Since coming into their own with Ashes of the Wake, the members of Lamb of God have been trying to grow their sound without sacrificing their dedicated fan base. For that reason the new Wrath is a bit frustrating: When they try new things, it usually works, but many of the songs are simple re-treads of material they've released before.The record gets off to a great start, beginning with the brief and moody "The Passing," an instrumental that begins with classical acoustic guitars and builds into an electric prog-metal chord progression with harmonized guitar leads. From there it's straight to the excellent "In Your Words," an insanely aggressive metal track. The song stays true to the band's sound while featuring a number of departures -- singer Randy Blythe complements his death-metal growls with yells (uncannily) reminiscent of The Haunted's Peter Dolving and howls that evoke Phil Anselmo. The epic outro contains some remarkably dense layering, including what sounds like a synthesizer.
Wrath also ends on a positive note. For more than seven minutes, the apocalyptic "Reclamation" alternates between demented-sounding acoustic guitars and mid-tempo metal mayhem, topped with spoken-word and death-metal vocals respectively. The whole project eventually fades to the sound of rain, a fitting if clichιd conclusion to the song and the album.
The problem is the pesky eight tracks in the middle. There's nothing much wrong with them: Blythe is careful never to over-rely on a single vocal technique, the way he stuck to growls through most of his career. On guitar, Mark Morton and Willie Adler deliver their trademark complex, high-speed, high-octane cross between death, thrash, and groove, and they even pull off a few new tricks -- lots of harmonization, the occasional acoustic or clean electric passage, and even some catchy solos, such as those on "Set to Fail," "Grace," and "Everything to Nothing." The rhythm section, anchored by drummer Chris Adler, sounds as tight as ever.
What's wrong is that most of these tracks don't have quite the "it" factor that those on Ashes of the Wake had, probably because the band can't seem to decide whether to evolve its sound or stick to what's worked in the past. The varied vocals are a step in the right direction, even if we still don't know what Blythe's clean singing voice sounds like, and the twists to the guitarists' approach are nice. But still, in the end, one can't help but think that if you took most of these songs and plopped them into the middle of Wake, it would be hard to notice anything amiss.
Hopefully, this record is a tentative step that will lead Lamb of God down a path of musical exploration. No one wants them to put out a nu-metal album, but most fans aren't happy buying the same material over and over, either. What would be nice is a whole album of compositions like "The Passing," "In Your Words," and "Reclamation" -- songs that turn the band's typical formula on its head, keeping the listener on his toes. Instead, with Wrath, we get half measures: A few bright spots sprinkled amongst standard fare, evidence that the band wants to change but is too afraid of what its fans will think.
For those who loved LOG's past efforts and want more, Wrath will satisfy. This is, after all, a great band that always turns out tight, intense music. For those looking for development, the verdict is less clear -- there's certainly evolution, but it's usually of the stick-your-toe-in-the-water variety. Maybe next time they'll jump in.
Robert VerBruggen is an associate editor at National Review.
