In a sense, there is something comforting about picking up a Lamb Of God album, regardless of which one it is. You know you’re going to get Randy Blythe’s spoken-word guttural screaming laid over a ferocious beat, twin guitars laid over a freight train of bass guitar and drums. Yet the formula dared to start wearing thin on their third overall release (and second as Lamb Of God), As The Palaces Burn.
The follow-up release, Ashes Of The Wake, doesn’t break that formula—in fact, I have to admit I’m hard-pressed to say what, if anything, Blythe and crew did differently on this album. The thing is, though, this is a more enjoyable release overall.
Maybe it was the fact they had made the jump to a major label after two releases on Prosthetic. Maybe it was the co-production of Machine that made the difference. Maybe it was the unique snare drum sound of Chris Adler returning to the mix—something that, to me, always set them apart from other metal bands of the time. Maybe it was just better songwriting overall—and while Blythe’s vocals are surprisingly clear despite his screaming growls, the overall themes of many of the songs aren’t necessarily as easy to decipher just by simply listening to the disc.
Whatever the case might have been, this disc begins to steer the band towards the overall excitement that New American Gospel offered listeners. Tracks like “Laid To Rest,” “Omerta” and “Break You” remind the listener just why Lamb Of God gave fans of heavy metal reason to have hope in the genre in the early 2000s. Whether it was anger over recent skirmishes in Iraq and Afghanistan (“Ashes Of The Wake”) or talking about organized crime (“Omerta”), Lamb Of God simply picks the listener up by the throat and throttles you into submission. (Getting thrash legends Alex Skolnick and Chris Poland to contribute guitar work on the title track also doesn’t hurt the cause any.)
While I’d still place New American Gospel ahead of this particular release, I do give it props in regards to Blythe’s vocals. While it was occasionally difficult to understand him due to the overall production and mix with the earlier album, his venom is clear enough to hit you full force on Ashes Of The Wake… and you end up wanting more and more of it.
Ashes Of The Wake is a step in the right direction for Lamb Of God, and is a less-than-subtle reminder of just how powerful this particular style of music can be, both in terms of musicianship and message. It’s definitely one that you’ll want to live with for a while, if only to capture all the nuances encased therein… but it’s time well spent.