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Fear Emptiness Decibel

FEAR, EMPTINESS, DECIBEL: LAMB OF GOD “HIT THE WALL”

Thursday, February 17th, 2011 at 4:00pm by

Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…

Will this generation have its own Big 4? In the way that most of us grew up understanding that term, eh, doubt it. Metal at large — much less thrash — is probably too willfully hybridized now for a wolfpack of similar-minded, crazy-popular, dominant bands to emerge. That said, 10 years from now, will The Kids Today have three or four universally-agreed-upon bands that defined their youth? Sure. It’ll just be called Generation Pornogrind or the TechDeath Twelve.

I’m surely not alone in thinking Lamb of God were gonna be part of a Big… Something a few years ago — along with Shadows Fall, Mastodon and anyone else who miraculously (it seemed miracle-esque back then) got onto a major. They still could be. As grizzled as these dudes are, they maintain a young audience while slightly tweaking their sound each album. (See: Amon Amarth.) They’re talented, they rip, they seem humble and driven. Good shit.

No matter what the future holds, LOG are huge today, and now they’re the hugest band in the Decibel Flexi Series. This month’s exclusive submission is “Hit the Wall,” which was created for last year’s Iron Man 2 video game, although only parts of the track (sans vocals) appeared. (We can assure you that blasting this jam on repeat for two hours beats the shit out of sitting through the actual movie.) Anyway, we’ve got the full version with Randy’s unmistakable vocals, which has never been available until now.


Sony has made the track available digitally, but this month’s flexi is the only physical format the song will appear on.

A super-limited number of issues containing the flexi are now available here. Bonus: most realistic cover blood ever. In retrospect, I should’ve pushed for chunks of brain in the beard.

-AB

You can buy the April 2011 issue of Decibel here, or get a full subscription to ensure you never miss one of these awesome flexi discs!

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  • B-Rent

    Solid, but nothing special.

    • Clancy

      I agree. This track just sounds like a Frankenstein of all of their older songs. Pretty much any of the riffs in this song can be matched with an older song.
      I still love LOG though, and so thankful for them because they are the ones who got me into metal in the first place.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeremy-Schnoor/100000513072818 Jeremy Schnoor

        1

  • The I

    The 2000s’ Big 4:

    - Lamb of God
    - Mastodon
    - Killswitch Engage
    - Between the Buried and Me? Opeth, maybe?

    These aren’t necessarily my favorite bands, but they seem to be the ones that most consistently innovated, maintained popularity, and enjoyed critical acclaim over the decade.

    They also cover a pretty distinct range of metal subgenres, unlike the Big 4 of the eighties.

    • Stu

      Those last 2 (BTBAM/Opeth), while great bands, are nowhere near the size or impact of those others. Honestly, Hatebreed have more of a claim to that than those bands.

      • Ziltoid got caught liking Disturbed

        I agree. Not a fan of them, but Hatebreed have had alot more influence than Opeth or BTBAM, at least in the 2000s’.

        • ACoffinShip

          I’ll third the notion. I’m not a Hatebreed fan but they definitely made waves in the mainstream. They also hit considerably earlier which I think gives them the spot over Avenged Sevenfold (who are mentioned below). While I think BTBAM are an outright superior band they just don’t have the popularity of Hatebreed.

    • David

      Biggest Ozzfest second stage I was ever at had LoG, Slipknot, and Hatebreed all co-headlining.

      I’d venture to say
      -Lamb of God
      -Killswitch Engage
      -Hatebreed
      -Slipknot

      as the biggest (commercially) U.S. metal bands of the 00′s.

      Iowa was one of the first albums to bring extreme metal elements into the mainstream and they stayed a major player for most of the decade.

      • Stu

        I don’t really consider Slipknot in there; they’re more a leftover of nu metal. (even though I don’t personally consider them so.) If you include them, you have to include System of a Down.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jeremy-Schnoor/100000513072818 Jeremy Schnoor

        I don’t understand the Killswitch. They had some good music but they weren’t too influential. As a person who is still learning to play bass (with a history of playing bras instruments), I don’t really see them as influencing how I will and do play music.

        My Bands Are:
        -Lamb of God
        -Hatebreed
        -Amon Amarth (For many aspects of their music)
        -Kreator

        All great bands, they don’t tour obsessively to give you the “Not them again,” feeling, they don’t overdo their music and kill the crap out of music tastes. They all have great aspects of how they play and present their music. These are the bands that get me through my days.

