Lamb of God is a band that can seemingly do no wrong these days. With a back catalogue that includes such mandatory classics as Sacrament, Ashes of the Wake, As the Palaces Burn, and New American Gospel, you would think a misstep might happen along the way at some point. Well, don't bet on it here with Wrath, another stellar release from the leaders of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. More mature, more refined, Wrath is another collection of intense and intelligent extreme metal from the Virginians.
After the short but melodic instrumental "The Passing", the band gets right down to business with the 1-2 punch of "In Your Words" and "Set to Fail", each tune a complex ripper with plenty of thrash grooves, lots of death metal ferocity, and intricate arrangements that woudn't be out of place on a prog-metal album. Singer Randy Blythe alternates between evil growls, screams, and a Chuck Biily-ish (Testament) bark, as he's slowly developed into one of the most commanding vocalists in extreme metal. Plenty of homage played to the classic Bay Area Thrash sound here ("Contractor", "Grace", and "Broken Hands" being a few examples), and when the band gets down to their brand of Pantera styled 'crunch n groove', which they do so well on "Dead Seeds", "Choke Sermon", and "Fake Messiah", they are practically unstoppable. The real surprise here is the sludgy epic "Reclamation", a monstrously heavy and textured number, something that should certainly appeal to fans of Down or Crowbar.
Expect top notch production and musicianship here (Chris Adler's drum work impeccable as always, and the guitar & bass work from Mark Morton, Willie Adler, and John Campbell just keeps getting tighter, heavier, and more complex with each album), as well as a host of catchy, memorable, yet brutal songs, making Wrath another winner for Lamb of God, and one of the strongest metal releases so far this year.
Track Listing
1. The Passing 1:58
2. In Your Words 5:24
3. Set To Fail 3:46
4. Contractor 3:22
5. Fake Messiah 4:32
6. Grace 3:55
7. Broken Hands 3:53
8. Dead Seeds 3:41
9. Everything To Nothing 3:50
10. Choke Sermon 3:20
11. Reclamation 7:07
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