Once again, on a Warped Tour compilation album, I discovered a group called Killswitch Engage that was heavier than most music that I liked at the time, but was unique in that you could actually comprehend the screams and growls. Upon doing an amazon.com search I found that if you like Killswitch Engage, you might also enjoy Lamb of God.Lamb of God was the first artist that came to mind when I read Laura's description of Music Togetherness. They are quite simply a complete adrenaline rush from start to finish. Listening to them gets me fired up to take on any task whether it be a spreadsheet or shadow boxing in the indian burial mound. This group is excellent at what they do in this genre. Vocalist Randy Blythe's lung capacity is nothing short of miraculous and drummer Chris Adler is one of the best in the business. As I said before, I love how heavy they play every track, the constant use of the double bass drums, how you can actually understand Randy's lyrics through the death metal growls, and how they sound even better live. With so many solid tracks, it is hard for me to pick a favorite, but the second break down on Wrath's 'Contractor' is probably the heaviest moment in music that I have ever heard.
With lyrics primarily driven by anger, hatred and rage, I would recommend picturing something that just pisses you right off and let Lamb of God beat the living shit out of it. Knowing that this genre is probably outside of everyone's comfort zone and that most of these tracks will start to sound the same, I have listed out my favorite tracks for your focus if all else fails.
Suggested Listening:
- As the Palace Burns (2003) - 11th Hour, Ruin
- Ashes of the Wake (2004) - Laid to Rest, The Faded Line
- Sacrament (2006) - Walk With Me in Hell, Redneck
- Wrath (2009) - Contractor, Broken Hands
I have to admit that I am WAY out of my element this week. Technically the heaviest music I listen to would be along the lines of Chevelle, or 10 Years. Anything much heavier then that and I get lost in all the screaming, and loudness. I know that I am never going to be a fan of this type of music but I am definitely going to get a closer look into what makes this type of music appeal to the masses.
ReplyDeleteRight off the bat, the music is reminding me of something from one of Thomas’s horror movies. Is this possibly the reason Thomas likes this music so much? I have to say that they definitely are heavy, probably the heaviest music I have ever listened to in my life. “Ruin” is definitely an eye opener, and really starts the album off on as heavy an intro as they could possibly come up with. The pounding drums, and guitar shredding are quite impressive. I can’t help but think of Ace Ventura when I listen to this music; if you have seen the movie I am sure you know what scene I am talking about. While I hate screaming/growling in music for the most part, I will at least give him props for being halfway understandable and terrifying at the same time. “Purified” has a pretty good intro, as heavy metal goes. The lyrics to all the songs are very dark and speak of death and revenge. Lyrics such as, “I live now solely for the pleasure, of your slow decay.” This is music for people who are angry at the world, and need a release. As I listen to the lyrics of 11th hour, I am wondering if they are indeed devil worshipers? With them talking about their sweet demoness beckoning them, at final judgement, it kind of leads me to think that they are.
“Ashes of the Wake” is quite similar to “As the Palace burns.” Then again, I am not sure how heavy metal bands like this can really show any growth in sound. Other than the fact that they could maybe add a few more guitars or some heavier drum solo’s amongst their songs. The first track, “Laid to Rest” is somewhat creepy, with Blythe actually doing some talking. It’s funny how his speaking is actually creepier to me than his screaming.
In “Now You’ve Got something to die for,” I have to admit I found myself doing some minor head banging. While this in no way makes me want to add any of their music to my I Pod, I at least can now see where head banging got its roots. The heavy beats really stand out and you almost can’t help but bang along to it. I find this song to be my favorite, as far as Lamb of God goes. “The Faded Line” starts off with some really impressive double kick drumming, and some even heavier screaming than I am accustomed to. This song is quite scary, and I can see why Thomas being the fan that he is, likes this song so much. Seems to be right up his alley. “Blood of the Scribe” also has some very interesting lyrics, almost medieval in nature. Just goes to show they can go to any time period and make it dark and gruesome. This was another interesting album, and if I could only describe it in two words it would be heavy, and death.