        • Stu

          You’re missing the point.

  • http://www.myspace.com/SentinelMass SENTINEL

    Gotta say I like the geetar solo. Kinda reminds me of a good ol’ Andy LaRocque solo, the way it’s constructed and peppered with harmonizing layers

  • Cysquatch

    There new stuff just doesn’t have that “raw” feeling that made me fall in love with LOG.. I think ashes of the wake is the best example of what I’m talking about. It’s an album that is masterfully produced while still retaining that insane rawdacity.

    I don’t like any of the vocal effects/production that is going on with wrath and this new song. Randy doesn’t need any effects or layering to sound brutal as fuck.

    Also not a fan of the pitched-scream thing randy is trying to swing.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joseph-Schafer/40902026 Joseph Schafer

    So glad i subscribed–this is awesome.

    As much as I have become a Profound Lore/Season of Mist tru-metal snob, LoG always slay. Even their ‘bad’ records are solid front to back and Ashes of the Wake is the best ‘mainstream-extreme’ metal record of the 200′s next to Leviathan.

    The real 2000′s big 4, or The Core 4:
    Mastodon
    Lamb of God
    Avenged Sevenfold (Unfortunately)
    Killswitch Engage.

    Obvi A7X are the Anthrax of those 4, LoG are the Slayer, Mastodon are the Metallica and Killswitch is… Megadave? Well they are goofy fuck ups…

    • Stu

      Leviathon is far from a mainstream-extreme record.
      But I agree with Avenged, they could def be in there.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joseph-Schafer/40902026 Joseph Schafer

        Leviathan wasn’t supposed to be mainstream, but getting rave reviews and repping from NPR, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork makes you mainstream…

        :/

        • stu

          It was still on an indie and wasn’t their “break through” record. Sorry.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joseph-Schafer/40902026 Joseph Schafer

            TOTALLY was their breakthrough record. They were opening for Slayer afterward.

          • stu1

            Opening for Slayer… big deal. Was at that tour. Not their breakthrough dude.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Neil-Forrest-Nalley/1396964302 Neil Forrest Nalley

    Lamb of God
    Killswitch Engage
    Shadowsfall
    The Black Dahlia Murder

    • Drums_ov_death

      Finally someone has it right!!!!!!

  • Biclops

    See, there can’t be a “big 4″ for this generation. It’s best to lump a bunch of bands into the “NWOAHM” category, which would also be the best single summer tour of all time. You have:

    1. Lamb of God – best example of a “mainstream” extreme metal band you’ll find.
    2. Killswitch Engage – essentially responsible for the “metalcore” we now know, for better or worse, but, let’s be honest, awesome band and hook-masters.
    3. Mastodon – the prog nerds of the bunch, and possibly the most talented.
    4. Shadows Fall – keepers of the 80′s faith without being lumped into the “re-thrash” category, and awesome songwriters.
    5. Chimaira – the blunt force trauma of the gang who, thankfully, never gave in to nu-metal.
    6. Darkest Hour – the most heavily influenced by Sweden, yet distinctively American – a true hybrid that you feel guilty calling metalcore.
    7. God Forbid – thrashers with an undeniable focus on the song, but hard to lump in one sub-category – maybe the wild card of the bunch.

    So there’s my big 7. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna see if they want to tour together in 2012. Wish me luck!

    • Stu

      Size-wise, some of those bands are no where near as big as the others. Chimaira were kind of big at one point, but still not anywhere near as big as LOG, KSE, Mastodon. Shadows Fall were up there, but fell off the hardest. DH nor GF have ever been big.

    • Rik

      Have you not heard Chimaira’s first album or what?

      • Biclops

        “never gave in”

        …but certainly dabbled.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-John-Crispen/100000169530540 Jason John Crispen

        yeah, their first 2 albums are pretty nu-metally. i mean they have a sampler for christ’s sake

  • Anthony

    If we’re going by popularity:

    Lamb of God
    Killswitch Engage
    Shadows Fall
    As I Lay Dying

    You could also for Chimaira and Unearth in there

    • stu

      Mastodon is much bigger than Shadows Fall ever were, and Unearth and Chimaira were nowhere close to any of those other 4

  • yzermantiis

    Unfortunate, because Opeth and BTBAM destroy all of these bands

  • WZILLA13

    I had many discussions with friends on this very topic a few years ago, and it was determined that the “new Big 4″ (based on impact/popularity at the time), had counterparts with the old Big 4:

    - Killswitch/Anthrax – the catchiest, more irreverent of their respective bunch.
    - Shadows/Megadeth – technically-driven
    - LOG/Slayer – the most abrasive and brutal
    - Mastodon/Metallica – a bit proggier and more talented

    My personal 4, however:

    - Mastodon
    - Opeth
    - Meshuggah
    - Hatebreed

  • David B.

