Lamb of God – Wrath

Heavy, impressive and infectious – some of the words that can be used to describe Lamb of God’s new album – Wrath. Being their first album in over 2 years Wrath does not disappoint. Lamb of God are back with their signature style- intense drumming by Chris, raging vocals by Randy and fast paced guitar riffs by Morton and the second Adler, Willie. Touted to be one of the biggest heavy metal albums to be released this year, Chris had already said that this album would be full of surprises. He said that it was not as heavily produced as the earlier albums and was much more raw and real. It turned out to be extremely true. This album is real. Its raw, loud and a complete metal joyride. This explains why it has turned out to be one of the best -selling heavy metal albums of all time, even making it to the billboard charts.

It can safely be said that with Wrath, Lamb of God have made an alteration to their normal style. The intro starts off at a slower tempo than usual and at first one begins to think whether Lamb of God have tried to experiment with more “mature” music. However, that feeling lasts only for one and a half minutes as you realize what it was building up to and the album breaks into the second song “In Your Words” with full force. This song is Lamb of God to the fullest with the intense guitar riffs, angry vocals by Randy and probably one of the best drum fills Adler has ever recorded.

Randy has been known to be the guy who has always experimented with his vocals. Always exploring different styles to give another sound to the bands music. With this album Randy has succeeded by giving the vocals a more restrained, high – pitched and angrier sound. His growls grow into shouts. And shouts have changed into screams. His vocals command the listener and as always, manage to hold your attention.

As the album progresses you are taken for a ride through some really impressive and catchy riffs, backed by the fast-paced pounding of the drums. “Set to Fail” is a fast paced song pumped by blistering guitar riffs that thunder with aggression. Randy yells and screams his way through this one. “Contractor” is a mayhem-inducing track which would cause havoc in a mosh- pit. It is extremely fast paced and is a head banger’s fantasy. “Grace” is one of the best tracks on the album and explores the melodic section. However this doesn’t last long as the melody suddenly explodes into some powerful guitaring accompanied by steady drumming and thundering growls. “Everything to nothing” features a catchy solo and is also one of the tracks to watch out for. “Reclamation” is a 7 minute joyride which unconventionally starts off with acoustic guitars and goes on to explore varying tempos and different styles, another of Lamb of God’s new offerings that defies their original style- a perfect end to the album.

The band is back as loud and heavy as ever. They have lived up to the expectations that were built over the last couple of years and have made a great effort to provide versatility and diversity. Randy has expanded his vocal ability and matches the intensity of his look. The guitar section is very commendable for their melodic and acoustic efforts. Chris Adler stands out as always – he is a complete treat to listen to. The drumming is probably one of the best aspects of this album and shows the technicality and sheer speed that he has always been appreciated for.  Lamb of God – Wrath is definitely one of the best albums produced in this genre for a long time and it lives up to the tall claims made by the band.