Written by:	itsjoeymoose
Published:	March 09, 2009
Event:	Dimmu Borgir + Lamb Of God: Defenders Of The Faith II
Location:	Academy, Manchester, United Kingdom
Galleries:	Defender's Of The Faith II-Manchester, UK by itsjoeymoose (32)

"Roll up, roll up! Metalcore, black metal and straight up heavy metal brought together for one night only folks. That's right, Defender's Of The Faith II is in town with death-defying acts such as 5 Finger Death Punch, Unearth, Dimmu Borgir and Lamb Of God."
OK, so that probably wasn't the press release for DOTF II, but it so nearly could have been?

I'm not exactly sure why the faith (I assume it's metal they're talking about) needs to be defended, because considering this particular show in Manchester was completely sold out, I'd suggest this faith is in no need of a saviour.

First band on, 5 Finger Death Punch, certainly had their moments in an average set. Basically playing no nonsense, hardcore metal, definitely worked in their favour as they tried to work the crowd up into a frenzy before the main acts arrived.



Unearth were quick to pick up where 5FDP had left off, delivering a pummelling and aggressive half hour or so of hardcore/metalcore music.
Singer Trevor Phipps, whom I had an interview with, was definitely true to his word about wanting the crowd to get moving and starting mosh pits, to which they eagerly obeyed.



Showcasing some great material from their latest album, 'The March', Unearth went down extremely well with the Manchester crowd, proving that they're certainly worthy of a spot on the DOTF II tour.

A major change of gear came next, with black metal heavyweights Dimmu Borgir hitting the stage. It's not really cool with black metal to clap and sing along, so I felt something was lost with the seriousness that goes with the genre.



Vocalist Shagrath really just let the music do the talking for the most part, occasionally thanking the crowd or introducing the next song, which felt a bit boring. Despite the music being fairly decent on CD, I felt the live form didn't really ignite the crowd, certainly not me in any case. Not awful but not amazing at the same time, DB did their job well and left most of the crowd satisfied with their set.

If the chants of "Lamb Of God! Lamb Of God!" during most set breaks and certainly before the final act, then it's clear who the majority of the crowd had come to see tonight.
In all honesty, I've never really paid much attention to Lamb Of God and was quite surprised to see that they're headlining. That said, they did a great job and I was quite impressed with the straight up heavy metal.



If the crowd were tired from the three previous bands, they certainly didn't show it, with general mayhem evident from all across the academy, if anything, LOG know how to move a crowd. One great quote from singer Randy Blythe, "We're only a few songs in and already two people have been carried out!"

All in all, a good but not great selection of bands for the evening, although judging from tonight I think we can all agree this is one faith that doesn't need defending.

Many thanks to Andy Turner for the review and interview.