Before I begin on Sacrament, I went ahead and was looking through the insert on the third album. I wanted to look over the lyrics, and then I came across the “Thank you” section at the end. In the thank you’s, they of course all thanked their wives and loved ones, but when I was reading the lead singer’s thank you, he put an interesting little twist on his. He made it quite clear that he hates about 99.9% of the people on earth, for all the damage they have done, and if he could drop a genetic bomb on us all if he could to exterminate us. Now, while I agree that there are a lot of people on this earth who definitely don’t deserve to be here, I don’t think he is any better by spreading his words of hate and death to so many people who look up to him. Anyways, that was just something I wanted to share, now onto the music. “Walk with me in hell” has some nice guitar riffs in it, and of course the ever present double bass drums. Not such a fan of the lyrics of course, but that is nothing new. “Again we will Rise” adds a more dramatic effect in the chorus, with what kind of sounds like a choir singing along. I liked the intro on “Descending” how it starts off quietly then quickly builds up in tempo. This song stands out the most for me, in the fact that it has held my interest for almost the entire song. One reason could be that the guitars seem to have a clear melody to them, so the song is easier to follow along with. The rest of the album for me did not do much, but then again this is hard for me to critique, so my apologies for a less than stellar synopsis.
ReplyDelete“Wrath” starts off with an instrumental piece, that dare I say I actually enjoyed. It could be the fact that it is lacking the screaming aspect, and that it is more on the calm side. It also flows very nicely into the next track “In Your Words.” On “Contractor” Thomas told me to really pay attention to the drums, and I have to say that this is probably the most impressive display yet. It is crazy for me to imagine Chris Adler doing live performances of all these songs. I mean the guy doesn’t even get any relief because in the next song he is going to have to exert just as much energy. The song “Grace” kind of made me chuckle, for the simple fact that you have this nice quiet intro, only to go straight into some seriously heavy guitar and drum riffs. Throughout all the albums there has not been one positive message, and most of the songs make me think of judgment day. I know music is all about making you feel a certain way, and I have to say that for me this music only makes me feel depressed. Looking at this week from Thomas’s perspective and knowing that he has a very stressful job, I am sure that Lamb of God is a good release for him. He can jam out and distress, whereas for me to listen to this kind of music only adds stress. To each his own, and I have now listened to a genre of music I would never have listened to otherwise if it wasn’t for our blog.
Warning, old dude about to post! Hey, I’ve been to an Ozzfest! How many have you been to? Yeah, that’s what I thought! Like anyone who listened to metal, I went through a phase where I was completely consumed with the dexterity of Kirk Hammett and the punishing symphonies that comprised Metallica’s Master of Puppets, And Justice For All and Kill’em All. I also at one point in my life listened to a considerable amount of neo-metal/nu-metal bands like: Amen, Slipknot, Deftones, and anything Max Cavalera (original Sepultura and Soulfly). My taste moved towards a more hardcore leaning and, honestly, I’ll still get a Deftones album out from time to time, but my ears can’t handle the beating anymore. I can still appreciate what a band like Lamb of God is trying to accomplish and it will not be lost on me.
ReplyDeleteAs The Palace Burns immediately hits me with a Pantera southern-metal riff on “Ruin”. Randy’s cookie monster voice is not my cup of tea, as it doesn’t stand out as anything special. “11th Hour” gets nice and heavy at the 2 and a half minute mark which grabs me by the nuts, but in a good way. I do notice what Thomas is saying about being able to understand Randy’s lyrics because the mix is really superb for a metal record, props to whoever produced this. I get hints of Motorhead all over this album. “For Your Malice” is a standout for me. Also, the closer “Vigil” is another southern-stoner metal anthem, in the vain of Pantera, that I wish more of the album could have been like.
Mark and Willie play off of each other very well. “Laid to Rest” has a great breakdown with Randy repeating “See who gives a fuck” which is a perfect head stomping mosh pit anthem. Ashes of the Wake has an even more menacing tone than Palace which is a step in the right direction for these guys. “Faded Line” has an apocalyptic siren in the breakdown, which is a different but welcomed nuance. The track “Ashes of the Wake” was superb for me because for one I’m not a fan of Randy and the guitar solos are homages to Kerry King(Slayer) and Dave Mustaine(Megadeth). I enjoyed this more than Palace.
