Lamb of God: All Albums Ranked
Since the turn of the century, Lamb of God have led the charge in modern metal. There are several contenders for ‘Best Lamb of God Album’, which is testament to the consistent quality of their output, and they continue to be one of the very best live acts on the planet. We have reviewed and ranked every Lamb of God (and Burn the Priest) record and picked out some key (and lesser-known) tracks. What you do you think? Check out our playlist, have your say in the comments below, and check out some of our other album rankings!
Slipknot, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Deftones and Korn were on top of the world in 1999, and little did we know that a brand new band from Richmond, Virginia were just about to start their gradual, steady ascent to metal royalty.
A self-titled record under their original, NSFW name, ‘Burn The Priest’ is a fiery burst of rage. Most tracks clock around the 2-minute mark, and there is little to no fat on this youthful, inexperienced but fun record. They may not play any of these songs live any more, but the seeds of Lamb of God’s future career make for a fascinating, if ragged, listen.
Standout tracks: ‘Dimera’, ‘Lame’
The fact that ‘Sturm und Drang’ even exists feels like a victory for metal. The tragic, accidental death of a fan in Czech Republic, following injuries sustained during a show on the ‘Wrath’ tour in 2010, led to Randy Blyth being incarcerated for 5 weeks in a Prague prison in 2012. For some time, there was a worry about whether Randy would be held for a number of years - and, of course, this would have a had a huge impact on band relations, Randy’s mental and physical health, and the plans for Lamb of God’s future.
Randy’s experience was documented in his 2015 book ‘Dark Days: A Memoir’, and it also underpins at least 2 tracks on ‘Sturm und Drang’ - ‘512’ (“Six bars laid across the sky / Four empty walls to fill the time / One careless word, you lose your life / A grave new world awaits inside”) and ‘Still Echoes’ (“A thousand heads cut clean across their necks / Right down the hall from me”).
Musically, ‘Sturm und Drang’ is solid but unspectacular. ‘Torches’, depsite the potential of Greg Puciato’s cameo appearance, doesn’t really get off the ground. ‘Wine & Piss’, ‘Anthropoid’ and closer ‘Nightmare Seeker’ are functional, but the closest that Lamb of God have ever got to being ‘stock’. ‘Erase This’, ‘Footprints’ and ‘Engage the Fear Machine’ fare better, and are all decent tracks and would have fitted comfortably on ‘Sacrament’. ‘Delusion Pandemic’ is the fastest, heaviest and potentially best track on the record, showcasing all the best elements of Lamb of God.
The biggest surprises come in the form of the Alice in Chains-esque ‘Overlord’, with impassioned clean singing, and the fantastic guest appearance from Deftones’ Chino Moreno on ‘Embers’, a track which starts with pummelling, thrashy beats and explodes into a mid-paced bruiser of a track.
Standout tracks: ‘Delusion Pandemic’, ‘Embers’, ‘Overlord’
In a similar vein to Slayer’s underrated 1996 record ‘Undisputed Attitude’, ‘Legion XX’ is a covers album, featuring underground punk songs that Lamb of God used to play in their formative years as Burn The Priest. In fact, ‘Legion XX’ was released under the Burn The Priest name, partly to mark the 20-year anniversary of the band, and partly to keep it slightly separate from Lamb of God’s main discography.
It is a fun listen, even if you are unlikely to want to listen to it multiple times. The highlight is ‘I Against I’, a multi-part punk classic from Bad Brains, with its bursts of frantic energy. Other standouts include the chaos of ‘Kill Yourself’ (Stormtroopers of Death) and ‘One Voice’ (Agnostic Front). Ministry’s ‘Jesus Built My Hotrod’ and Big Black’s ‘Kerosene’ both showcase a different sound and approach for Randy’s vocals, even if the faithful recreation of the music doesn’t inject anything particularly new into proceedings.
We didn’t realise it at the time, but ‘Legion XX’ would also act as the swansong for Chris Adler behind the drum kit - a massive loss for the band, though one they would eventually recover from with Art Cruz’ arrival for the self-titled 2020 record.
Standout Tracks: ‘Inherit the Earth’, ‘I Against I’
The one that started it all. The opening seconds of ‘Black Label’ are so distinctive, showcasing not only a killer riff but also Chris Adler’s unique drum kit, with a snare drum that sounds more like a spoon smacking a drainpipe, and kick drums that are liable to break either your eardrums or your speakers (or both).
