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Lamb of God - Wrath

Wrath is the sixth studio album from (New Wave of) American Heavy Metal band Lamb of God. Drummer Chris Adler says that the album "is going to surprise a lot of people". Read on to see what we thought about it.

Background

Chris Adler has said in an earlier interview (with blabbermouth) that "This album is going to surprise a lot of people. Typically bands that get to where we are in our career begin to slack off, smell the roses and regurgitate. We chose a different path. No one wants to hear another band member hyping a new record. ‘Wrath’ needs no hype. We have topped ourselves and on February 24 you will feel it."

The band have been regarded as part of the resurgence of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal (NWOAHM) and have focused on playing brutally fast and heavy. Each album release has seen glimmers of excellence, but still very much within a set template for the genre. Pleasing and reliable, but perhaps rather repetitive?

What’s It Like

The album opens with "The Passing", a classical guitar melody leading into a slow paced metal instrumental that harps back to early Metallica. The second track "In Your Words" opens with a relentless looping riff that sets the pace for the rest of the album. Dare I call up another reference to Metallica (Blackened)?

"Set To Fail" takes a jump back into the Southern swagger as favoured by Dimebag / Pantera. The track has a rather short but sweet solo with a few pinch harmonics thrown in for good measure. "Contractor" is rich with blast beats and tearing vocals from Randy Blythe but doesn’t really stand out as anything fresh and new. I wouldn’t doubt that when played live, it would be pretty brutal! "Fake Messiah" follows a similar pattern, the track tailing off into a half time feel durge overlayed with a wah like guitar phrase.

The 6th track, "Grace" opens with a rich clean melody that just bursts out into a full on kick in the face. Blythe’s vocals really pack a punch and the guitar work is pretty excellent. This is the sort of track that really shows off the potential of the band as a whole. Easily one of the best songs on the album.

The next 3 tracks present you with the same sort of “template”, which isn’t a bad thing - but you do keep waiting for that breakthrough to produce a really memorable song. "Choke Sermon" gallops along and showcases Blythe’s vocal range from piercing screams to deep growls. Another solo here as well.

The last track on the album (discounting the bonus tracks) is "Reclamation"; a seven minute brute that echoes the comments of the 6th track, "Grace". The song opens with a drop tuned acoustic riff (that could almost be Alice in Chains unplugged) later joined by second guitar that pulls you into another monsterous blast of sound. The track dips back and forth from the clean sound before smashing you back into the full force of the band. A brilliant track, probably the highlight of the album.

Track Listing

1. "The Passing" - 1:58
2. "In Your Words" - 5:24
3. "Set to Fail" - 3:46
4. "Contractor" - 3:22
5. "Fake Messiah" - 4:34
6. "Grace" - 3:55
7. "Broken Hands" - 3:53
8. "Dead Seeds" - 3:41
9. "Everything to Nothing" - 3:50
10. "Choke Sermon" - 3:20
11. "Reclamation" - 7:05
12. "We Die Alone" (USB bonus track) - 4:39
13. "Shoulder of Your God" (USB bonus track) - 5:55
14. "Condemn the Hive" (Japanese bonus track - 3:41

Overall

I’ve listened to the album cover to cover several times, and it’s been a real mixed bag. On the whole, it’s just another good album from Lamb of God. The recipe for solid metal is there, and they deliver on the sound but it’s nothing special. You feel like the band is holding back from really pushing themselves in terms of creativity. The energy and raw power is there, but that’s all you get. Maybe this puts a tick in the box for the majority of fans and leaves the rest of us waiting for more.

"Grace" and "Reclamation" are killer tracks well worth a listen - the rest is good, but not great.

Buy this now from: amazon.co.uk