You’ll find fewer bands more influential than Lamb of God; their breed of raucous tongue twister guitar riffing working in tandem with some of the most abrasive drumming and monstrous pained shrieking have turned them into the gold standard of heavy metal. Their latest album, Into Oblivion, sees them unleashing a familiar but comfortable assault on the senses that is sure to excite the old school crowd and the breakdown-obsessed newcomers.
The record opens with all the lead singles, the almost symphonic ‘Into Oblivion’, the vicious ‘Parasocial Christ’ and the slow, gloopy stomping riffs and John Campbell‘s earth-shattering basslines of ‘Sepsis’, a track that is easily the highlight of the record due to its dodgeball snare and skull crushing breakdown. The record has some variety with tracks like ‘El Vacio’ containing some clean guitar work that adds a nice change of pace. After all, you become numb to the punches if it’s just a nonstop barrage of violence.
The punishing one-two punch of ‘Blunt Force Blues’ and ‘Bully’ showcase a band that is still on top form and fully ready to bring these tracks to life once they hit the stages later this year. The dual guitar assault of Mark Morton and Willie Adler continue to deliver wild tongue twister guitar riffs in the form of ‘St Catherine’s Wheel’. There’s no shortage of brutality throughout the record but this is where the album peaks. Those who were waiting for Lamb of God to bring a bit more thrash influence into their groove metal will be thoroughly impressed throughout this record.
Randy Blythe is still at the top of his game with absolutely monstrous vocals that showcase his raw brilliant aggression while occasionally slipping in just the right amount of melody on tracks like ‘A Thousand Years’. There’s little chance of Randy becoming an outright crooner but that little bit of singing goes a long way in adding variety.
The record ends with one final jaw breaking right hook with ‘Devise/Destroy’ and thus ends another vicious chapter of destructive true heavy metal from one of the best to ever do it. Is it groundbreaking? No. Is it a damn good record? Absolutely. You can feel the band trying to branch out while staying true to their signature sound, which is a hard balance to maintain, but if anyone can do it, Lamb of God can.
Into Oblivion is out now via Century Media.
