For over a decade, Lamb Of God had one of the most perfect discographies in metal this side of the millennium. Not only were they continually changing, experimenting and evolving, they were always getting those deviations right, without having to dilute the formula that made them so good. Inevitably, as it does with the majority of bands, that type of career trajectory couldn’t continue. 2015’s Sturm Und Drang added more melody, but it didn’t quite kick like their best material, and both 2020’s self-titled and 2022’s Omens were decent but didn’t really add anything fresh or original to the LOG sound.
This is at the very least their best album since 2012’s Resolution
The smart money would now be on Lamb Of God coming back every few years to release a decent collection of songs, with one or two standouts that get chucked into the live set that recall, but never match, any of their classic records from the past, right? Wrong. Into Oblivion is a mallet to the back of the skull to anyone who believed that Lamb Of God’s best days were behind them. It is, at the very, very least, their best album since 2012’s Resolution, and it might even top that.The seeds are set early with the title track, which explodes immediately on a riff and an intense Randy Blythe vocal that recalls the classic Walk With Me In Hell. It’s an impressive start, but things really take off with third track Sepsis, a grinding, industrial-tinged, noise rock-inspired track that features Randy giving a partially spoken word delivery. It sounds a bit like Big Black, a bit like Ministry and yet it’s still unmistakably Lamb Of God. There’s also the grunge-y El Vacio, opening with its clean guitar part reminiscent of Tool’s Schism and its mournful, Alice In Chains feel. Once again, it’s only when a hulking groove arrives during its chorus that it truly sounds like a Lamb Of God song.
These oddities and deviations have always been one part of the key to a successful LOG album. The other part is the knack for incendiary, state-of-the-world ragers delivered in classic Lamb Of God style. Into Oblivion has plenty of those as well, and guitar duo Mark Morton and Willie Adler deserve extra special credit for pulling out some of the grooviest, twistiest and turniest riffs of their entire career. St. Catherine’s Wheel is a thrash/speed banger that could have been lifted straight from Ashes Of The Wake, Blunt Force Blues sounds like a juiced-up Blackened The Cursed Sun from Sacrament and Parasocial Christ goes as hard as they did back on debut album New American Gospel. Longtime producer Josh Wilbur also deserves a mention for making sure that everything sounds as oak-tree thick and razor-blade sharp as they needed to really make the songs soar.This duality between the familiar, performed at its highest standard, and the interesting dynamic range combine to make Into Oblivion a proper brilliant late-career renaissance for Lamb Of God. They’re not just back, they’re BACK back.Into Oblivion is out this Friday, March 13. Read more about Lamb Of God in the new issue of Metal Hammer, out now
