Originally
known by the
less than
friendly
moniker,
Burn The
Priest, the
Richmond,
Virginia
based Lamb
Of God
changed
their name
shortly
after their
self titled
debut in
1998. The
group
featuring
guitarists,
Will Adler &
Mark Morton,
bassist,
John
Campbell,
Chris Adler
on drums,
and vocal
powerhouse,
Randy Blythe
quickly
embarked on
an extensive
touring
spree,
spending two
solid years
spreading
their "pure
American
death metal"
to the
masses at
major
festivals
and sweaty
small venues
alike. Now
we fast
forward to
the year
2006 with
the release
of their
mammoth new
album,
"Sacrament."
Prior to
"Sacrament"
Lamb of God
had released
three full
length
CDs and each
one is
a outstanding
album
yielding
repeated
listens
months, even
years after
their
purchase,
which is a
very stellar
achievement
in metal. On
"Sacrament,"
Lamb of God
continues
this trend
of
excellence.
In fact, I
was anxious
to hear what
would come
of their
move to
Sony, i.e.
the
mainstream,
and the
question
on many
people's
minds (as
well as
mine) was
whether they
would tone
down their
sound as
we've seen
done by
other metal
heavyweights
such
as, Shadows
Fall, and Killswitch
Engage, just
to name a
couple. The
answer, I
discovered,
is a
resounding hell
no!!!
Opening with
the in you
face epic
"Walk With
Me In Hell"
Lamb of God
quickly
demonstrates
a return to
form
consistent
with their
work on
"Ashes of
the Wake";
that is,
heavy,
thick,
crunchy,
groove-laden
thrashiness.
The
production
is killer of
course, very
similar to
the
aforementioned
album, and
every break
down punches
you straight
in the
face. Lead
singer, Randy
Blythe has
adopted more
variation in
his vocals,
sometimes
doing his
normal
shriek,
other times
doing a sort
of tough-guy
shout a la
Pantera's
Phil Anselmo.
The single
"Redneck,"
whose video
is on heavy
rotation on
MTV's
Headbanger's
Ball, is a
stand out
track, but
definitely
not the
best. Songs
such as
"Again We
Rise" and
"Pathetic"
are faster
thrash
pieces that
are sure to
catch any
metalhead's
fancy. But,
without a
doubt the
finest track
on the album
is probably
"More Time
To Kill."
This is an
unapologetic
in your face
tune that is
sure to make
you crank up
the car
stereo & put
your fists
in the air!
Rarely does
a
heavy metal
band have
this sort of
album-to-album
consistency,
so if you're
a Lamb of
God fan,
definitely
go out to
your local
record store
& get this
album. If
you're new
to their
work...which
may be the
case, since
their
exposure
has obviously
sky rocketed
since
signing to
Sony and you
like groovin'
metal with a
gritty southern
rock feel
and plenty
of thrash
(similar to
Pantera),
then check
this one
out. And
then check
out their
older stuff
because it's
good too.
You will not
be
disappointed!