    Best LOG album is As The Palaces Burn by far. Ashes was alright but after that, the agression and raw power diminished. They should go back towards a less produced and clean sound and go straight for the jugular like they did when they were Burn The Priest and the beginning of LOG

    • Cysquatch

      YES TIMES A MILLION YES!

    • Rik

      I agree that Palaces is the best but Wrath is probably my second favourite. I’m more than happy with the direction they seem to be taking.

  • Jon Miguel

    LoG lost the raw aggression cause there is no the longer the off chance that Randy might fight one the other 4 dudes. The best bands don’t always have to be best friends.
    Killadelphia is the high point in that bands career I think, at least musically.

    Also I think LoG is better compared to Pantera when it comes to influence and there impact on their respective generation of metal heads. Then any of the big 4.

    • msv81

      This doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Randy was the LAST member to join the band when they were still called Burn The Priest. In an interview during one of their DVDs (not sure which one ATM, I haven’t watched either in a while), he spoke about how he and his girlfriend at the time went to a local Richmond, VA metal show where BTP was playing. The first thing he said to his woman was, “I’m going to be the vocalist for that band.” She strugged it off and said, “Yeah. Whatever.”

      A week later he became vocalist and so begun the NWOAHM. Still, while Randy is an essential element of the band’s identity, he would have been the first one to be kicked out if the inner turmoil escalated to the breaking point. It’s not Randy’s band. Burn The Priest’s inception took place around 1990-1991, formed by founding members Mark Morton, Chris Adler, and John Campbell. Because of various reasons the band didn’t release their first demo until 1995 and ultimately recorded three demos before Randy entered into the scene.

      I always find it interesting when fans automatically assume that the vocalist of any given band is the “leader” and maintains all executive decision making capabilities. Frontman doesn’t necessarily equate to leader. Also, what does tension between band members have to do with “rawness” of sound? If any one reason can be attributed to “cleaner” production value, it would have to be LOG’s immense commercial success.

      New American Gospel: 100,000+ copies sold
      As The Palaces Burn: 250,000+ copies sold
      Ashes of the Wake: 400,000+ copies sold
      Sacrament: 335,000+ copies sold
      Wrath: 205,000+ copies sold

      The first two albums had “raw” production because the band were still an up & coming act slowly getting their name out to the world of metal. Ashes of the Wake marked an increase in production value and was the first record to debut on the Billboard 200 (#27), and it’s sold more copies than any of their other records to date.

      You really don’t think there’s a correlation between that type of commercial success and the extremely “polished” sound found on “Sacrament”? It’s far and away their “cleanest” sounding album and in my opinion it’s their worst. “Wrath” on the other hand is a return to form and even though it continues to maintain more studio trickery than the first three albums, it also has hints of rawness.

      • missile guided penus

        i think sacrament sold well mainly because of redneck.

  • basshole

    log sucks and so does the nwoahm. groove metal and metalcore.. yea!

  • missile guided penus

    cant see how most are leaving out slipknot out of the discussion of the 2000s big 4. who in the metal scene was/is bigger than slipknot? other than the actual big 4, nobody. also slayer opened for slipknot so…

    • Stu

      SOAD

      • Full Metal Life Jacket

        …who also opened for Slipknot. Not trying to pump up Slipknot here but half of the bands in this discussion opened for them, including LOG and Shadows Fall. and I’m talking about the “already pretty big and popular” LOG, not the “nobody really knows who they are yet” LOG.

        • Stu

          And SOAD are MUCH bigger than them now, and have been for years. Slipknot and SOAD are both leftovers from nu metal boom and the reason they don’t fit in this discussion.

  • yzermantiis

    I enjoy LoG for the most part. Really groovy, catchy heavy metal. Much more of a DH fanatic though