Review - Wrath

Artist: Lamb of God
Album: Wrath
Record Label: Epic
Producer(s): Josh Wilbur
Release Date: February 24, 2009
Genre: Death metal
Strong Points: Solid instrumentals; raw sound from live recording
Weak Points: Songs strangely lack hooks; feels like a regression from previous efforts
Technical Score: B-
Artistic Score: D
Final Score (not an average): C
Moral Warnings: Profanity is featured throughout, particularly the various permutations of "f***"; violent imagery is prominent; one song (Fake Messiah) could be considered blasphemous

The state of the American metal scene was starting to seem pretty stagnant by the time Virginia’s Lamb of God burst onto the scene in the late-90s. Their debut, “Burn the Priest” (an eponymous album at that point; the name change came later), as well as the albums that followed, were well received by critics and fans alike, earning the band a significant audience because of both the ferocity of their albums and the brutality of their live shows.

In particular, 2004’s “Ashes in the Wake” and 2006’s “Sacrament” secured the band’s status as a lasting presence on the American popular metal scene; the former spawning the now-signature Laid to Rest, the latter contributing singles Redneck and Walk With Me in Hell to the band's name.

The problem here is that “Wrath” has to follow up two immensely successful and stunning albums, and it predictably cannot do so. Opening with instrumental track The Passing, LoG segues into In Your Words, a track dripping with political anger and a vow to “unleash this hate refined.” Following that is Set to Fail, a track that doesn’t attempt to hide its thrash metal influence, but loses itself with the chorus: “So go and weave your tale of woe/convincing yourself it’s so…,” a rhyme that simply does not resonate as it should, especially considering what listeners of this band are generally used to on the lyrical front.

For all of Lamb of God’s anger, all of the political lyrics and anger at the establishment, something just feels off on this newest album. Nothing hooks the listener in, though Grace and Broken Hands provide a stretch of solid metal that isn’t ably provided by many bands but Lamb of God. This is likely because not much of the album sounds like Lamb of God. All too often the band is taking pages from other band’s books, most obviously Metallica. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s not good when a band loses sight of who they are, and that’s what it feels like Lamb of God is starting to do here. Certainly there are parts of the album that ostensibly feel like Lamb of God-proper, such as Grace, Contractor, and Broken Hands, but parts of those songs still feel like they’re straying from the feel that the band established with their previous albums.

“Wrath” does have some things worth noting if you’re particularly concerned the moral content of the album. The lyrics all tend to focus around violent content, with songs speaking of crucifixion (In Your Words), violent patriotism (Contractor), and including violent imagery (Fake Messiah), and focusing on death and destruction (Grace, Dead Seeds, Everything to Nothing, Reclamation). Other songs deny repentance (Grace, Broken Hands) and accuse the church of hypocrisy (Choke Sermon). Foul language, particularly various permutations of "f***", are featured prominently throughout the album. The fifth track, Fake Messiah, could also be considered blasphemous.

None of this is to say “Wrath” is a bad album, because it isn’t; there’s plenty here to love. “Wrath” just never reaches the levels of excellence that previous efforts have, and as such is a solid album, but it is ultimately a disappointment. What “Wrath” could have been is hinted at in the brilliant final stretch, from the raging Dead Seeds to the expansive seven-minute epic Reclamation, but those last four songs are not enough to elevate “Wrath” up to anything beyond average.

-Drew Regensburger (drew@revolve21.com)