Primal, raw and in your face, ‘New American Gospel’ was a statement of brutal intent at a time when mainstream metal was gravitating towards a highly polished, clean sound. Randy sounds like a dog with rabies. John Campbell’s bass is a muddy, pummelling rumble, and the 2-pronged guitar attack of Willie Adler and Mark Morton, while less sophisticated than in later releases, was already far more inventive than most other metal guitar duos of the time.
There isn’t anything as groovy as ‘Ruin’ or ‘Laid to Rest’ here, nor as breakneck as ‘Contractor’ or ‘Parasocial Christ’, but ‘New American Gospel’ is a brutal beast of a record that is the equivalent of being beaten around the head by whatever that mass of cables and screws may be on the album cover.
Standout tracks: ‘A Warning’, ‘Confessional’, ‘Black Label’
‘Resolution’ is a curious album, with some moments that are utterly brilliant mixed in with others that are head-scratchingly average by Lamb of God’s standards.
Following the sludgy dirge of ‘Straight For The Sun’, ‘Desolation’ is as good as anything on ‘Wrath’, with one of Chris Adler’s best ever drum performances, a killer chorus and hyperspeed, spidery guitar riffs. Lead single ‘Ghost Walking’ comes across as a more serious version of ‘Redneck’. The gang vocals of ‘The Number Six’ are awesome and ‘The Undertow’ is a brilliantly written song, underpinned by incredibly tight musicianship. ‘Cheated’ is possibly even better than the breakneck ‘Contractor’ from the previous record.
Unfortunately, the second half of the album drops off. ‘Invictus’, ‘Insurrection’, ‘Visitation’ and ‘To The End’ repeat the same formula, and ‘King Me’ isn’t quite as profound as it tries to be, even if the addition of the string section adds some welcome variety to the production. ‘King Me’ does open up the question of how awesome Lamb of God might sound if they teamed up with an orchestra, ‘S&M’-style - maybe something for the future.
Some of Lamb of God’s very best songs can be found on ‘Resolution’. It’s just a shame that the quality control wasn’t as tight in the latter half of the record as it could have been. The inclusion of awesome punky b-side ‘Digital Sands’, instead of ‘Insurrection’ or ‘Visitation’, may have bumped this album up the list.
Standout Tracks: ‘Digital Sands’ (b-side), ‘The Undertow’, ‘Cheated’
Hands down, ‘Omens’ has the coolest album cover in Lamb of God’s discography. Look at the detail! It is magnificent, intricate, technical, ugly and strangely beautiful. Much like Lamb of God’s music.
Overall, ‘Omens’ is a very competent, solid release. The second record to feature Art Cruz on drums, it was reassuring to hear that Lamb of God were just as capable of writing - and performing - at the highest level, without Chris Adler. The main challenge of this record, though, is the absence of absolute knockout moments. It is a consistent, enjoyable record that furher reinforces Lamb of God’s status at the forefront of modern metal, but you won’t find a ‘Momento Mori’, ‘Now You’ve Got Something To Die For’, ‘Ruin’, ‘Set to Fail’, ‘Desolation’, ‘Redneck’ or ‘Laid to Rest’ here.
Opener ‘Nevermore’ has an angular riff that isn’t a million miles away from ‘Laid to Rest’, and it mutates into a mid-paced stomper with Randy alternating between his signature bark, clean singing, and near-spoken delivery. Tracks 2 and 3, ‘Vanishing’ and ‘To The Grave’, are similarly paced, bringing the groove but not leaving a particularly strong impression. Things really pick up with ‘Ditch’ and ‘Omens’, both of which drip with urgency.
‘Gomorrah’ and ‘Ill Designs’ follow a similar pattern to ‘Vanishing’ and ‘To The Grave’, being decent but unspectacular. This then brings us to ‘Grayscale’ and ‘Denial Mechanism’, two of the best tracks on the record, and closing with the curious, apocalyptic ‘September Song’ that evokes ‘King Me’ and ‘Vigil’, albeit with some bursts of frantic riffery. Overall, ‘Omens’ is unlikely to be anyone’s favourite Lamb of God record, but it is definitely a grower.
