April 4, 1999 - Lamb Of God and Burn The Priest

Two weeks after my last release a new band joins my library and this band will go on to change their name to Lamb Of God. But that was not their original name, no. Their debut album is eponymous and it's named "Burn The Priest", released on April 4, 1999. Due to their name and the graphic nature of the album cover, this album received a lot of negative attention upon it's release and the band shortly changed their name from Burn The Priest, to Lamb Of God. So who is Lamb Of God? They are a five-piece heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia consisting of drummer Chris Adler, bassist John Campbell, rhythm guitarist Abe Spear, lead guitarist Mark Morton and lead singer Randy Blythe. These guys play an extremely heavy and in your face style of metal that can be slow and groovy at times but mostly faster, almost thrash-y metal and a vocalist that is gonna be hard to describe in words. Let's check it out!

The album opens with "Bloodletting" and they throw you through a window instantly with a crazy fast, Slayer-esque main riff and Blythe almost yelping overtop with some quite high and fast vocals. The guitars, bass and drums all sound very fast and nice and heavy, but (for this whole album) the production quality isn't the best, giving things a very raw sound. Randy's vocals are unlike anything I've heard yet, and while I have no idea what he's saying and it would be easy to discount his wild screaming as noise, I love how in your face and extreme it is! He's screaming every word with all of his being and it makes for a very heavy atmosphere, even on this short opener. Up next is "Dimera" and Randy's vocals are much lower on this song, but he still sounds so raw and heavy even though it's not piercingly high. I love the stop-and-start heavy guitars from Morton and Spear and Blythe's constant screams overtop make for a slow, chugging, and very heavy riff. This is also a pretty short song that has a quieter intro and outro sandwiching the nice main riff. Track 3 is over five minutes long (a very long time for these guys) and it's called "Resurrection #9". It's got a nice and heavy main riff with some cool lead guitar by Morton and Adler plays some pretty sweet drums as well. Blythe's vocals are all over the place on this one as he hits some high, some medium, and some really low vocals and his super low scream sounds phenomenal! After a couple minutes of jamming things briefly quiet down, and this sets the stage for a super slow new riff that sounds punishingly heavy! Words don't do justice to Randy's vocal range as he hits some crazy high and low notes during this part which devolves into an even slower riff to finish things off. I love how flexible they are on this longer song, sounding great in several parts, especially that awesome breakdown ending. The next track is another shorter one called "Goatfish" and like the other shorter songs it's driven by a fast-paced and pretty heavy main riff and Randy starts medium-low, but also hits some nice high notes at times overtop this slightly repetitive riff that carries us through the whole song. It was still some really heavy stuff, but it just didn't have the same energy as the other tracks so far. Track 5 is "Salivation" and words don't do proper justice when I say it's another fast-paced and heavy main riff because each one of them is unique and cool. Morton plays some sweet lead guitar at times during this one and Randy's vocals sound amazing once again as he shrieks high and growls low and does everything in between, all in one of the scariest voices you could think of. It's another short banger! Up next is another near-five-minute song titled "Lies Of Autumn" and it's driven by a pretty groovy main guitar riff that sounds like it could be a Metallica riff, it's pretty accessible, especially for these guys! Then Randy's vocals come in as well as some chugging bass by Campbell and things are super slow, but nice and dirty, groovy and heavy. After several minutes the speed finally increases to a more standard Lamb of God pace and of course things sound good here as well with some cool lead guitar by Morton and some sweet drum fills by Adler. Morton plays some cool guitar at the end before the nicely wrap things up. They show off their heavy range very nicely once again. Track 7 is "Chronic Auditory Hallucination" and it's got a nice chugging main riff and some more great vocals by Randy where he shows off his range with lots of high yelps and low growls, all of which sound very heavy. The final minute has a cool new riff that they nicely ramp into and it's a great way to end another raw headbanger of a tune. The next track is "Suffering Bastard" and the chorus has Randy hitting both extremes perfectly with some super low growls that sound so good, followed by some spitfire high vocals that also hit hard. Adler plays some nice offbeat drums on this one as well and these guys continue to hit the nail right on the head with these short and super heavy songs. Track 9 is "Buckeye" and Randy screams high along with a pretty catchy lead guitar riff. After a couple rounds of this they slow it down considerably with a nice breakdown and move into a slow headbanger if a riff that sounds pretty damn heavy. I like that their slower side comes out on the longer songs, because it's a great mix to have both the slow and fast stuff. Up next is "Lame" and at under two minutes this is definitely a fast-paced one with the usual heavy vibe, but a bit of grooviness from Cambell's bass. As usual Randy is all over the place and while his high yells definitely sound good, I love the low growls and he's excellent at them. Track 11 is "Preaching To The Converted" and Campbell and Adler do a cool opening before the typical thrash-y guitars come in. Words don't do proper justice to Randy's vocals, he can hit both extremes, but everything inbetween sounds great as well because he's got such a scary voice. There's a cool stop-and-start part in the middle and there is just no let-up, the heaviness bangs on! The next track is "Departure Hymn" and it's got a pretty catchy and cool lead riff by Morton and of course Randy sounds great overtop, holding lots of long screams that sound so raw! They shift in a new direction midway through and Campbell sets things up with some cool bass by himself before the guitars and Randy come roaring in with a fast new riff and Blythe holds a looong scream that sounds pretty awesome. Even better than their usual, I thought this track was awesome! Track 13 is "Duane" and it's a really fast song that makes me think I'm listening to Slayer, but the vocals got even heavier! They speed through this short song and your ears are constantly being attacked by something the whole time. The final song on the album is "Ruiner" and Morton gives us a very short solo (the album's first I believe) right away and it sounds awesome! They jam through a typical fast-paced riff, but then we're treated to a longer guitar solo! Morton doesn't shred, but things definitely sound epic and solos are a great addition to this heavy style I would say. What a way to wrap things up!

That is the end of "Burn The Priest" and I thought it was a pretty wicked debut album! There are no weak points at all, just 14 super heavy tracks and all the musicians seem to be pretty good at their roles. Randy Blythe is like no other vocalist before him and I absolutely love all that he can do. Of the shorter, faster songs my favourite was "Duane" but I think "Resurrection #9" was my favourite off this plentiful first album. With a name change on the way, I can't wait to see how Lamb Of God will follow this up!