Lamb of God: Relevant, Recharged and Ready to Conquer Metal for Years To Come

When the New Wave of American Heavy Metal started gaining serious momentum in the early 2000s, a bountiful crop of bands were spear-heading metal to its former glories lost in the wilderness years of the 1990s, and whilst many of those within the movement have either disbanded or plateaued, one band in particular has kept the charge flying at full-pace; LAMB OF GOD. Over the course of their career, the Virginian metallers have rarely taken their foot off the gas, growing from their DIY-driven BURN THE PRIEST days to the behemoth we have today.

Across heavy metal’s rich and colourful history there has been a collection of bands that have sat at the summit of the genre’s vast mountain. Founding fathers BLACK SABBATH, NWOBHM juggernauts IRON MAIDEN, thrash giants METALLICA and SLAYER, or a band like SLIPKNOT, who have spent the first decades of the 21st Century establishing themselves as one of metal’s biggest names. These bands are beloved by millions, guaranteed to sell-out arenas and stadiums every time they roll into town. And yet, there has always been questions and heated debates about who fill the large shoes once these legends hang up their axes and call it a day. Who could possibly match the legacy of the bands that shaped the genre that we love so dearly? With a decorated career and the fact they have spent the first two decades of this century growing into one of metal’s biggest names, could LAMB OF GOD step up to the challenge?

“Man, we never expected anything any step of the way,” guitarist Mark Morton reflects when probed on where LAMB OF GOD stand in 2020, decades on from their inception. “We started as BURN THE PRIEST in a basement in Richmond. We’d split a case of beer, smoke a bunch of weed and make a bunch of noise, honestly. That’s really what it was. I’m constantly grateful and I’m blown away by what I get to do.”

It maybe somewhat surprising that Mark is as humble and down to earth as he displays. His band are one of metal’s household names and you’d forgive a slight persona of arrogance, but then again, LAMB OF GOD have never been a band that have gloated about their triumphs. Sure, the band ooze swagger and fury through their studio recordings and incendiary live presence, but at the band’s core, they remain grounded. There’s a collective confidence within the camp and it is in fact this confidence that bleeds into their forthcoming self-titled effort. “I really trust where we are right now as artists, I really trust where we are right now as a band. The inter-personal relationships are at an all-time high. Individually, we’re all in great places. I feel like we’re still making really relevant music, I think we still have a lot of momentum as a band; both live and in the studio. We’re comfortable in our skin,” Mark says. This confidence in themselves as musicians and as a collective band translates to the people who matter the most; the fans.

“I will say something about LAMB OF GOD fans,” vocalist Randy Blythe says. “Besides the fact that we’re a good band, and we tour our ass off, and we work, besides that fact, I think one reason why the fans stick with us and we gain new fans is precisely because we are ourselves, and we do write music for us. Fans can tell if people are faking something. For us I think fans respect and love the fact that we are ourselves because it’s real and genuine, this is a real thing for us, this is our life, we live this. One hundred percent, we live this.”

It’s clear that for both Randy and Mark, the band they have poured every fibre of energy into is an essential part of their lives. And so, it makes it all the more rewarding that their self-titled album more than delivers on their promise to be true to themselves but for what the band stands for. The album has been a long time coming, five years to be exact, as extensive touring on SLAYER‘s farewell campaign drew the process out longer, but it is the extra time that has allowed the band to finely tune and hone their experience to create an album that definitely reflects where LAMB OF GOD stand in 2020. Angry, ferocious and topical on issues facing the world today, this is the band’s defining statement. Rather fitting it’s a self-titled effort then. “There were times where that has come up before,” Mark alludes to going down the self-titled route. “I mean, this is our eighth studio album as LAMB OF GOD, so it has certainly come up before. Times before, it always felt like a little bit of a cop-out, a little bit of an easy option for a title. This is the first time it didn’t feel like that, We’ve been through, certainly as a band and as individuals, and it’s a human experience everyone does, our story has been through a lot of turmoil. A lot of chaos, a lot of challenges, a lot of sadness and a lot of victories. All of it. We’ve come through all of that through our whole career, particularly the last ten years or so, we find ourselves in this place where we feel a sense of confidence. We feel as a band, I think we feel particularly confident as a band. We feel really good about where we are at, we’re proud of what we’ve done but we’re still willing to learn. I think we feel like we belong where we are at right now. To have the album self-titled, it seemed for the first time, appropriate.”

We started this feature by exploring how LAMB OF GOD are on the brink of becoming one of the modern titans of metal. Armed with their explosive self-titled new effort, that will surely become a reality, but there are greater and more concerning things at work in today’s climate. Every human being, every band, every industry is facing the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and so to have LAMB OF GOD. As the live industry collapsed with cancellations and postponements sweeping across every region on Earth (the band’s own UK tour was just one of many casualties), questions and debates about the band establishing themselves as the driving force in metal almost feel redundant. The bigger and indeed global picture is worrying to say the least and whilst both Randy and Mark reflect on just how big of a shit situation we’re all facing, it is indeed their collective optimism and hope that shines through.

“Our way of life in modern western society for the most part, I’ve always known it’s not sustainable, it’s not fucking sustainable, I think during this time people can maybe look and realise what’s important in life, maybe they can take a second and maybe it will be forced upon them during this time, what’s important in life, start to appreciate it a bit more and stop concentrating on all of this ludicrous materialistic bullshit. Have you noticed that the outrage, the constant outrage over nothing has lessened a lot?” Randy muses. “I think the optimist in me sees there’s this shifting in consciousness where people are realising it’s not always about me, me, me, me, me, what I can get, you know? That’s not working right now. The people who I think that are going to pull through this the best are the altruistic people who are going to try and help other people.” Mark agrees, “we’re fortunate to have music, I think anybody that has a creative outlet, this is a time to be grateful for that. Whether it be through visual art, writing or music – whatever you have – this is the time where they can become really powerful coping mechanisms, more than usual, it has for me anyway! Music will survive, that I do know.”

It seems fitting that we end our conversation with a message of hope. The times may be turbulent but music brings us comfort and judging from the confidence and strength in which LAMB OF GOD display as people and through their music; they are a fitting candidate to lead metal into future years.

Lamb of God is set for release on June 19th via Nuclear Blast Records. The band grace the cover of Distorted Sound Issue 61. Subscribe to our Patreon Page to read it!

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