One comment before I get into the rest of this week - oh my.
ReplyDeleteHeavier is a great way to describe Sacrament. I do notice that they have ratcheted things up on every subsequent album. I feel like the trunk of a mammoth Sequoia and LoG is a chainsaw ripping into me on “Pathetic”, absolutely pulverizing and my favorite track from them so far. Adler’s drumming throughout “Descending” is mind-blowing and at times seems almost humanly impossible. There are certain lyrics that stand out on each track; on “Blacken the Cursed Sun” the line “I will kill this part of myself that I hate and that I see in you” is very cold and frightening. “Forgotten” is LoG displaying their speed-metal chops and hardly giving us a chance for a breath. There is an amazing balance of speed, thrash and death metal on this album and I can really see how this band has garnered so much attention. I can’t believe how impressed I am with LoG.
ReplyDeleteI’ve pretty much agreed with Thomas on his picks for favorite tracks; “Contractor” paints a picture of the US as marauders in the vein of Mad Max, and that second breakdown is fucking ridiculous. The Pantera parallels are inevitable with LoG, but they are not ripping them off; I feel they are putting their own spin on that sound. “Reclamation” builds up to a double-bass beating that is fitting for an album finale. Going into this week I figured I would find myself fast-forwarding through tracks just to get through these albums, I was very wrong. LoG is not your run-of-the-mill metal act; they have evolved their sound on every album, making their sound bigger and increasingly well rounded in incorporating music from all the metal sub-genres.
The simplest way to put this week in perspective is that I didn't like it. First off, I spent Monday night through Thursday in bed, ill, and as my headache has still not gone away this has been really hard to get into.
ReplyDeleteI will say I got hit with some nostalgia this week from my Slipknot days in high school. Being that them and System of a Down are my closest points of reference and I have pretty much nothing else, this was pretty new to me. On a positive note, I can see what Thomas is saying about channeling your anger through this music, because although it isn't something I would listen to for pleasure, sometimes you gotta let off a little steam. This would certainly be a great soundtrack for that, and for that reason, I have added LoG to my iPod. Just in case ;)
Being that a lot of this music sounded the same to me - an angry adrenaline rush - I'm going to focus on the tracks Thomas identified as his favorite in comparison to the others, and as a guideline for the progression of this band...
"11th Hour" sounds like my Guitar Hero nightmare. I'm really not picking up much by listening to the lyrics so I'm choosing to read them.
ReplyDeleteIt was noted on Google that this song was featured on "Freddy vs. Jason," which I love. In reference to Beth's comment about a correlation between liking this music and liking scary movies, I think it depends on the type of scary you go for. If you're on Jason's side on this one - as I'm guessing Thomas is - this music is great atmosphere for a big bad@$$ mutha with a giant machete and a thirst for slashing. I'm a Freddy girl myself, so I tend to drift toward creepy but not all in your face music like "Don't Fear the Reaper" (and yes, I know that wasn't in a Freddy movie but you know what I mean). But I digress. Reading the lyrics, I still don't know what the song is really about, although I find it more intriguing. I can't really understand what he's saying so I never would have gotten that on my own.
"Ruin" has a similar feel which fast guitars and drums. It's that adrenaline kick I mentioned before. But I still can't tell what he's saying.
"Laid to Rest" on the next album is more of the same for me. I can hear a little more variation on the guitar in this one. Same with "The Faded Line." The songs are getting a little less monotonous as I go along.
ReplyDeleteMoving onto "Sacrament," the band seems to have become a little more musical - while I wouldn't say less loud guitars, drums and screaming, I do see a little more variation and can tell they are progressing, though I can't tell if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I hate dude's voice in "Walk With Me in Hell." I get it if he's trying to channel Satan or whatever, but come on.
I went ahead and read the lyrics on "Redneck," because of the name, I'm not going to lie. I don't know what it has to do with rednecks, except maybe he wants to fight/kill one.
