Sacrament

Lamb of God has put out about six albums, and a listener can hear that they have constantly been changing and evolving in their sound.

Their first incarnation, "Burn The Priest," was extremely thrashy, and inaccessible to casual metal fans. Eventually, and clearly after listening to Pantera, they changed their sound to become groovier, including syncopated rhythms.

It seems that with each CD, they try to find a way to appeal to a broader audience on their own terms. With "Sacrament", they certainly will appeal to broader audiences, but whether that change is on their terms is up for debate.

They have certainly changed a lot. On previous albums, Randy Blythe's vocals sounded like a piece of sandpaper barking. Despite this, he has always been clear and easy to understand, probably because he, unlike other singers, enunciates carefully.

On this album, he has given up some of the animalistic vocals so that he can do something that resembles singing more. He is singing notes now, and he sounds almost like an enraged opera singer. Although it's not as brutal as it once was, there is a new, different kind of power to be felt here.

Unfortunately, other parts of the music suffer. On old albums, the "Lamb of God sound" came from syncopation, the fact that everything was playing rhythm, even the guitar lines. In an effort to create a more unified sound, they have almost totally abandoned syncopation. This is a shame, because it was exactly this which allowed one to hear both the drums and guitars equally. Now, Chris Adler's insane drumming is lost under guitar and bass.

It's a shame, but it will take them where they want to be financially, allowing them more artistic freedom in the future.