Posted on: July 13, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Lamb of God has been on of the hardest acts in the United States in the last few years (I would have to say that a few other metal bands all over the world might be able to come up with harder and more brutal music. Anyways, “Sacrament” starts out fairly slowly for a thrash meets death metal album, with the guitars on “Walk With Me In Hell” being a track that is more grounded in the hardcore tradition than anything. The one plus that Lamb of God can garner immediately on “Sacrament” has to be that individuals can hear what exactly is being said vocal-wise.

This is a sea change from the rest of the metal bands on the market, which would scream at a breakneck pace and not provide any way to understand what is being said. While “Walk With Me In Hell” may be a slower track, it allows the band to show their nuance and implementation of what is a very deep and dense approach to music. The guitar solo that comes in towards the end of the track may be a little wank-heavy, but Lamb of God is smart to couch it in the context of the rest of the track.

The band is finally able to go full bore with “Again We Rise”, a track that mixes together equal parts guitars and drums to create a specific atmosphere before the vocals can come in and make the track much more deliberate and pointed. The band is able to tap the earlier metal tradition with the multiple vocals that come to bear during the chorus of “Again We Rise”, but at all points create a sound that will make metalheads buy albums in 2006. “Redneck” is a track that slows down and seems to follow in the tradition of acts like White Zombie and Fu Manchu. While the band is able to bring the heavy to the slower metal style, what comes forth is something that is hard but not necessarily possessing of the metal edge that has been honed throughout the rest of the disc. There is a lot of Corrosion of Conformity (“Deliverance”-era) influence to “Redneck”. Lamb of God creates an album that has lot of cohesion between the songs on the disc, but does not really break any records or expand the bands style. I would say to go forth and search out other recordings by Lamb of God, as they might show a different side to the band.

Top Tracks: Pathetic, Requiem

Rating: 5.5/10

Lamb of God – Sacrament / 2006 Sony / 11 Tracks / http://www.lamb-of-god.com / http://www.sacrament2006.com / Reviewed 17 September 2006

[JMcQ]

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