Lamb of God (band)
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994 as Burn the Priest, the group consists of bassist John Campbell, vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, and drummer Art Cruz. The band is considered a significant member of the new wave of American heavy metal movement.
This article is about the band. For the term in Christian theology, see Lamb of God. For the band self-titled album, see Lamb of God (album). For other uses, see Lamb of God (disambiguation).
Lamb of God
Burn the Priest (1994–1999, 2018)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
- Groove metal
- metalcore
- thrash metal
- death metal (early)
1994–present
- John Campbell
- Randy Blythe
- Mark Morton
- Willie Adler
- Art Cruz
- Matt Conner
- Abe Spear
- Chris Adler
Since their formation, Lamb of God has released eleven studio albums, including two under the name Burn the Priest; their most recent album, Omens, was released in October 2022. The band has also released one live album, one compilation album, three DVDs, two EPs, and twenty-eight singles.
The band's cumulative sales equal almost two million in the United States, including two albums certified Gold by the RIAA. In 2010 and 2011 the band received Grammy nominations for songs from their 2009 album Wrath. They also received a nomination in 2016 for their song "512". Lamb of God has toured with the Ozzfest twice. Other appearances include Download Festival and Sonisphere Festival in the UK, Soundwave Festival, Mayhem Festival 2010 and Gigantour. From 2008 to 2010 they toured as part of Metallica's World Magnetic Tour, and supported Slayer on their final world tour in 2018 and 2019.
As the Palaces Burn documentary[edit]
In February 2014, a documentary film featuring Lamb of God entitled As the Palaces Burn was released worldwide. The documentary, directed by Don Argott, began filming in 2012 and was set to focus on fans of the band but drastically altered its scope following the arrest of lead singer Randy Blythe on charges of committing intentional bodily harm stemming from the death of a fan following a concert in Prague two years earlier.[122] The film has been met with positive reviews by critics.[123]
Musical style and influences[edit]
Lamb of God is considered a significant member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement,[124][125][126][127] having been referred to as one of "big four" bands of the movement, along with Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Unearth.[128] The band is mainly considered a groove metal band.[61][129][130][131][132][133][134] Their music has also been described as metalcore,[135][136][137][138][139] thrash metal,[135][139][140] and death metal.[135][141][139] Lamb of God's 2000 album New American Gospel has been described as "grindcore and death metal for the hardcore kids".[142] The band's 2004 album Ashes of the Wake has been described "to showcase their thrash and melodic death metal influences and break out of the metalcore category critics tried to push the band into."[18] The band incorporated more thrash metal elements in later albums, which was shown as a direction on Wrath (2009) and Resolution (2012).[143][144][145][146] Burn the Priest has been called a fusion of thrash metal, death metal and hardcore punk.[147] The Burn the Priest cover album, Legion: XX has been described as crossover thrash,[148] hardcore punk,[148][149] punk rock[149] and sludge metal.[148]
Lamb of God's influences include Pantera, The Accüsed, Septic Death, Drunk Injuns, The Faction, Black Sabbath, Obituary, Bolt Thrower, Corrosion of Conformity, Napalm Death, D.R.I., Machine Head, Shellac, At the Gates, Metallica, Testament, Slayer, Meshuggah, Megadeth, Aerosmith, and the Jesus Lizard.[150][151][152][153][154] Although Lamb of God is a heavy metal band, the band's vocalist Randy Blythe is a more avid fan of punk rock than heavy metal, and refuses to consider himself a "metalhead".[150]