Lamb of God returns to their roots with new, self-titled LP!
Lamb of God has long been known as a band that refuses to pull punches when it comes to vocalizing, through music, their thoughts on current affairs, often weighing in on heavy political topics with brutal honest and no apologies for their line of thinking. With their newest, self-titled album, released on June 19th, 2020, little has changed in this regard. While all of this may be the case, the band has clearly evolved as musicians, involving dark, gothy clean vocals and guest appearances alongside their pulsing, driving melodies that fans have come to love.
Lamb of God from the Slayer Farewell Tour, photography by @xerxes_fotographia for ConcertHopper.com.
Right out of the gate, the album opens with “Memento Mori”, where a gothy, clean vocal track from Randy Blythe harkens back to call forth thoughts of Type O Negative. This is short-lived though as the song rockets off into a pulsing soundtrack that, from the lyrical content appears to take aim at consumerism as a whole, imploring one to cherish what they have around them instead of putting worldly possessions on a pedestal.
Willie Adler of Lamb of God during the Slayer Farewell Tour. Photo by @xerxes_fotographia for ConcertHopper.com.
From there, the album continues its sonic assault as the lyrics seem to be a sort of “state-of-the-union” address from Blythe as he tackles subjects ranging from partisan politics in America (with particular disdain aimed at the current leader of the nation) on “Checkmate” as well as topics such as the opioid epidemic (in “On the Hook”) where he points a heavy finger at the doctors he refers to as “hippocratic hypocrites,” making a reference to the hippocratic oath that doctors swear to and pointing out how many seemed to have turned their back on this oath for pure financial gain.
Along with the Blythe’s vocals adding to the album, they also have Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta and Testament’s Chuck Billy make an appearance on the songs “Poison Dream” and “Routes” respectively. “Poison Dream” seems to take aim at those in power who seem to grind up their constituents in the name of profit. Jasta steps in and adds to the song amid the song’s chugging breakdown, offering a very hardcore/punk vibe to the song. “Routes”, immediately fires off full-tempo adding a thrash flare to the album as Blythe’s gravelly voice crawls along the lyrics with Billy’s lyrics seeming to glide above the chaos adding a harmonic note to what is otherwise highly specialized musical chaos.
Randy Blythe of Lamb of God during the Slayer Farewell Tour. Photo by @xerxes_fotographia for ConcertHopper.com.
In the time frame since Lamb of God’s last full-length release, VII: Sturm und Drang, the band also release and album under their original moniker Burn the Priest which served to cover a number of classic punk songs. Guitarist Mark Morton also released his solo album Anesthetic which featured a number of guest vocalists and blurred the lines between genres. All of this seems to have informed Lamb of God’s efforts in their self-titled album as, when viewed as a collective, we see the influence of several genres within heavy music. All of this leads to one of the band’s most diverse albums musically and with lyrical content that reminds this fan at least of fond memories of what is widely regarded as the band’s best album, “Ashes of the Wake”.
John Campbell of Lamb of God during the Slayer Farewell Tour. Photo by @xerxes_fotographia for ConcertHopper.com.
With live music currently on pause, it’s comforting to still have new music to draw upon. With this release, Lamb of God has injected their thoughts into a chaotic world and provided a release for their fans who often find their thundering musical presence cathartic and find community within their lyrics. Lamb of God had been set to tour with Megadeth, Trivium, and In Flames this summer in support of this album but this has been postponed until at least 2021. All we do know though is that, when the gates swing open and Lamb of God is allowed back on stage, this self-titled album is going to be an amazing addition to the band’s already impressive live repertoire.
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