Album Review: LAMB OF GOD - Lamb of God

01. Memento Mori
02. Checkmate
03. Gears
04. Reality Bath
05. New Colossal Hate
06. Resurrection Man
07. Poison Dream (feat. Jamey Jasta)
08. Routes (feat. Chuck Billy)
09. Bloodshot Eyes
10. On The Hook

I'll be honest, I've always struggled with Lamb of God. They certainly have a few decent songs and are clearly awesome players, but they've never really clicked with me. It may be the cynicism I had when they tore onto the scene a few years ago. Along with Five Finger Death Punch, they were marketed to fill the massive void in the Metal scene left by Pantera, which is a wound that never really healed.

Lamb Of God have the chops, and the Groove Metal style down, but I've never felt that they've had either the character of the instantly memorable songs of the bands that clearly influenced them. The song Redneck is the exception, as that track is killer, and from a DJ point of view, is still the only dance-floor-filling club track they have. The older generation like Pantera, Sepultura and Fear Factory have loads. However, Lamb of God are insanely popular and I've heard only good things about this new record, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

From the off, I'm starting to doubt the opinions I had on Lamb Of God. This is fucking great. Maybe I never invested enough time in them before? Anyway, I can certify that this new album is a game-changer, at least for me.

Production-wise, nothing much has changed. They still have the crisp, clear, distinctive sound that they've had for years. Song-wise, the standard is very high, and the band have some catchy numbers on here without venturing into more melodic or commercial territories. The band is clearly wearing some old school Thrash influences on its collective sleeve too. They always have in a way, but it just feels a little more prominent this time.

For me, the stand-out cuts are opener Memento Mori, On The Hook, Reality Bath, Routes, and my overall favourite, Bloodshot Eyes, which is a savage-yet-melodic groove-fest.

There's something about this record that really hits the spot. It's all so well crafted, and in years to come, this album may be considered as their definitive release. I'm sure the band realise this too, hence being self-titled. This is Lamb Of God firing on all cylinders, and a truly fantastic slab of Metal.