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Lamb Of God: Wrath Groove Metal, Metalcore Epic Records February 24th, 2009
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Review
Just when Lamb Of God was starting to get a little old, the band releases an album that...well...hasn't changed much. No, it's not the same old Lamb Of God, but Wrath definitely showcases that the band has improved on the sound that has made them a household name in ways that benefit and hurt them. Lamb Of God have done two things that dramatically altered the music they create in a very positive way. Not only are some of the songs faster, but they have melody, which is something that much of their older staff has been lacking. "In Your Words" is a fine example of it, especially with the guitar chords at the end giving it a very rememberable melodic feel. But then you have the tenacious "Set To Fail" which is essentially a faster version of their old stuff. The other aspect is definitely a dramatic one that fans have had on the tip of their tongues since the vocalist appeared on the Overkill (US) album Immortalis, and that is dropping the vocal distortion and performing practically clean on the album, which just makes the whole thing sound better and more professional then any of the band's previous albums. It's clear that this album was heavily influenced by the band Pantera. It's blatently obvious by the song "Contractor" with the music sounding as if it is taken from that band's album Far Beyond Driven, but with breakdowns. The same can be said for many of the other songs on here, with or without breakdowns, such as "In Your Words", "Set To Fail" (which also sounds remarkably like Lamb Of God's song "Now You've Got Something To Die For"), and a little influence in "Dark Seeds". This seems to be a growing trend in bands, lately, as Lamb Of God are not the first to try to sound exactly like another band. Trivium have released an album that sounds exactly like Metallica, and even Throdown have successfully created a new Pantera album. But at least this one has some originality behind it, and has some pulse pounding tracks. There are some tracks on here that will make you wonder why they are even on here, suchj as "Fake Messiah" with it's that just doesn't seem to fit the style being portrayed on this release, "Everything To Nothing" is a pretty good song, but it clashes with the music on here, having more a thrash metal sound to it everywhere but the chorus and breakdown, and "Reclamation" is just a boring, drawn out song. So with only a handful of songs that either don't suck or sound like Pantera on steroids, this album may sound like one of their best, but it's definitely not a vast improvement. Wrath is definitely a step in the right direction, but if the band would quit paying homage to Pantera and concentrate moreso on original material, their next album could easily be one hell of a release.
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