Lamb Of God: Desolation – new video

 

 

“The first and foremost thing that you have to realize about LOG (LAMB OF GOD) is that we do exactly what we want, when we want, and how we want to,” stated articulate Randy Blythe. So here comes their new video, ‘Desolation’, taken from these resolute Virginians' latest record ‘Resolution’. Released in January 2012 through Epic and Roadrunner Records, the album has thus far sold over 117,000 copies in the U.S. alone where it had peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. LAMB OF GOD's “100 percent trend-free and intelligently constructed album that could power a small country with its unstoppable energy and potent riffery”, ‘Resolution’, was recorded in studios in Virginia and New York in 2011 and produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur. For further fuel, watch LOG's animated video put together by animation company Moreframe Animation, ‘Ghost Walking’, below.

“Where LAMB OF GOD - among the last real practitioners of the dying art of groove metal - really succeed here is in the simplicity of their approach, shying away from modern studio trickery in favor of a rawer sound that doesn’t make any attempts to smooth the edges off of anything. … Rather than feeling like an indictment of the more heavily processed stuff that’s been on the rise, the album serves more as a reminder that sometimes simpler is better, and that sometimes all you need to make a good album is some flaming hot guitar work, thundering double bass drumming, and a whole lot of screaming,” [wrote Gregory Heaney, AllMusic – the rest here]

“[Here is what bandmembers had to say about their seventh album:] We’re not spitting out a LAMB OF GOD template record. If it’s uninspired or you have nothing left to say, you stop. We’re all putting other things in life off to do this, and we’re not going to do it if gets boring to us. Unlike any other album before, this album was written over the course of a couple of years, at least with the guitars. Willie [Adler, guitarist] and I starting songwriting as soon as we started touring with ‘Wrath’,” [explained guitarist Mark Morton. Added drummer Chris Adler:] “A lot of bands get to the point where they put out seven or eight records and fans start to take them for granted. They aren’t the “cool guys” anymore. I’m not immune to that, and we wanted to push ourselves and surprise ourselves by not resting on prior successes and by default surprising our fans. What inspires me is to outdo the 21-year-old that I was,” [he continued] “I have to prove to myself that I am still a player in this game and keep up with the best. As a band it was important to us to prove to ourselves that we have something left to offer. We don’t need to put out records anymore, but we want to put out records. We don’t want to tarnish the legacy of the band, so whatever we do has to be stronger than what we’ve done. And we’ve done it with ‘Resolution’. There are some frantic moments in the music [/album which also contains some of “the swampiest, sludgiest stuff” of their career], they sound almost panic-inducing. The album is overwhelmingly aggressive and will definitely get people off their asses and driving fast.” [Concluded LOB's bellowing voice Randy Blythe:] “It’s an introspective record and goes over some uncomfortable things for me. I hope people that hear those lyrics will look at themselves and look at the world around them and say: “This is where I am, I don’t like this” and try to invoke a change in themselves. My overall feeling for this record is “awakening”. I’m 40 years old, and I’m just now really getting some clarity on where my place in my life is. This is about me getting clarity after partying for a long amount of time, looking at my life and saying: “This is where I am, where do I want to go now?”

 

When they started out 1990 in Richmond, Virginia,  guitarist Mark Morton, drummer Chris Adler and bassist John Campbell called themselves “Burn The Priest” for a while, and as such they released three demos and, with singer/drill-sergeant Randy Blythe joining the ranks, their 1999's debut self-titled album (Legion Records). As a deal with Prosthetic Records was signed, Willy Adler became LAMB OF GOD's second guitarist. Their second full-length, 2000's ‘New American Gospel’, has sold over 100,000 copies in the U.S. alone:

“What elevates this Richmond, VA, quintet's assault above the majority of modern metal is the attention given to constructing definite melody and complete songs; this is a creative act who generally is subordinated by most metallers to the pursuit of heaviness,” [commented Patrick Kennedy, AllMusic – more here]

After heavy touring that ensued the release, LAMB OF GOD eventually settled down in a studio with producer  Devin Townsend with whom they recorded their next record, 2003's ‘As The Places Burn’, which was followed quickly by Machine-produced ‘Ashes Of The Wake’, released in 2004 via their new label Epic Records. The album debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200 and has, to date, sold around 400,000 copies in the U.S. alone. LAMB OF GOD continued to climb up the music charts with their once again Machine-produced exceptionally brutal and Grammy nominated album ‘Sacrament’. Released in 2006, ‘Sacrament’ debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200. Documenting multiple live performances from across the globe on their ‘Sacrament’ World Tour, LAMB OF GOD issued a live DVD ‘Walk With Me In Hell’ in 2008. Josh Wilbur-produced ‘Wrath’, released in 2009 on Roadrunner/Epic, nearly conquered the American music charts, debuting at number 2 on Billboard Top 200 chart and selling over 68,000 copies in its first week. A bulky 3-disc retrospective entitled ‘Hourglass: The Anthology’, covering their independent releases as well as their major-label ones, was issued in 2010.

LAMB OF GOD features: Chris Adler – drums, John Campbell – bass, Mark Morton – guitar, Randy Blythe – vocals and Willie Adler – guitar