May 6, 2003 - As The Palaces Burn

A week after my last release and two and a half years since "New American Gospel", Lamb Of God released their third album "As The Palaces Burn" on May 6, 2003. Lamb Of God continue to play the same style of super heavy yet super groovy metal and they have a new producer, and his name is Devin Townsend! Heavy Devy himself helps make Lamb Of God sound great, let's check it out!

The album kicks off with "Ruin" and they dive right into a fantastically heavy main riff with Mark Morton leading the way with some pretty cool leaf guitar. John Campbell and Willie Adler back him with some similar, quieter bass and rhythm guitar and Chris Adler plays some solid drums as well. Randy Blythe enters with his one-of-a-kind vocals as he nicely screams at both extremes: screaming in a great low voice most of the time, but also hitting some awesome super high screams. Things roll right into a similarly heavy and cool chorus and afterwards Morton even delivers a pretty epic guitar solo. Then Adler fires off one of the best and fastest drum fills you'll ever hear, words could never do justice! It sets the stage for a phenomenal fast part with some coop guitars, then they break everything down to a slow, heavy trudge that sounds so heavy and brutal! What a phenomenal way to close things out and Morton plays some crazy distorted guitar overtop that sounds great as well. What a fantastic way to kick things off! The end even sets the stage for the title track "As The Palaces Burn" as they fire off into another fast-paced, heavy and pretty awesome main riff. The chorus is slower and super groovy with Morton playing some more cool guitar, Blythe sounds great screaming overtop and once again right after the first chorus they fire off into an early guitar solo with Morton playing some great stuff! This song is less than two and a golf minutes so they don't stray far from the main drag, but it's a pretty great main drag and it's over before you could even possibly get tired of it. Track 3 is "Purified" and Morton leade the way with a cool stop-and-start guitar riff, the rhythm section builds very nicely off it to form an interesting and plenty heavy main riff. When Blythe finally comes in he screams pretty quickly along to this cool riff at first, then holds some nice loud longer screams. It takes a bit to finally reach the first chorus with Morton playing more cool guitar, then he really steps up his game with a pretty awesome guitar solo! The finish ain't too shabby either and these guys just don't know how to write sub-par songs or even riffs! Everything sounds so heavy and great, and Townsend's production is very smooth and easily the best producer they've had yet. Up next is "11th Hour" and words just continue to fall short of describing all these unique and different, yet amazing riffs. This one is no different as Morton leads the way with some indescribably cool guitar for a main riff and the heavy rhythm section loudly and groovily backs him. Blythe is just the perfect metal vocalist with his deep heavy natural scream and Morton's guitars somehow sound even more epic in the chorus! The breakdown in this song couldn't possibly be described properly, they go from the highest extreme to the lowest extreme so quickly and it sounds punishingly heavy! I thought the first song on the album would be hard to top, but I think I like this one even better! Morton plays so much amazing guitar on this song, it's absolutely incredible! Track 5 is "For Your Malice" and once again Morton gets things going with another unique and very cool lead guitar riff. After a short round by himself the drums and bass kick in behind him and Blythe speaks in a super low voice. Then Adler adds a nice fast rhythm guitar riff and they ramp into the first verse as Blythe sounds phenomenal as usual in his one-of-a-kind heavy voice. The chorus has yet another cool guitar riff, some more great vocals, and some excellent drums by Adler. They stick to the main drag for most of this one, but there's plenty to enjoy and not even a hint of a weak song. Up next is "Boot Scraper" and they jump right into a fast-paced main riff with some nice chugging guitars and Blythe screaming nice and high right out the gates.  It's another pretty sweet main riff from these guys and things sound very tight and solid the whole way through. They stick to the main drag for most of this song, but things never even remotely drag, I found it entertaining the whole way through. Track 7 is "A Devil In God's Country" and words continue to not do proper justice when I describe the main riff the same way, because it's yet another really cool and heavy main riff by Morton. Adler plays some pretty nice drums as well and Blythe sounds like his usual great self when he comes in to scream the thundering verse. He screams very quickly, and just sounds so heavy and great! There's no solo, but there is a cool part where Morton plays some high lead guitar and Adler backs him with some low, speedy rhythm guitar and they combine very nicely. The next track is "In Defense Of Our Good Name" and Adler's drums are pretty relentless and heavy right from the get-go, and Morton plays a really cool lead guitar riff while Adler and Campbell provide a typical(ly nice) heavy rhythm section. Words would seem to indicate Lamb Of God might be formulaic, but nothing could be farther from the truth: each song, and even each riff, is so unique and interesting. Blythe sounds great in the chorusnas well and after a couple solid rounds they quiet things down, only to perfectly ramp into a speedy new riff with Morton leading the way with some great guitar. They close it out with a nice return to the main riff and there's still nothing even remotely resembling a weak song yet. Track 9 is "Blood Junkie" and of course it's another great lead guitar riff by Morton driving things, and of course a nice heavy rhythm section to perfectly counter it. The chorus is super groovy with a fantastic swinging riff that is so catchy, yet so heavy! Things devolve into a great new part that words couldn't possibly properly describe with Blythe talking overtop in a fast, super low voice. It's very offbeat and abrupt, but I really like it and everything sounds pretty cool! This song stands out as a little outside the norm, and they did an excellent job! The final track on the album is "Vigil" and it begins with a light but pretty epic guitar riff by Morton and some solid backing bass by Campbell. After a bit of this Blythe suddenly comes in with some great screams and then the music slams wonderfully into a slow, but super duper heavy riff that chugs very nicely. Blythe hits some great low screams in the verse, and he hits the other end of the spectrum in the chorus with some super high screams that sound pretty insane! Then they speed things up, and this new fast riff is also pretty heavy (in a much different way) and has some pretty awesome contributions from everyone! This means when they slam suddenly into a heavy breakdown to end the song, and the album, it hits fucking hard and Blythe sounds phenomenal! What a fantastic final song!

That is the end of "As The Palaces Burn" and I thought it was a pretty awesome album by Lamb of God! The first and last songs were my favourite, but everything in between was great as well, it was just a high bar of excellent metal. I think it easily surpasses their debut and while "New American Gospel" was also pretty sweet, this new album is easily their best work yet in my opinion. Lamb Of God continue to step up their game to new heights, they couldn't possibly reach another level, could they?!