Standout tracks: ‘Grayscale’, ‘Ditch’, ‘Denial Mechanism’
Dispensing with the classic Lamb of God logo for the first time (because, apparently, they just realised that the old logo’s Papyrus font had too much in common with a restaurant menu…), did ‘Into Oblivion’ herald a new era for the band?
Not really. It’s another very good Lamb of God record. No major surprises. Just highly proficient, enjoyable modern metal, with a great balance of groove, speed, aggression, lyrical depth and empowering energy. Where ‘Omens’ was solid but lacked standout songs, ‘Into Oblivion’ has a greater amount of variety, with more distinct songs that, for the most part, each have their own personality.
‘Sepsis’ opens with a truly monstrous, sludgy bass and drum attack, and Randy sounds like a deranged beast chewing raw meat. ‘El Vacio’ is a superb, Alice in Chains-inspired tune that is the closest Lamb of God have ever come to 90s grunge. ‘Blunt Force Blues’ sounds like it would have fitted perfectly on ‘Ashes of the Wake’. ‘Into Oblivion’ is a greater opener, coming across as a blunter version of ‘Momento Mori’.
Considering that the original members of Lamb of God are now well into their 50s, it is all the more impressive that they can play with the same level of ferocity as they had in the ‘Sacrament’ days.
Standout tracks: ‘Sepsis’, ‘El Vacio’, ‘Parasocial Christ’
Chris Adler was such an integral part of Lamb of God’s sound, that when he left (or rather, was sacked from) the band after the ‘Legion XX’ project there was an understandable worry about how they would sound without him, and even whether they could continue at all.
It was therefore not only a huge relief but also a tremendous treat to be presented with the self-titled ‘Lamb of God’ record in 2020. New drummer Art Cruz, who grew up playing along to the early Lamb of God records, was a near-seamless replacement. Perhaps he wasn’t quite as inventive behind the kit, and the snare sound was no longer as snappy and bin-lid-like as was found in ‘Ashes of the Wake’ and ‘As The Palaces Burn’ - but he was still seriously impressive.
And equally impressive was the songwriting. ‘Lamb of God’ is a consistently strong record with its own personality and sonic identity (albeit having a more traditional metalcore drum production). Starting with the creepy, whispered and brooding intro to ‘Momento Mori’, the record has fantastic twists and turns, including a commanding guest appearance from Testament’s Chuck Billy on the thrashy ‘Routes’, the full-throttle speed of ‘On The Hook’, a future Lamb of God classic in the sludgy ‘Resurrection Man’, and the catchy singles ‘Checkmate’ and ‘New Colossal Hate’.
Where records such as ‘Sturm und Drang’ and ‘Omens’ succumb to some unmemorable songs towards the end of the tracklisting, ‘Lamb of God’ has no such problem. ‘Bloodshot Eyes’ and the aforementioned ‘On The Hook’ are great late-album tracks, and the only 2 skippable tracks are the bonus cuts on the special edition, ‘Hyperthermic/Accelerate’ and ‘Ghost Shaped People’. Overall, a very formidable addition to the Lamb of God catalogue, and one that heralded the start of an exciting new chapter.
Standout Tracks: ‘Resurrection Man’, ‘Routes’, ‘Gears’
‘Sacrament’ is arguably Lamb of God’s most commercially accessible record, partly with the inclusion of catchy earworms such as ‘Redneck’, ‘Walk With Me In Hell’, ‘Descending’ and ‘Blacken The Cursed Sun’, and partly with a thicker production that is warmer and more ‘mainstream rock’ than its caustic predecessors ‘Ashes of the Wake’ and ‘As The Palaces Burn’.
It is worth watching the making-of documentary that accompanied the album, as it goes into considerable depth with the recording and production of ‘Sacrament’, including producer Machine using unconventional methods to get the best vocal performances out of Randy Blyth (including making him run round the the block, then rush into the recording booth out of breath in order to capture the ‘Walk With Me in Hell’ refrain). It also shows how much time the band spent in pre-production, polishing the songs to the extreme before recording them. At some points, the clinical production (including some instances of gang backing vocals and vocal effets) can be a little too ‘on the grid’, such as in ‘Pathetic’ and ‘Requiem’, but for the most part there is still enough of Lamb of God’s trademark ferocity to scratch the itch.
