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August 29, 2008 |
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01. Walk With Me In Hell
02. Again We Rise
03. Redneck
04. Pathetic
05. Foot To The Throat
06. Descending
07. Blacken The Cursed Sun
08. Forgotten (Lost Angels)
09. Requiem
10. More Time To Kill
11. Beating On Death's Door
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I don't know exactly what it is about the Old South, but something there seems to breed Metal of only the highest calibers. Consider: Dallas, Texas gave us PANTERA, Atlanta, Georgia gave us MASTODON, North Carolina gave us CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, and New Orleans, Louisiana…well Nola (as the hurricane ravaged city is lovingly known by it's residents) gave us pretty much everyone from DOWN, to EYEHATEGOD, to NECROPHAGIA. Not a bad pedigree at all if you ask me. That said, add Richmond, Virginia to the list while you're at it as the homebase of none other than LAMB OF GOD (John Campbell - bass, Willie Adler - guitar, Randall Blythe - vox, Mark Morton - guitar, and Chris Adler - drums), an act now several albums deep into a career that, while well over a decade old, still feels from the outside looking in as though it's only just getting started. A band poised it would seem to pummel and bludgeon their collective way into the hearts of the Metal masses as heirs to the throne of Dimebag (R.I.P.) and Co. as the biggest of the big-time American Heavy Metal bands.
Following 05's incredibly well-received "Ashes Of The Wake" opus, which served as a breakthrough release, garnering the band major label exposure and support, as well as numerous festival tours including The Sounds Of the Underground and Ozzfest, LAMB OF GOD have regrouped, regunned, and returned again with their latest effort, simply entitled "Sacrament". While personally I found the tracks offered on "Ashes Of The Wake" to be personally more memorable, "Sacrament" is nevertheless a solid and repeat-playable follow-up showcasing a band who have opted to play to their strengths and stay the proverbial course. Musically speaking there is really very little in the way of excess or extraneous elements. Everything is constructed very precisely and thoughtfully, with a studied ear ever bent towards building strong, hooky riffs and leads, and tasteful, memorable solos.
The band really stretch their limits in terms of the rhythmic guitar sections. A prime example of this can be found in "Pathetic" - one of a handful of standout tracks on offer - which displays some more than impressive technique from stringsmen Adler and Morton. Definitely players at the top of their game not nearly often enough recognized for the talent they bring to the table. Elsewhere, drummer Adler truly shines, powering in a fantastic performance on the skins, while kinetic vocalist Blythe likewise pushes his personal envelope further than on previous efforts, adding in numerous varied screams and shrieks, as well as cleanly-sung background sections overtop of his usual wolfish bark.
Other standout tracks would have to include the stadium-ready anthem of "Redneck", the merciless "Foot To The Throat", and "Blacken The Cursed Sun". Again, on a purely personal level there was just a certain intangible "something" that to this day makes "Ashes Of The Wake" stand a hairs-breadth higher for me in terms of special, memorable songcraft and presentation...but as LAMB OF GOD show us on "Sacrament", they remain a definite power to reckon with, offering a blistering and truly infectious selection of material which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt why they are currently the biggest, baddest, most slavering-at-the-mouth beast in American Metaldom. It is a role they seem comfortable with and happy to continue playing too. If their work - as evidenced on this very solid and worthy release shows - continues to deliver the goods in such fine, headbanging fashion, then I daresay they will be around to defend their charred and blackened turf for some time to come too.
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