Website: Lamb of God
The Inside Pulse:
Quite revered on the American metal scene as one of the top performers the country has to offer the genre, Lamb of God has received stellar reviews throughout their career and have already had past releases heralded as classics. With all of that weight on their shoulders, Sacrament hits the shelves and aggressively attempts to hold their crown on the throne of the US scene.
Positives: Brutal as always, there sure are some magical moments on Sacrament, and they’re pounding right from the outset. “Redneck” is so headbanging-conducive that it’s almost hard to listen and not throw up the horns, and “Blacken the Cursed Sun” just might singlehandedly show why Lamb of God is at the forefront of the scene. The last track, “Beating on Death’s Door,” couldn’t close out the disc with a bigger bang. Lush instrumentation accompanies many of the tracks, never mind the virtuosity they’re known for sprinkled throughout.
Negatives: Every now and again their complex song structures end up somewhere in left field, like on “Again We Rise”, losing momentum and going a bit overboard. However, filler is quite minimal. On the technical side, while not a huge issue, it’s immediately noticeable how high the vocals are in the mix, at times completely overshadowing the amazing musicianship behind them. It takes a bit of adjustment for those used to a bit more subtlety.
Cross-breed: Direct descendents of In Flames with just a touch of Pantera and Sick of it All.
Reason To Buy: You want some of the best euro-flavored death metal that the US metal scene has to offer? Ashes of the Wake is still tops, but this solid offering shouldn’t disappoint the vast majority of metal fans as well as impressing some with an open mind who chooses to give it a shot.