Standout Tracks: ‘Beating on Death’s Door’, ‘Forgotten (Lost Angels)’, ‘Descending’
Lamb of God came on leaps and bounds from ‘New American Gospel’ with their follow-up, the Devin Townsend-produced ‘As The Palaces Burn’. The opening moments of ‘Ruin’ are truly iconic, with everything fitting together in perfect, percussive unison.
The 10th anniversary of the record is far superior to the original, with a significant overhaul of the mix to provide greater depth and punch. It was curious that the original felt so flat, though admittedly this did help to create a distinctive Lamb of God sound at the point in their career when they were starting to be noticed internationally.
Every song on ‘As The Palaces Burn’ is a knock-out, from the bruising, title track and its clever shifts in groove, to the muscular ‘Purified’, the single ‘11th Hour’ (which, for many people, was their first introduction to the band, and which inspired Robb Flynn to write the thrashy end to ‘Imperium’ on their record ‘From the Ashes of Empires'), and the awesome one-two of ‘Boot Scaper’ and ‘A Devil in God’s Country’.
Arguably the best moment comes in the epic ‘Vigil’, which starts like a Metallica ballad and builds to a mid-paced stomp culminating in one of Randy’s finest lines: “Smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered”. It sounds nasty, threatening and ominous - just how we like it.
Standout tracks: ‘Ruin’, ‘Vigil’, ‘Purified’
Hot on the heels of ‘As The Palaces Burn’, ‘Ashes of the Wake’ is considered by many to be Lamb of God’s crowning achievement. The fact that the band celebrated its 20th anniversary with an extensive tour (alongside Mastodon, playing ‘Leviathan’ in full) says a lot about its historical significance.
In 2004, nu metal was no longer cool. We had some occasional releases from more established bands that caught the public’s attention, such as Slipknot’s ‘Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses’ and Machine Head’s ‘Through the Ashes of Empires’, but generally there was a sea change going on in the metal world. Heavily inspired by the Scandinavian 90s melodic death metal movement of At The Gates, Soilwork and In Flames, a new breed of metal was on the ascendency (pardon the Trivium pun). Included in this new movement were Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Children of Bodom, Shadows Fall and, of course, Lamb of God.
Not only did Lamb of God bring the solos and the awesome technicality of their peers, but also they took and additianal influence from the violent, groovy assault of Pantera, twisting powerful riffs into the gut-punch of ‘Omerta’, ‘Laid To Rest’, ‘The Faded Line’ and ‘Hourglass’, as well as speeding full-throttle with ‘Blood of the Scribe’, ‘What I’ve Become’. The production was crystal clear and a step up from ‘As The Palaces Burn’, and the musicianship was impeccable, especially on the instrumental title track.
‘Ashes of the Wake’ narrowly avoids being top of this list because it has a couple of more skippable moments in ‘One Gun’ and ‘Break You’, though admittedly these would still be highlights on later records such as ‘Omens’ and ‘Into Oblivion’. A masterclass in the new breed of early 00s metal.
Standout Tracks: ‘Now You’ve Got Something To Die For’, ‘Omerta’, ‘Hourglass’
It may not be the best-selling Lamb of God record, or the most talked about, but in our opinion ‘Wrath’ is the best. The production is HUGE (especially compared to its predecessor, ‘Sacrament’, which was more compressed and polished). Just the opening seconds of ‘Set to Fail’ and ‘Contractor’ are utterly savage.
‘Wrath’ has it all. Tight, syncopated rhythms (the amazing mid-section of ‘In Your Words’). Gorgeous guitar melodies (‘Grace’, ‘The Passing’). Randy’s insanely well-pitched screams (‘Set to Fail’, ‘Dead Seeds’). High-speed punk rock (‘Everything to Nothing’). Compelling lyrics (a personal favourite: “Mankind is a festering parasite“ - ‘Reclamation’). Even the b-sides from the special edition (‘Shoulder of Your God’ and ‘We Die Alone’) would have made it onto Lamb of God’s other records and been standout tracks.
There are no dull moments here. Even the comparative lower points (‘Fake Messiah’ and ‘Broken Hands’) sound vital and urgent. Having tasted some commercial success with ‘Sacrament’, Lamg of God seemed intent on going harder, heavier and more brutal, doubling down on their collective strengths and making a record that was a seriously impressive, accessible record that didn’t need a ‘Redneck’ to make it stand out.
Standout tracks: ‘Grace’, ‘Dead Seeds’, ‘Set to Fail’
