Richmond's metal monsters Lamb of God have unleashed their wrath on the world once again with their aptly titled new album Wrath, which hit shelves this Tuesday. Hailed by many as the flagship band of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal (NWOAHM), their fifth studio album has been highly anticipated by many fans the world over, and now that the band have established themselves as a mainstay of the arena circuit, expectations for Wrath have been substantially high.
The album opens with the calm acoustics of "The Passing," which echoes Master of Puppets-era Metallica before delivering a swift kick to the nuts in typical Lamb of God fashion with "In Your Words," a thrasher which sets the heart-pounding pace for the rest of the album. "Set To Fail" keeps the blood pumping with an opening arsenal of blast beats before dropping off into a hooky riff that seems to sink itself into your ears. "Contractor" is a blistering auditory assault that puts the speed in speed metal; it also offers a refreshing breakdown that separates Lamb of God from the rest of the chug-chug flock.
"Fake Messiah" is as explosive as its counterparts but somehow gets lost in the shuffle and fails to make much of a lasting impact on the ears save perhaps its repetitious chorus. "Grace" opens with an angelic guitar intro and then breaks into a riff that someone clearly sold their soul to the devil to get their hands on. It also features a solo from guitarist Mark Morton, which were much more of a hot commodity on the band's last effort, Sacrament. "Broken Hands" features one of the more memorable choruses on the album and "Dead Seeds" features an equally striking chorus that is dripping with groove, both of which should prove fan favorites in concert. "Everything to Nothing," is the quintessential Lamb of God song with its groove-laden chorus and all-out thrash verses. "Choke Sermon," which sounds like it could be a b-side from Ashes of the Wake is yet another straight-up Lamb of God track guaranteed to get some heads banging.
Finally, "Reclamation" is a whiskey-soaked anthem with plenty of blues flair. It opens with some dark and foreboding acoustic guitar before crescendoing into a whirlwind of screams from D. Randall Blythe. It weaves in and out between dark acoustics and pummeling metal for its duration, all the while set to the misanthropic words of Blythe, "Humanity's a failed experiment, walking the path to extinction spinning its wheels endlessly." He continues to spout his apocalyptic heresy like a snarling wolf until the album ends with the sound of white noise, a fitting finale to compliment the song's lyrical sentiment.
Generally speaking, Wrath throws polish to the wind, opting rather for grit and balls. It revels in reality and imperfection, and doesn't try to pass itself off as anything more than that. It may score points with fans of the the band's earlier albums, as Lamb of God have taken a bare-bones approach with Wrath, which still allows some breathing room for experimentation with things like new acoustic elements. Now more than ever, Blythe proves to be a vocal powerhouse. In all his guttural glory he employs some new twists on his screaming and shows how his vocals continue to progress.
Morton's bluesy shredding was a highlight on Sacrament and while his guitar solos still rip just as hard on Wrath, they are scarce and usually short-lived. Despite offering plenty of speed, Wrath leaves some shred to be desired. John Campbell's four strings are much more prominent on Wrath than on albums past, and for the better, bringing a fuller sound to the album that makes for a solid wall of sound. Track by track there isn't much to complain about on Wrath, but as an album it can seem a little redundant. That being said, Lamb of God aren't trying to be America's next prog-rock superstars. They know what they do, and they do it well. When it comes to their brand of raw in-your-face "pure American metal," this Virginia foursome know how to deliver.
No comments:
Post a Comment