Kev Rowland It is unusual for a band that has been around as Lamb of God to release a self-titled album, but it is possible this is for a few different reasons. The last release by the band was not actually the previous Lamb of God release but an album of covers they released as Burn The Priest, which was the original name of the band when they were first formed and under which they released their debut album. More importantly, this is the first ever release which does not feature drummer Chris Adler, who alongside bassist John Campbell were the only founders of Burn The Priest still involved. Adler had taken some time away from Lamb of God to perform and record with Megadeth (winning a Grammy for his work on ‘Dystopia’) and is now working with neither. There are various reasons floating around the web as to why he left, but for whatever reason he is no longer involved, and his place has been taken by Art Cruz (Winds of Plague, Cruz).

It may have been five years since the last LoG release, but in many ways, this is a direct continuation and sonically there is not much difference in the drum styles. The band feel happier with the album itself due to a change in approach in that they undertook pre-production then toured with Slayer before coming back to the songs which allowed them to hear them in a different light. Hard-hitting groove metal is the order of the way, with Randy Blythe bringing his best punk attack to it over the top. His vocal approach does provide cut through, as the band provide a solid backdrop for him to spit his venom against. As with the last album this is also highly melodic, although the nuances do not appear to be as prevalent, which may be due to having a new drummer as opposed to having one who has been in the band for quarter of a century. This is solid as opposed to exceptional, and it will be interesting to see what happens with the next one. I just hope we don’t have to wait another five years as I do not think it is possible for these guys to release a bad album, and I am intrigued to see where they go from here.

siLLy puPPy L:AMB OF GOD has been cranking out the quality groove metal since its inception as Burn The Priest in 1994 with a series of high octane albums ever since however this Virginia band led by the screaming maniac Randy Blythe but hasn’t exactly been the most prolific in its output with only nine releases ( eight under the LAMB OF GOD moniker ) in the 26 years of its existence. Five years after “VII: Sturm und Drang” comes the band’s followup simply titled LAMB OF GOD. It baffles me as to why bands choose to use eponymous titles this late in their career especially if they haven’t reinvented their sound and taken it to new unthinkable worlds.

One thing is pretty much a given for LAMB OF GOD and that is that what you expect in terms of fast paced groove metal with rampaging riffs, half speed bass and drums and Blythe’s gut busting vocal utterances, will always be delivered in abundance. While the band has done a fairly decent job of adding new sounds to their albums and integrating them well into their classic groove metal stomps that dominated “As The Palaces Burn,” LAMB OF GOD seems to have hit a brick wall in the creative department as this eponymous release that came out in the era of Covid-19 is pretty much business as usual without any real developments or deviations from the band’s already established sound.

With ten tracks that add up to almost 45 minutes and a bonus track on the limited digipak boxset as well as the Japanese edition, LAMB OF GOD seems to be resting on its laurels and in the year 2020 with its usual predicative blend of groove metal, thrash furor and metalcore breakdowns. LAMB OF GOD has always maintained a consistency of quality and bad tunes is certainly not the issue at hand with this self-titled release but rather a ho hum been there done that before with one track after another sounding cut out of the same cookie cutter songwriting process and a bad case of playing it safe which obviously paid off since the album debuted at number 15 on the Billboard album charts and sold 30 thousand units in its first week of release. Some metalheads prefer safe and predictable over innovation and progression. Personally i’m not one of those.

This album debuts newbie drummer Art Cruz who replaces long time drummer Chris Adler but his drumming style has been tailor made to fit the band’s established sound and he offers absolutely no signs of individuality. There are a couple guest vocal appearances. “Poison Dream” features Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed and “Routes” allows Testament singer Chuck Billy to let loose. Noticeable absent from this self-titled release are any extras that add different layers of atmospheres or subplots in the musical motifs. This is a back to basics groove metal type of album and while that’s not a bad thing per se, it’s certainly not anything that’s taking metal into any new territories. As a LAMB OF GOD fan i’m always a sucker for those chunky groove metal hooks in tandem with Blythe’s unique style of vocal grunts that are teased out into melodic screams.

For those who love diversity in songwriting this may not be the album for you. The tracks all bleed together with only a few such as “Resurrection Man” offering some sort of unique atmospheric counterpoint otherwise it’s a chugging fest in the vein of early LAMB OF GOD bombast. This is a decent album that won’t disappoint those with low expectations as LAMB OF GOD ticks off all the elements that make them LAMB OF GOD however for my tastes i find this to be a very generic album in relation to the interesting albums such as “Sacrament,” “Wrath,” “Resolution” and “VII: Sturm und Drang.” In the end this is an album that will end up in my collection as a fan but will remain one of the least revisited except all inclusive marathon sessions. I expected more after a five year break but c’est la vie.