Lamb of God, Wrath Album Review
An Overview of the Richmond Quintets Latest Heavy Metal Masterpice
After the Grammy success of Lamb of God's last album Sacrament, it’s easy to imagine such new found success going straight to the heads of even the most grounded musicians. But it’s clear on hearing Wrath for the first time that the Richmond five-some have no plans of altering their musical integrity.
Their purpose serves now as it ever did- to make eardrums bleed and to make nearly all other bands in the metal syndicate sound tired, slow, and stale. Lamb of God are louder and meaner than ever, which as most people will know, is saying something.
Songs of Brutality
The first opening minutes of Wrath are proof enough that Lamb of God aren’t tried on ideas. The deceptively mellow opening track The Passing is an insight into a more reserved and laid back side of the band. But only minutes later the album kicks into the ruthlessly heavy In Your Words.
From thereon in, hard riffs and pounding rhythms reign supreme, following on with the raw technicalities of Set to Fail and the relentlessly thrashy Contractor, pausing with only the subtlest mellow interludes before returning with the ear pummelling sounds of Grace, Dead Seeds and Everything to Nothing.
Southern Influence
The distorted epic melodies fans have come to expect are heard in songs such as Broken Hands and We Die Alone. But long time listeners are treated to some new surprises too. As well as opening tune The Passing, the song Reclamation, contains an almost uncharacteristic acoustic element, guiding forth a song that sounds somewhat reflective of the group’s Southern/ Richmond upbringing.
This track alone represents an evolution in Lamb of God’s sound, a darkness and ominous aggression that captivates Wrath’s overall motive. The incentive to improve with every album is clearer than ever.
Lamb of God at their Best
Frontman Randy Blythe pushes his vocal skills to their limit, providing the best and most audibly terrifying performance of his Lamb of God career. A consistent yet varied array of roars/ screams and deep throated hollers mix new and more matured tones with his already familiar demonic bellows, and through all this Blythe proves masterfully that no vocalist will sound more rugged and evil than he.
Drummer Chris Alder and Bassist John Campbell maintain smooth thunderous rhythms, whilst the duelling guitars of Willie Alder and Mark Morton soar from technical proficiency to devastating clean riffage. The overall result is a record that harkens back to the kind of showmanship and pride heard in earlier bands such as Pantera, and Lamb of God emerge sounding more like a well oiled machine than a band.
The Power of Wrath
In this new album, Lamb of God, prove a mastery of their craft but also ensure that their musical priority is to beat the listeners senseless. Wrath impresses and devastates in equal measures. It is undeniable proof that Lamb of God are a long term commitment to modern heavy metal.
In the genre, bands come and go. Some act as imitations, others pay homage to their piers, but only a handful become truly capable of pushing the envelope on what to expect from good fierce metal. In this case, it’s hard to imagine the quality of heavy music sounding any better.
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