Wrath
Lamb of God has proven in its past six albums that they're a group of exceptionally talented musicians and that they're capable of making metal that is brutal and serious but fun at the same time. But now, the question is: On their seventh studio album, "Wrath," has anything changed? Yes, but not quite everything. On the whole, "Wrath" is a blast to listen to, but the album really delivers in those moments when the band takes a chance and deviates from the norm.
"Wrath" opens up with an instrumental and partially acoustic track, "The Passing," a more intricate and flowing tune than the band's typical style. I can recognize that this has become something of a gimmick among metal records (opening with a soft or acoustic intro before melting the listener's face with a truly fierce song) but Lamb of God makes excellent use of the intro track. It's not entirely soft; the acoustic guitar eventually gives away to some truly epic sounding...but not aggressive...electric guitar, and eventually it crescendos into a perfect transition for the next song, "In Your Words." Likewise, another (successful) attempt to branch out comes in the form of "Reclamation," a 7-minutes-plus track that carries no particular consistency in terms of the structure of the song...but for the better. It reminds me of the grand, lengthy opuses of bands like Dream Theater, just a little less proggy.
The groove aspect of the band's playing is far more apparent on this album than on their previous releases, especially so on tracks like "Everything to Nothing," "Dead Seeds" and "In Your Words." The music is still heavy and thunderous, but certain elements like syncopated rhythms and frequently bent notes add another dimension to Lamb of God's style, bringing it beyond the confines of the metal genre.
Guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton's guitar playing on "Wrath" is spectacular. Some of the riffs are incredibly complex...although listeners have come to expect this of Lamb of God's style...but Adler and Morton keep things consistent and smooth, making it all look easy. Although it has become something of a trend among metal bands for their guitarists to rip into a solo in every single song they have, Morton takes a more conservative route, only soloing in a handful of the tracks (absolutely kicking ass when he does) and proving that less can be more.
Blythe shows a little more range and variety in his growls and screams, even howling something resembling a tune in the chorus of "Set to Fail." Unfortunately, his lyrics have not benefitted from any transformation; throughout the album, we still hear him going on about his typical subjects his brutal and grotesque fashion, including hypocrites, your inevitable downfall, false prophets, or any combination of the above. The album opens with, "A sacred cash cow/with sickly tits/dripping temptation for hypocrites . . ." and it doesn't go far from there. Back in the days of "Ashes of the Wake" and "New American Gospel," these seemed like some seriously badass lyrics with a message, but now it just seems like Blythe doesn't have a whole lot of other material at his disposal.
In Blythe's defense, however, it's not just his lyrics that seem a bit tired. Some of the tracks on "Wrath" ("Contractor," "Choke Sermon") are more or less throwaways in that they sound like recycled songs from "Ashes" and "Sacrament." Similarly, certain parts of the songs are unbearably repetitive, like the endings of "In Your Words" and "Fake Messiah"; chugging away with the same chord progression over and over for nearly two minutes...sans vocals...is just unnecessary.
Like any other Lamb of God album, "Wrath" is plain old fun to listen to. There are moments where certain elements seem a little trite, but just because we've heard them before doesn't mean they're any less fun, these songs just seem a little less inspired. Listen to the album and take it in holistically, and you won't be disappointed.
Score: 8.0/10