Lamb of God - Laid to Rest
Lamb of God - 11th Hour - Music Video
Lamb of God Hanging Out
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Lamb of God Lyrics review
In the so-called New Wave of American Heavy Metal (NWOAHM), Lamb of God has emerged as one of the four most popular acts (among Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, and Trivium). But while their colleagues draw from melodic Swedish metal, Lamb of God takes inspiration domestically. Pantera is its main influence; over time, Randy Blythe’s vocals increasingly resemble Phil Anselmo’s, and Chris Adler’s drumming owes a heavy debt to Vinnie Paul Abbott. As a band, Lamb of God has captured the sense of groove that Pantera pioneered: swinging triplets, double-time thrash, crushing breakdowns. But it’s not merely in sound that they take cues: Lamb of God also has the same blue-collar appeal. Pantera was a bunch of drunks from Texas; Lamb of God is a bunch of drunks from Virginia. The rapport between band and fans is strong, sometimes frighteningly so. Blythe is infamous for inciting the Wall of Death, in which he parts the crowd Red Sea-style and has each side run at the other. It must be seen to be believed. 
Lamb of God began as a primitive instrumental outfit called Burn the Priest. The name carried unwanted (and inappropriate) connotations for a group inspired by ‘80s thrash; due to its history, Lamb was banned last year from playing at a Los Angeles venue owned by a church. Blythe joined up for a series of 7”s and an eponymous album, after which Lamb of God adopted its present name. Over New American Gospel, As the Palace Burns, and Ashes of the Wake, the band honed its songwriting, with increasingly better production. The latter album was Lamb of God’s breakthrough, with major label promotion and high-profile tours on Ozzfest and Sounds of the Underground.
Sacrament has the band’s most memorable songs to date. Musically, there’s no fat. The band plays with laser precision and songs move smoothly through riffs and transitions. Blythe has expanded his range; along with his trademark midrange rasp, he also unleashes higher shrieks and lower growls, both of which drive “Requiem.” The guitar work is also more advanced. Lamb of God has never been known for solos, and while this album won’t change that, the leads are tasteful and more prominent than before. The real progress is in the rhythm parts, which feature plenty of wrist-straining string-skipping. Back in the day, the best way to learn metal rhythm guitar was from Metallica albums. Now, Lamb of God albums should do; “Pathetic” is practically a textbook in rhythm guitar techniques. The star here, though, is Adler. His crisp, pitched-up snare is a Lamb of God signature, and his snare downbeats recall John Tempesta on Testament’s Low. With rich fills, kinetic rolls, and insistent rides, Adler is one of the most identifiable drummers in metal.
The production is also distinctive: the mix is technically flawless, with great separation between instruments. But there’s simply too much. Blythe’s vocals too often come with dramatic reverb and layers of overdubs. The repeating industrial noise at the end of “Walk with Me in Hell” is cool, but distracting. Did the guitars in “Descending” need to enter via a techno-esque low-pass filter? The huge reverb on the snare at the end of “Pathetic” is ridiculous. It’s disconcerting to hear such a visceral band swathed in so much production. Pair these guys with Rick “No Reverb” Rubin, and the results would be deadly.
Lamb of God began as a primitive instrumental outfit called Burn the Priest. The name carried unwanted (and inappropriate) connotations for a group inspired by ‘80s thrash; due to its history, Lamb was banned last year from playing at a Los Angeles venue owned by a church. Blythe joined up for a series of 7”s and an eponymous album, after which Lamb of God adopted its present name. Over New American Gospel, As the Palace Burns, and Ashes of the Wake, the band honed its songwriting, with increasingly better production. The latter album was Lamb of God’s breakthrough, with major label promotion and high-profile tours on Ozzfest and Sounds of the Underground.
Sacrament has the band’s most memorable songs to date. Musically, there’s no fat. The band plays with laser precision and songs move smoothly through riffs and transitions. Blythe has expanded his range; along with his trademark midrange rasp, he also unleashes higher shrieks and lower growls, both of which drive “Requiem.” The guitar work is also more advanced. Lamb of God has never been known for solos, and while this album won’t change that, the leads are tasteful and more prominent than before. The real progress is in the rhythm parts, which feature plenty of wrist-straining string-skipping. Back in the day, the best way to learn metal rhythm guitar was from Metallica albums. Now, Lamb of God albums should do; “Pathetic” is practically a textbook in rhythm guitar techniques. The star here, though, is Adler. His crisp, pitched-up snare is a Lamb of God signature, and his snare downbeats recall John Tempesta on Testament’s Low. With rich fills, kinetic rolls, and insistent rides, Adler is one of the most identifiable drummers in metal.
The production is also distinctive: the mix is technically flawless, with great separation between instruments. But there’s simply too much. Blythe’s vocals too often come with dramatic reverb and layers of overdubs. The repeating industrial noise at the end of “Walk with Me in Hell” is cool, but distracting. Did the guitars in “Descending” need to enter via a techno-esque low-pass filter? The huge reverb on the snare at the end of “Pathetic” is ridiculous. It’s disconcerting to hear such a visceral band swathed in so much production. Pair these guys with Rick “No Reverb” Rubin, and the results would be deadly.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Lamb of God - American heavy metal band
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia, formed in 1990. The band was originally known as Burn the Priest and decided to change their name shortly after the release of a self-titled debut album in 1998. Lamb of God consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler and is a member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.
