Lamb Of God - Ashes Of The Wake
2004 Sony
by Skin Splitter

Quick Summary:
The third release from the quintet, who call Virginia their home.  With As The Palaces Burn a huge success, one like myself would wonder why?  Why release a new album in just over one year?  Why try to supersaturate the market?  Well, I'll tell you why.  Having changed record labels after every album, Lamb Of God once again switches from Prosthetic Records to Sony.  With that in mind, they had to show Sony that they were completely capable of writing new material while they were/are considered one of the hottest bands in mainstream metal today.  Well, whoops guys.  As is the age-old story, when a band rushes, it's the fans that suffer, and in this case it is exactly that.

Lamb Of God has been in a decline ever since New American Gospel (yes, Burn The Priest is GREAT, as well).  The problem with this album as opposed to the others is that with the previous releases, you could tell the differences between the songs.  Ruin sounded nothing like 11th Hour, which sounded different than As The Palaces Burn, different from Confessional, form Pariah, etc, etc.  In this case, what we got was one song (Laid To Rest) that stands alone.  Most of the other songs sound like filler and not their best effort.  Song number two is just a weak song in a power slot.  An instrumental for the second to last song?  What?  Usually the last song from any Lamb Of God CD is either just an explore track.  But two in a row?  Weak.  And that's really what the album is, weak songs in power slots.  Combine that with the absolute ridiculous, blatant political anti-war lyrics that have infested in this album ad nauseam (As The Palaces Burn made references, but NOTHING like this), and you create a step in the wrong direction.  Thanks.  As for the music quality, that is a step back, as well.  The songs are not as fast, less drum-work (not enough different drum sounds as opposed to their previous albums), easier riffs, different production, abysmal mixing and CD layout, and the worst part, putting the vocals in the forefront.  All in all this is still unmistakably Lamb Of God with Lamb Of God style.  However, this is a step in the wrong direction and could be the turning point to change the diehard fans to walk away disgusted as once again, a good metal band goes down the wrong path for fortune.  Not quite a sellout performance, but usually a change like this is either due to drugs or a change in lineup.

Website:  www.lamb-of-god.com

Song Summaries:

1. Laid To Rest - The best song on the album.  Their hit, their music video, their cash cut.  This song could fit on any Lamb Of God album (with the exception of Burn The Priest) with ease.  Impressive and sticking to their roots.  A
2. Hourglass - Not a bad song, but this one is not in the right spot.  In the power spot, you put this up, not good.  Would have been better if it was later in the album.  It’s pretty cookie cutter for Lamb Of God, but at 2:08 it gets a little interesting.  Still not mind blowing to any degree.  C
3. Now You've Got Something To Die For - I call this one of their filler songs.  Just straightforward and doesn't really add anything to the album except for time wasted.  There is a new sound from them at 2:02.  A slide guitar.  Sounds almost like Dimebag in "Suicide Note Part 2".  Just a lower key.  This is followed by a nice change in tempo, but you have to deal with the first two minutes of crap to get to any of this.  Not worth it in my eyes.  C-
4. The Faded Line - I’m going to tell you the best part of this song right now.  :42-1:02.  That is what I expect from them in terms of drumming.  The rest of the song is now that bad once again.  This is the second best song on the album.  Tempo changes, transitions, a well thought out song.  B+
5. Omerta - After the intro words from Randy, skip to the next track.  This one is slow, and doesn't change very much at all.  Nothing you haven't heard before.  A filler song if I ever heard one.  D
6. Blood Of The Scribe - Ahhh...a nice fast song for me to sink my teeth into.  It all goes to hell after the first minute.  I felt like I was getting the audio equivalent of Cruel Intentions.  Brings you so close only to drop you so fast.  They try to pick it up in the next minute, but by then you should already be moving on.  C-
7. One Gun - Maybe my standards are set too high, but every song that I don't like from Lamb Of God sounds like this one.  As soon as I hear a certain part of the intro, I know exactly what this sound will be like and I'm rarely wrong.  The only decent thing is there is a solo at 2:12.   It's an o.k. solo, but really a distraction.  D+
8. Break You - This one is straight forward as all hell, but I like the guitar work here and that kept me interested...for the first :40 seconds.  Then I felt like I was punched in the stomach with a Buick Roadmaster.  The chorus is just AWFUL.  Then came the worst part for me:  At 2:09 I got a reminder of what they used to be.  The vocals change into that chanting style from old.  Back when you couldn't understand what he was saying (which I am very thankful for now) and when the grunts became part of the music.  Then it goes back to the new style and I was lied to once again.  Please never tease me again.  C-
9. What I've Become - This is a good song.  End of story.  It's a song like this that used to make me think (in the olden days) that this band was from another country.  This one has it all.  Speed, some scale that makes it sound like Middle Eastern guitar, a solo, good drum work, stamping beat.  Head moving fun.  A-
10. Ashes Of The Wake - The instrumental.  I don't really know what to say to this except this should have been the last song.  Most of this is just crap/filler.  If you skip the first three minutes, you get to an actual good part that I wish they would do all the time.  C+
11. Remorse Is For The Dead - The typical slow intro ending song for most Lamb Of God albums.  If you can get past the intro and the main verses, there is a transition to a slow section that is very impressive.  Unfortunately, if you take all the parts of these songs that are actually good, you have about four quality songs out of eleven.  Not an impressive track record.  C

Average Song Rating:  C+
Overall Album Rating:  C-

Also be sure to read:
Burn The Priest - Burn The Priest by Skin Splitter
Lamb Of God - As The Palaces Burn by Skin Splitter
Lamb Of God - New American Gospel by Skin Splitter
Lamb Of God - Sacrament by Horatio

Discography (last updated 9.28.06):
New American Gospel - 2000
As The Palaces Burn - 2003
As The Palaces Burn EP - 2003
Ashes Of The Wake - 2004
Pure American Metal EP - 2004
Killadelphia EP - 2005
Sacrament - 2006