Lamb of God – As the Palaces Burn

ARTIST: Lamb of God      

TITLE:  As the Palaces Burn

YEAR RELEASED: 2003

CHART ACTION: #64

SINGLES: Ruin, 11^th Hour, As the Palaces Burn

OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Fans of 00’s Metal sure know this.

LINEUP: Randy Blythe, Mark Morton, Willie Adler, John Campbell, Chris Adler

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Riffs and growls. Riffs and growls.

SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: The death growl is still there, as are the riffs that don’t just recycle old tropes. Lamb of God’s second album under that moniker consolidates the sound and motif from their first, but really don’t move forward.

Blythe’s growl is menacing, and for some songs it is effective. At times, I think a lighter touch may have been needed, where the melody is more pronounced that just the riffage. The fact that they have melody is a step forward in this genre.

If you want some new riffage, yeah, this band’s for you.

NOTES & MINUTIAE: After a lot of tinkering early in their career, this version of Lamb of God has remained constant.

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Three demos are appended.

GRADE: B: It’s great in small to mid-size does, but is wears on you over time

Lamb of God – New American Gospel

ARTIST: Lamb of God
TITLE: New American Gospel
YEAR RELEASED: 2000
CHART ACTION: No
SINGLES: None
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Only if yer a death metal-head. Maybe you have heard one, it’s sold over 100,000 copies!
LINEUP: Randy Blythe, Mark Duane Morton, Willie Adler, John Campbell, Chris Adler
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Second record (first as Lamb of God) for this Virginia based metal quintet. They bring back metal to the days of Slayer – with death growls and a nod toward Pantera.

SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: The death growl, in my ears anyway, is a deal breaker for most bands. They have to be pretty special to rise above that. I do prefer my metal with some melody (that’s not anathema to metal, even dark metal).

The first official album by Lamb of God does have that death growl, but it also has some great riffage and tuneage and holds together as an album, and the vocals, while not my cuppa tea, don’t distract from the reason I like metal – the riffs and the power.

So I’m going to recommend that you jump in on Lamb of God even if you’re more of an old school metal guy. They changed and evolved over time but this is still pretty decent.

The band has added a note in the CD that says this album is less polished than the rest of their material, due to time constraints and “heavy drinking”. Rock and roll!

NOTES & MINUTIAE: They released an album the year before as Burn the Priest, but changed the name when Willie Adler joined.

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes. A Japan-only track and three demos.

GRADE: B : Downgrading it a bit for the death growl, but this riffs hard! My head be bangin’!