeling was felt from the crowd, who I am sure that for most people there, was not their first Killswitch show.

Jesse Leach, took over however on vocals after tossing the unicorn hat off to begin the show that was preceded by muppet singing a version of Van Halen’s Jump. The band was great. Adam Dutkiewicz on the main guitars is like Will Ferrell with incredible guitar lick skills, constantly keeping the fans guessing what he will do next. Mike D’Antonio on bass feels magical, Also not to be outdone on the guitars is Joel Stroetzel rounded up by hardcore double-bass drumming Justin Foley.

Lots of hits were played by the band, including the following:

Strength of the Mind
This Is Absolution
Rose of Sharyn
Beyond the Flames
Unleashed
The Crownless King
Hate by Design
Know Your Enemy
My Curse
Daylight Dies
This Fire
The End of Heartache
In Due Time

Toward the end of the set we had one of the band’s great covers, Dio’s “Holy Diver”, which just sounds amazing as the devil horns (A symbol of love as explained by Ronnie James Dio if you recall correctly). But the highlight of the night was the introduction of formal Killswitch vocalist Howard Jones for “The Signal Fire”

LAMB OF GOD

Finally, the headliners brought the show to its crescendo with the loudest and highest energy of the night, blasting the Boston crowd with a filling-rattling double-bass drum style that has made Lamb of God one of the most respected and hardest metalcore bands in existence.

Forget about the hellfire that LOG brought on the first few songs, the band was even hotter than the multitude of 20 foot fire columns that almost singed the eyebrows of the photographers in the pit. The perfect leadership of Randy Blathe, extolling the virtues of the band’s heavy lyrical content mesmerized the audience and myself. Randy really knows how to lead a show and manages a strong connection with the fans, while up on the industrial looking stage filled with places for Randy to jump off. The show started with Memento Mori, Walk With Me in Hell, where there was lots and lots of fire on stage, and Now You’ve Got Something to Die For. The middle of the set had classics as well as newer stuff from Omens coming out this October. It is really hardcore heavy and bass driven, (I know, that could be said about all their songs, but this is even more so!) Mark Morton and Willie Adler provided the high pitch licks and lardcore riffing respectively and admirably. They sound like they are on the top of their game, almost 25 years on since the band first got together. The rest of the band includes John Campbell on the groove driven bass, and Art Cruz hammers on the double bass drum setup, rising above the rest of the stage, giving Randy Morton on vocals a place to dive off of when he sees fit.

The show wrapped up with fan favorites like 512, Ghost Wakin, Vigil, Laid to Rest and wrapping up with Redneck. Like the prior band Killswitch Engage, they have a sense of humor that makes the dark tone of their music actually fun and enjoyable!