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By Matt Owen published 3 August 22

The Vio-lence and ex-Machine Head guitarist will serve once more as six-string stand-in for the Richmond, VA metal stalwarts

Phil Demmel of Vio-lence has announced he’ll be hitting the road with Lamb of God for the band’s upcoming string of European shows, which kicks off this month.

The former Machine Head axeman will be filling in once again for Lamb of God’s Willie Adler, whose absence has not officially been commented on by the band. 

It will be the second time this year Demmel has temporarily replaced Adler, after the guitarist linked up with Lamb of God for the band’s performances on the ShipRocked cruise in January.

Writing on Instagram, Demmel wrote, “Next 3 weeks are with these fine folks from Richmond MFing Virginia. Mixing in some Violence as well!”

Demmel will reunite with Lamb of God to kick off their European trip on August 5 with a performance at Rockstadt Extreme Fest in Rasnov, Romania, before capping off the week at the Lokerse Festival in Belgium.

A post shared by Phil Demmel (@phildemmel) (opens in new tab)

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The week after will see further festival performances as well as headline shows in Slovenia, Hungary, Finland and the United Kingdom. 

Lamb of God’s final European stint features three consecutive shows in Germany – two headline shows at Z-Bau and Live Music Hall, and a slot at the Reload Festival – and a final festival appearance at the Dynamo Metalfest in the Netherlands.

Demmel is something of an in-demand session man for veteran metal outfits. Last November, he was recruited by Overkill for their first live gig in two years after their  guitarist Dave Linsk ran into a scheduling conflict.

A few years ago, Demmel had a similarly high-profile fill-in job when he was tapped up to replace Gary Holt for four Slayer shows in the fall of 2018.

Speaking to Blabbermouth (opens in new tab) in February about his fast-filling session schedule, Demmel described himself as Lamb of God's “bullpen guy”.

“The Lamb of God gig, that was a big deal,” he said. “They had approached me before their Megadeth States tour last summer and wanted me to learn both parts, Mark [Morton] and Willie's, just in case one got sick, they didn't want to cancel their tour. 

“That's where I am: I'm their bullpen guy when one of them can't make the shows, I'm ready to go,” he added. “It's such a high-profile band. I didn't want to go out there and blow it. I wanted the band to sound good. I wanted to keep that pride in what they are and not have a drop-off.”

For a full list of tour dates, head over to Lamb of God (opens in new tab) .

Lamb of God are gearing up to release their new album, Omens, which will arrive October 7. The album has so far been previewed with lead single Nevermore and the crushing title track.

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Matt is a Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.

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