I don’t think that Lamb of God needs a further introduction (if you want to know more you can always read my review of the band’s previous album; Ashes Of The Wake). Having put out some mileage on the road since that record the band also put together a very ace DVD called Killadelphia. When that was set and done the quartet from Richmond headed into the rehearsal room to write their new album called Sacrament.

 

As soon as “Walk With Me In Hell” kicks in you’ll notice a slight change in sound. A bit more melodic layering in the guitars, soon to be accompanied by that typical Lamb of God guitarplaying and vocalist Randy Blythe seems to use a bit more range in his voice; resulting into a more varied sound without drifting off the path this band has been on since As The Palaces Burn.

 

One of the highlights is the track “Redneck”, with southern-rock orientated riffs as we might know from greats like Pantera and Black Label Society, with Blythe doing his best Phil Anselmo impression (and excelling very well at that!). Definitely a keeper for the set list.

 

The band keeps the torch of “New Wave of American Metal” up with songs like “Forgotten” and “Foot To The Throat”, with some almost Testament-like guitar playing, solos that actually fit the song (which is something quite rare these days) and some impressive drumming by Chris Adler.

 

My version of the CD came with one of those “Making Of” DVDs. You know, those things that often get thrown in as a second thought, containing a video clip and maybe a few minutes of studio and band antics. Fortunately, the LoG guys took the effort to make this disc worth watching. It contains a 90 minute documentary involving the whole writing and recording process, made with the same production values as Killadelphia. If every band did this it would seriously make buying CDs much more interesting because of this added value.

 

To say that the band has pushed any new boundaries would be exaggerating, however the band toys around with slightly more melodically ideas here and there. On my first listening I was a bit disappointed because Sacrament seemed to miss some of the raw energy that I heard on Ashes of the Wake, but it turned out to be just as good because of the little details the band has put in.