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September 7, 2008 |
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LAMB OF GOD - Ashes Of The Wake
Sony/Epic (2004) |
9/10 |
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01. Laid To Rest
02. Hourglass
03. Now You've Got Something To Die For
04. The Faded Line
05. Omerta
06. Blood Of The Scribe
07. One Gun
08. Break You
09. What I've Become
10. Ashes Of The Wake
11. Remorse Is For The Dead
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These guys have been getting a heckuva lot of good press in the last few years, and for good reason; fact o' the matter is, LAMB OF GOD kick some serious ass!
Hailing from Richmond, Virginia this heavy-as-all-get-out five-piece (John Campbell/bass, Mark Morton/guitars, Chris Adler/drums, Randy Blythe/vocals, and Willie Adler/guitars) are now three albums deep into a career which shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. In fact, after several listens to their latest opus 'Ashes Of The Wake', I daresay the band have effectively managed to blow a twelve-gauge shotgun blast through the dome of their already impressive body of work and have buried it down deep some six feet under, somewherez out in the ol' back-forty. This is what new albums should do too: push the envelope beyond previous wotks. Good on them for that. For this is a thoroughly modern, thoroughly heavy, and thoroughly excellent Metal album for the new millennium if ever there was one.
Where 2003's 'As The Palaces Burn' was a decided improvement upon 2000's 'New American Gospel', and the 1998 self-titled debut before it, I have to admit I found the wall-of-sound, Death/Thrash intensity of that release almost a bit too dense and pummeling for repeated listenings. It was just such an intense, no-room-for-a-breather experience that once the last track ground to a halt, you were left too mentally exhausted to want to strap yourself in for another ride.
With 'Ashes Of The Wake' however, LAMB OF GOD have really come into their own as songwriters, this time wisely easing up on the throttle for a more mid-paced, peaks-and-valleys, rifftastic journey that explores an almost purely old-skool Thrash sound placing far greater emphasis on hook and melody than on pure, storming brutality. If one needs a comparison I would be hard-pressed to make a better reference than to hold this up to some of the better work from KREATOR or DESTRUCTION, with juuussst enough mid-years PANTERA thrown in for good measure. And boy does this approach work well, resulting in a fine, fine collection of tracks that will doubtless be remembered as some of the band's best. It should also be noted that on this release, the band have recruited the talents of two extraordinary guest musicians including none other than Chris Poland and Alex Skolnick - fret-wizards both - (formerly of MEGADETH and TESTAMENT respectively) who contribute some of their signature leadwork to the album.
There are just so many amazing, crunchy riffs and hooks peppered throughout this release that it boggles the mind. Morton and Adler should really give themselves a pat on the back for going above and beyond the call of duty in building such strong songs. It's been awhile since a release has displayed this much killer and so little filler. Personal faves would have to include 'Laid To Rest' which opens with a crunch, the intensity building beneath a hooky guitar lead that immediately grabs the attention, 'The Faded Line' which has a great thrashy gallop that reminds you why you love this kind of music so much, and 'Blood of the Scribe'. Truly though, the whole album slays, further highlights including 'What I've Become', 'Hourglass', and the title track which all storm into the psyche with an intensity that quite honestly never lets up throughout the entire album although without becoming either numbing or repetitive. Quite a feat when forging Metal of this caliber!
Bottom line, this is just a really, really great Heavy Metal record. So why belabour the point any further? If I haven't already convinced you of what a killer release 'Ashes Of The Wake' is, then don’t take it from me...just go and listen to the bloody album! I can pretty much guarantee that you'll come away both impressed, and also a little surprised at just what a leaps-and-bounds improvement this is upon a body of work already renowned in Metal circles for it’s high level of quality. A first class outing from a first class band. Goes well with the new MASTODON as a complimentary listening experience for those of you with multi-disc changers. Hey...if these guys continue to play their cards right, they could become the new darlings of American Heavy Metal in a few more albums’ time! And they'll deserve it too. Hopefully Rolling Stone will set aside some cover space for just that very day.
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