Lamb of God and I go back a long way. Their second album, As the Palaces Burn, was the album that really got me into them. Actually, it was the album that got me into metal in general. It is one of the select few albums from the so-called "New Wave of American Metal" that has stood the test of time. Seemingly oblivious to just about every trend, it raised the bar for both technical prowess and brutality in the turn-of-the-century metal scene. Of course, we're not talking about "br00tal deathgrind" here, but Lamb of God were still a band that completely annihilated 99.9% of shitty scenester metalcore.
Okay, fast forward to 2006. Lamb of God are releasing their second album for a major label and reaching levels of popularity even they could not have foreseen. Sacrament is their fourth actual album as Lamb of God, not counting live releases (I don't have to fill you in on Burn the Priest since every Lamb of God review since 2004 has dropped that name), and I can't blame them for wanting to progress, being the forward-thinking headbangers that they are. Yet, from the first time I heard the new single off Sacrament, "Redneck," I knew I would be disappointed with this album. Relax; Lamb of God did not become a synth-pop band or anything. In fact, they really haven't strayed far from their old sound. However, somewhere along the way they seem to have lost the dissonance that I loved so much about the earlier albums. They don't sound on the very verge of chaos anymore, playing every note like they have something to prove.
Musically, this album is the sequel to Ashes of the Wake. The band decided to have Machine produce again, and the sound makes that very obvious. It is still 95% nonstop thrash metal that is still technically impressive. But I found myself yawning at the streamlined song structures that came out sounding just a little too predictable. The bottom-line is that I am disappointed to see a band like this become so much more (gasp!) accessible. Also, Randy Blythe decided to give pseudo-toughguy clean vocals a try, and it just doesn't sound right to me. Fortunately, he uses them pretty sparsely.
"Redneck" is a song I just can't get into. It feels too laid back to be Lamb of God and those clean vocals are front and center. But the album does have its moments. The opener, "Walk With Me in Hell" is so perfectly executed; I can't help but like it. The following track, "Again We Rise," as well as "Forgotten (Lost Angels)" harken back to the old days of Lamb of God and are also very enjoyable. And one of the more unexpected songs on the album, "Blacken the Cursed Sun," turned out really good due to its dark atmosphere that makes you forget its relative mellowness.
I still love these guys to death and am happy that they have been so successful. But Sacrament just doesn't appeal to me as their previous releases did. As the Palaces Burn was like having your face ripped off - twice. Sacrament is more like getting hit in the nose with a wiffle bat. To me, this sounds like the band's attempt at slightly catchier and more polished thrash metal. I'm sure there are lots of people out there who are really into that, but it's not my cup of tea. This is by no means a "commercial" album. The band has just toned down their attack and slowed down a little. If you're just getting into Lamb of God, do yourself a favor and buy their first three albums before giving this one a try. It's not bad, just different.
