My heart is racing, ears are ringing, neck is aching, and body is bruised... but I have never felt more awake or alive.
A headbanging extravanganza took over Auckland's Vector Arena last night, as two of the biggest names in metal - Lamb of God and Slipknot - joined forces.
Lamb of God were the first giants to take to the stage. They did not disappoint.
Two people were pulled from the mosh pit a minute into their first song after a sea of bodies, acting as one, rushed the stage and chaos ensued. More bodies came out of the pit, but none appear fazed, with security guards having to stop some from jumping back over the barriers.
The boys from Virginia dominated the stage for an hour, and there was not one point where their energy levels faded. Frontman Randy Blythe threw his body around like a rag doll, jumping from the drum set and speakers like it was nothing.
They ended their electrifying set with their most popular headbanger, 'Redneck', and called for the biggest 'circle of death' New Zealand has ever seen. The fans didn't need the encouragement.
Slipknot then erupted onto the stage and didn't waste time getting fans revved up, opening with 'The Negative One' from their 2014 album .5: The Gray Chapter.
(Doug Peters / Ambient Light)
Frontman Corey Taylor told his Kiwi 'maggots' this was the end of their two year world tour and also marked 15 years since staple album Iowa was released. With this announcement came deafening cheers from the crowd, then the monsters of metal launched into classic track 'The Heretic Anthem'.
Fans became hypnotised, and hung onto every word as though they were under some form of spell cast by the nine-piece group.
One of the best things about watching Slipknot live is the way they interact with each other on stage. It's almost as though they feed off each other's crazy energy, while still maintaining their own terrifying personas.
As the show came to an end, fans demanded an encore, with the hopes it would be yet another one of the band's classics. The group returned to end their nearly two-hour set with 'Spit it Out'.
At that point I realised just how dedicated their fans are.
The thousands who packed Vector Arena were instructed to crouch on the ground and then jump on command. It was a spectacular sight to say the least.
Corey Taylor has said that he's never considered hanging up the mask and retiring Slipknot, which is lucky for fans that missed last night's show.
May they return to New Zealand as soon as possible.
Newshub.
