Ashes Of The Wake was released on August 31, 2004, by the Grove metal band Lamb Of God. They would focus on the point of this album being about the Iraq War that started a year prior to the album’s release. This album has sold over 500,000 copies and is a certified gold album.
Lamb of God is a groove metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1994. Lamb Of God is a five-piece band that has always had a brutal sound, whether it’s on an album or a live show. Randy Blythe is the vocalist, and there has never been another vocalist for the band. He writes amazing songs, has a brutal metal-sounding voice, and always puts on a good live show. He is one of my top ten favorite vocalists in the metal scene. Mark Morton is the lead guitarist and co-founder of the band. He is an amazing guitarist with the groove metal sound mixed with the more modern metalcore licks. Overall, he’s an amazing songwriter who writes perfect licks and solos to top of Lamb Of God’s songs. On rhythm guitar is Willie Adler, who just like Mark has that groove metal sound of the 90’s with some metalcore sound alongside it. But the big difference is the fact that he’s on rhythm, so instead of crazy leads, he writes the heavy riffs that make that band so iconic. Something I find interesting about the guitarist is that they only play in drop D tuning, which isn’t too low compared to most of the tunings used in metal music thats this heavy. Bassist John Campbell has very good rhythm and impactful basslines that really make him fit in with the band. And lastly drummer for the album was Chris Alder, and I think what makes the music so good is the drummer. In Lamb of God, the groove and sound stick out so much; all the drummers of the band are amazing with sound and skills. Even when I saw the current drummer live last year, he did so good and even in a huge stadium show, I could still feel the drums from my seat. This band has written some amazing songs, heavy riffs, and beautiful solos, but I still can’t believe how good their live performances are. One of my favorite bands for live performances is the energy they bring on stage. They can connect with the crowd, start some of the biggest mosh pits iv seen live, and they all do amazing play instruments, especially the drummer who makes sure you can feel his playing even from the seats in stadiums.
Ashes Of The Wake was released in 2004, and the main focus when writing it was the Iraq War/its aftermath and the heaviest riffs of the year. Ashes Of The Wake would be the album where the band started getting big and a lot of attention. The album starts off with Laid To Rest, starting with a chromatic riff at a medium pace that sets the mood for the whole song. The rest is riddled with a similar riff but faster and a lot of pinch harmonics, and a groove metal drum beat with a snare that hits like a gunshot. The song is about one of the vocalist’s exes, and the name Laid To Rest is the ending of that relationship. The song is named after the album Ashes Of The Wake has a good riff, but the lead parts are crazy with reverb and insane harmonics all over and constant shredding. But what I find interesting is what the song is about; it starts with clips of an interview with a Marine sergeant talking about some of the things he had to do in the war. This song overall touches on the war and the aftermath of it. Probably my favorite song on the album is Hourglass with one of the band’s best riffs being fast and heavy, then slowing down at certain parts, same with the drums. The meaning, I think, is talking about how the government and the American people are blind to their lies. Break You another song with amazing riffs being more of a fast pace metalcore style, and towards the end it throws in some chugs for a little bit of a wich up that fits the song perfectly. Remorse Is For The Dead, another song I love the riffs, leads, and drum beats for. Starts with a clean guitar tone and then moves into the high-gain riffs with one of the best breakdowns on the album. I think the meaning of the song is about the Iraq War and how you can’t be remorseful in a war, or it’s over for you. There are so many good songs on this album, but these are some of my favorites off of it.
If you love groove metal and a little bit of metalcore or just one of the other, I would check out this album. Both of the drummers who have been in the band do amazing. The guitarist of the band does amazing with the high-gain masterpieces they write. And the vocalist has a sound like no other and is well known with the band’s placement in the groove metal community. If you want to hear a metal masterpiece of the 2000’s check out this album.
