Lamb Of God
Sacrament

Politics, death, oppression, violence, anger all embedded in an urban-apocalyptic-industrial context, and then translated into music. In a word, "Sacrament", to thoroughly explain the concept, the latest album of Agnello Di Dio, though preferably Lamb Of God.

The American band decides to pursue the path already developed with "Ashes Of The Wake" in 2004, an album that differed from the first two with a more compact sound, also due to a decidedly better production. The differences with its predecessor may seem minimal on a casual listen, and one of these, which gave me immense pleasure, is the inclusion of a constant solo approach throughout the entire path of death traced by the five from Richmond, Virginia. Mark Morton has not hidden his appreciation for Jeff Loomis (soloist on the six strings of fellow countrymen Nevermore) and it is especially noticeable in the incredibly fast solos that, on the previous album, could only be appreciated in the pseudo-instrumental title track. The rhythm of the guitars recalls the past, but Meshuggah-style reminiscences can be noted particularly in tracks like the opener "Walk With Me In Hell" and the concluding "Beating On Death's Door". The dark track "Blacken The Cursed Sun" is also beautiful, as is the energetic "Again We Rise". The choice of the single is also excellent, with "Redneck", a very direct and fitting track to promote the album.
Returning to the band members, we start again with front-man and singer Randy Blythe, once more spitting fire and flames between powerful Growls and Screams, though much more "human" compared to the past where he seemed to have truly risen from hell. The rhythm section deserves a separate discussion, and certainly not a simple mention. Chris Adler is devastatingly powerful, so much so that finding drummers as powerful in the extreme field is difficult; let's say that people like Bostaph and Lombardo can hardly compete, perhaps Gene Hoglan can be considered on the level, along with Meshuggah's drummer Tomas Haake. John Campbell, on the other hand, "limits" himself to follow the guitar, but when the level is this high, unless you're Steve Di Giorgio, you can do very little, and yet the bassist does a more than honest job. On rhythm guitar, we find Chris's brother, Willie, who demonstrates the excellent technical predisposition of the Adler family towards Metal.

If you crave reasoned violence and extreme technical prowess, the new Lamb Of God album is what you need. If Thrash Metal continues to stay afloat, it is precisely thanks to bands of this caliber. The purists accustomed to an "Fistful Of Metal" by Anthrax or a "Fabolous Disaster" by Exodus might disagree, but who cares. Proposing an album like the two just mentioned, in 2006 would be quite anachronistic, so it doesn't matter whether Lamb Of God is Metalcore, Post-Thrash, or Industrial-Hardcore-Metal, what matters is that they continue to keep up with the times, producing excellent albums. "Ashes Of The Wake" was the surprise, "Sacrament" is the confirmation.

Rating: 8