On "Wrath," I actually kind of liked the instrumental track "The Passing." For me, it was like a breath of fresh air and melody after all the screaming on the first three albums.
ReplyDeleteLittle did I know the relief wouldn't last long. "Contractor" is LoG back in full screaming form. Icky. Some of these tracks, I noticed, start off slowly before jumping into their true sound, but "Broken Hands" comes straight out with it. It doesn't pretend to be something it's not.
In summation, this would be great music to channel all consuming rage in a healthier way than punching a wall, which I have done before, but otherwise this music is not my bag.
In reading about Lamb of God leading up to my listening this week, I read a lot of comparisons with Pantera. I must say that this alone may have soured my opinion of the band, as Pantera is definitely one of my top (or bottom?) five least favorite bands of all time. Super agressive music has just never really been my thing (although I will also admit, like Justin, that I still love the Deftones), and Lamb of God most definitely fits into this category. I do appreciate that many people are into this kind of music, but personally, I just don't get it. Maybe it's just mostly that I like music that really makes me think, and LoG is so punishing that it makes any thinking impossible....but once again, that could certainly be a draw for some people.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that I also have a tendency to not be able to understand the lyrics in this kind of music, when others can seem to do so very easily. I think it's just the mass of sounds all hitting at once, and I quickly lose focus on any intelligible sounds coming out of the singers mouth. The thing that really jumps out at me while listening to 'As the Palaces Burn' is that the guys in the band, as musicians, are pretty solid. The guitars do the things they're supposed to to fit into the genre and do them well, and the pounding double bass drums are definitely an earth moving force. The voice, though, just ruins everything for me. It causes me to lose focus, as I said. I will agree with Thomas in that the standout track for me on the album was "11th Hour". The structure is a little more melodic and better put together in the beginning than the other tracks, and this leads to the breakdown being more effective as well. If I were ever in an extremely angry mood and wanted a song to fit, this one would do the trick nicely.
I immediately recognize the first track from 'Ashes of the Wake', "Laid to Rest" as being one of the hardest songs I've ever played on a Guitar Hero game (although I honestly can't remember which game it was on...maybe 2?). The countless times I had to try to beat it probably ruined the song for me, and I couldn't make it all the way through listening to it this time....just brought back a frustrating memory, I guess. Elsewhere, the breakdown in "The Faded Line" is pretty awesome, I must admit and you can add this one to the short list of songs I like from the band. The guitar solo on the title track is pretty good as well, and I think I'd like this band quite a bit more if they were just an instrumental unit.
'Sacrament' starts off pretty well, as "Walk With Me In Hell" is a pretty decent track if you ignore the really guttural vocal sections of the song and just simply listen to the instruments. These guys really are pretty great instrumentalists...liking the guitars this much wasn't really something I was anticipating coming into this week, and while I can see the Pantera comparisons, I really think these guys blow them out of the water. As for Thomas' other favorite song on the album, I really didn't like "Redneck" much at all, which would really be the only time I don't agree with him on the best songs on the album this week. Altogether, though, this was probably my favorite album of the bunch and one I could possibly see myself listening to again if the mood ever struck me.
ReplyDeleteUpon hearing the first part of "The Passing" to kick off 'Wrath', I immediately thought that I had inadvertantly played a Metallica album. The acoustic intro into the electric guitar instrumental passage was heavily reminiscent of Metallica, and even the guitars themselves sounded like they were being played by Kirk Hammett....I loved that track, and it's probably my favorite by the band. After this track, though, the album immediately lost my attention, as I couldn't find anything else unique over the course of the tracklist. In all, I will say that I enjoyed Lamb of God a bit more than I thought I would, and I will most definitely give them credit for being very good musicians....as well as putting me in the mood to listen to my all time favorite metal band, Slayer....which I must go do right now.
Also, I'd like to know more about shadow boxing in the Indian Burial ground....I'm intrigued.
ReplyDeleteNext time we visit, I want to get in on that shadowboxing.
ReplyDelete