Since its formation, Lamb of God has released six studio albums, one live album, and three DVDs. The band's cumulative sales equal almost two million in the United States. In 2007 the band received a Grammy nomination for their 2006 album Sacrament. Lamb of God has toured with the Ozzfest twice and appeared on Slayer's The Unholy Alliance Tour in 2006. They have also appeared at Download, Soundwave and Gigantour festivals.
Lamb of God was formed as an instrumental band, Burn the Priest, and included vocals after Randy Blythe joined the band as a vocalist. After they reached the success with the release of 2004's Ashes of the Wake the band is often associated with such terms as the "leaders" of the "New Wave of American Heavy Metal". and "pure American metal"
Burn the Priest and early Lamb of God has been defined as a thrash metal, death metal and hardcore punk or grindcore hybrid with a strong element of power groove, which often connects Lamb of God with the influential metal band Pantera. Another connection between Pantera and Lamb of God is the fact that both were and are highly influential metal bands from the Southern United States, Texas and Virginia, respectively. Along with Mastodon, from Georgia, Lamb of God could currently be helping to strengthen a young tradition of great southern metal that was first pioneered by Pantera. Burn the Priest and early Lamb of God include growling death metal vocals and sometimes lyrics that are difficult to decipher. The style has been considered to vary between several different genres, including hardcore punk, thrash metal, and even possessing sludge metal influences.
Guitarist Mark Morton performing at Ozzfest 2004 without his beard.
New American Gospel continues in a similar style as Burn the Priest, with drum-heavy production of double picking and double-kick drumming. Here, the band has been considered by Allmusic to be effectively bridging the 1990s' tendency towards technicality and early metal's focus on riff construction and plays a brand of heavy metal described as not unlike Meshuggah without some of their mathematical components.
2003's As the Palaces Burn saw the band's compositions focusing more on what some have called "memorable" riffs. On 2004's Ashes of the Wake, they continued the progression of As the Palaces Burn with more frequent guitar solos.
Sacrament, released in 2006, was described by critics as more technical, especially considering the vocal performance. Again, the band experimented with more melody and guitar solos; however, the band has also been often reproached by the critics for the similarity of the songs within their albums.
Due to the variety of influences, stylistic elements and changes throughout the band's career the press has chosen several genres and terms to describe Lamb of God's music. Lamb of God has been labeled as a metalcore and groove metal band. Campbell, on the Walk With Me in Hell DVD, says that Lamb of God is "a punk band that plays heavy metal", while Chris Adler refers to Sacrament as a speed metal album.
Since its formation, Lamb of God has released six studio albums, one live album, and three DVDs. The band's cumulative sales equal almost two million in the United States. In 2007 the band received a Grammy nomination for their 2006 album Sacrament. Lamb of God has toured with the Ozzfest twice and appeared on Slayer's The Unholy Alliance Tour in 2006. They have also appeared at Download, Soundwave and Gigantour festivals.
Lamb of God was formed as an instrumental band, Burn the Priest, and included vocals after Randy Blythe joined the band as a vocalist. After they reached the success with the release of 2004's Ashes of the Wake the band is often associated with such terms as the "leaders" of the "New Wave of American Heavy Metal". and "pure American metal"
Burn the Priest and early Lamb of God has been defined as a thrash metal, death metal and hardcore punk or grindcore hybrid with a strong element of power groove, which often connects Lamb of God with the influential metal band Pantera. Another connection between Pantera and Lamb of God is the fact that both were and are highly influential metal bands from the Southern United States, Texas and Virginia, respectively. Along with Mastodon, from Georgia, Lamb of God could currently be helping to strengthen a young tradition of great southern metal that was first pioneered by Pantera. Burn the Priest and early Lamb of God include growling death metal vocals and sometimes lyrics that are difficult to decipher. The style has been considered to vary between several different genres, including hardcore punk, thrash metal, and even possessing sludge metal influences.
Guitarist Mark Morton performing at Ozzfest 2004 without his beard.
New American Gospel continues in a similar style as Burn the Priest, with drum-heavy production of double picking and double-kick drumming. Here, the band has been considered by Allmusic to be effectively bridging the 1990s' tendency towards technicality and early metal's focus on riff construction and plays a brand of heavy metal described as not unlike Meshuggah without some of their mathematical components.
2003's As the Palaces Burn saw the band's compositions focusing more on what some have called "memorable" riffs. On 2004's Ashes of the Wake, they continued the progression of As the Palaces Burn with more frequent guitar solos.
Sacrament, released in 2006, was described by critics as more technical, especially considering the vocal performance. Again, the band experimented with more melody and guitar solos; however, the band has also been often reproached by the critics for the similarity of the songs within their albums.
Due to the variety of influences, stylistic elements and changes throughout the band's career the press has chosen several genres and terms to describe Lamb of God's music. Lamb of God has been labeled as a metalcore and groove metal band. Campbell, on the Walk With Me in Hell DVD, says that Lamb of God is "a punk band that plays heavy metal", while Chris Adler refers to Sacrament as a speed metal album.
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