As the palaces burn --- Lamb of God --- 2003 (Prosthetic)
I think it's actually quite funny to have a metal band --- particularly one considered extreme --- with a name that comes not only out of the Bible, but also evokes one of the quietest, most innocent and submissive images you can think of. Lamb of God, the band, are the farthest thing from any of these three states you can get. Hard crashing guitars greet us as the appropriately-titled "Ruin" kicks in the door, and yes, vocalist Randy Blythe is another growler. Heavy, staccato guitar work from Mark Morton and Willie Adler and thunderous, crunching drumming from John Campbell. We crash into the title track as the tempo kicks up higher with some fine shredding and I can at least make out most of what Blythe is singing this time round. Just about.
Chris Poland straps on the guitar to take centre stage in "Purified", have to say I don't see the difference but I'm not that familiar with his work. Have only heard him on the one album from Damn the Machine and wasn't overly impressed with him then. "11th hour" trundles along nicely with a sort of heads-down, three-guitars-on-stage feel, while "For your malice" is a little more grindy but still fast as hell. Yeah, but I'm just not feeling it with these guys. All seems very similar. The guitar in "Boot scraper" is very annoying, if you can imagine such a thing, and Devin Townsend, who helped produce this album, makes an appearance on guitar in "A devil in God's country".
"In defence of our good name" is a chugging grinder with a snarly vocal, and some good effective feedback guitar, picking up near the end with a fast guitar solo, and it's more or less the same for the next two tracks, finishing up on "Vigil", rather surprisingly a laidback opening with some nice acoustic guitar, but am I fooled? It's kind of grunge meets Metallica, and Blythe proves, unlike other death growlers who are a little more versatile when needed, that he can only sing one way, which is to growl, so the nice atmosphere built up at the start is pretty much destroyed. Pointless.
TRACKLISTING
1. Ruin
2. As the palaces burn
3. Purified
4. 11th hour
5. For your malice
6. Boot scraper
7. A devil in God's country
8. In defence of our good name
9. Blood junkie
10. Vigil
Yeah, there's nothing good I can say here. Very run-of-the-mill, nothing special, no great songs, can't make out the vocals, and even when they try to diversify a little at the end the vocalist is not up to the change required, which renders the whole thing frankly laughable. Not a band I'll be returning to.
Read more here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_of_God_%28band%29