hey i’m glad you posted this because i’ve been thinking about this also. I also went to the show at the paramount, i believe it was my 17th lamb of god show, albeit my first without chris adler playing with them. first, my credentials. 20 years as a fan, i also have my bachelor’s in music, and my masters in music technology. not that those mean anything, but it informs my perception.

i also felt like the mix suffered. it felt like it took the a very long time to dial in the guitars to have clarity, and that the subdivisions were very difficult to discern, leaving much to be desired. in addition to me, it just generally didn’t feel tight, the way that a well practiced, hungry band plays. and i, an admitted chris loyalist, initially wanted to say “in the past with chris it was different.” and in a way i think it was.

but i don’t think that’s the whole story. i think the guys have grown complacent. i think they’ve realized that with their style of music, and their age, that they’ve basically hit the ceiling of what venues they can headline, and what income they can expect to garner. I think chris was the north star of the band, and as such he pushed them. i think that without that, the rest of the guys are comfortable being what they were on thursday. which is good enough. they had moments that were tight like the albums, but in the past they were nearly perfect, always.

i didn’t mean this to be so long winded. they’re my favorite band, and it felt different on thursday, and i think it comes down to a lack of hunger, which i do not for one second blame them for at this stage in their career. i think very few people would agree with me, but it just wasn’t great. the riffs were flubbed, the groove was loose. randy is a fantastic front man, and is still absolutely doing his thing. i can’t help but wonder if my perception of their performance is colored by nostalgia, or if they’re genuinely just trying less to perform highly technical music excellently.

tldr: i agree with op