"The roots of Lamb of God were planted in 1990 when Mark Morton, Chris Adler and John Campbell were floor mates at Virginia Commonwealth University. The trio began playing at Adler's house in Richmond weathering chilly conditions. "There was no heat at the house," recalls Campbell. "We would freeze our asses off, get really drunk and hang around the kerosene heaters trying to write metal songs. Kerosene fumes and Black Label beer were definitely what fueled our early days."
After graduation, Morton moved to Chicago to pursue a master's degree, but the band continued. A new guitarist, Abe Spear, replaced Morton as the band retired its instrumental sound and added Blythe on vocals.
The quartet, known then as Burn the Priest, became a fixture in the tightly-knit Richmond music scene. To compete with the high-level of musicianship displayed by their contemporaries, the band adopted a rigid practice schedule. "To this day, we practice five days a week out of necessity," says Campbell. "The bands in Richmond can flat outplay you and if you don't practice, they will blow you off the stage. Bands like Breadwinner and Slanglouse - two local math-metal bands - could play insanely complicated music note perfect. They inspired us to raise the bar musically and taught us the work ethic we needed to be a success."
The band was playing around Virginia when Morton moved back from Chicago and re-joined the group. Soon after, Burn the Priest released a self titled full length album on Legion Records. Abe left soon after, which opened a spot for guitarist, and brother to Chris - Willie Adler.
A year after the second Adler joined, Burn the Priest changed its name to Lamb of God and signed a record deal with Prosthetic Records." This is a quick Bio of Lamb Of God found at http://www.lamb-of-god.com/ashes2/info/bio.php.
In my opinion this is Lamb Of God at their finest. So with no further adue, I shall begin my review.
1. Laid To Rest- The album kicks off with an excellent song. Laid to Rest is the first single on the album. In my opinion it is Lamb of God's best song. It starts with some crazy guitar playing and into some great drumming. The vocals in this song are fantastice. This is a must love song for any LoG fan. Definately a great start to a great album. 5/5
2. Hourglass- This one kicks off with more great guitar and drum playing. The vocals in this one are definately below par in my opinion. The lyrics are pretty good and the vocals do get better near the end. The end of the song is very well done it ends with some crazy guitar playing and some good singing. A decent song, 3.5/5
3. Now You've Got Somthing To Die For- As usual this song starts with some awsome guitar and drum playing. The vocals are very well done while the lyrics are very repetitive. This whole song is very good but it is also very repetitive in lyrics and instruments. Overall a good sog 4/5.
4. The Faded Line- This is a slower song than others on this album. Although it isn't slow it is slower than the previous songs. The intro isn't as well done as other songs but still pretty good. The vocals are very well done as well as the lyrics. 4/5.
5. Omerta- This is my leaste favourite song on the CD. It is slightly boring in my opinion. It opens up with an interesting little...thing... talking about hounor and such. It then goes into a decent guitar and drum intro. I couldn't stand the lyrics in this song. The constant yelling of "Omerta!!" got very old very fast. Overall a poor song with an interesting meaning. 3/5
6. Blood of the Scribe- Starts with a good, not great guitar intro similar to every other LOG song. It goes into some top-notch screamo-ish singing, and some slower guitar playing. Some good screams and definately some good lyrics. The end of the song is also wel done. A very well done song. 4/5
7. One Gun- A GREAT song. It has an interesting transition of fast and slow guitar playing in the intro. It goes into some very good singing. Im not a fan of the lyrics in this song but its still very good. The end is the best ending on this whole CD. It has an almost arabic feel to it. 4.5/5
8. Break You- This song definately has the shortest intro on the album. It starts with about 1 second of guitar then goes straight to the vocals. This is one of the slower songs on the album. The meaning is quite good and the lyrics are well done. Break You is a pretty good song, but nothing special. 3.5/5
9. What I've Become- This song goes back to the crazy intros with well done guitars and drummung. The singing is very good, and the lyrics are terrific. There is a very good guitar solo about 1:20 into the song. The end is the only complaint i have about the song. It is abrupt and dull in comparison to the other songs on this album. 4/5
10. Ashes of the Wake- The title of the album. This starts off with the familiar intro, and goes into another dialogue similar to the one in "Omerta", about the war in Iraq. It explains how the army killed many innocent civilians in Iraq because they were prejudice against all arabic looking people. It then goes back into a long instrumental, with some excellent guitar playing and some good drumming. This song has THE best guitar playing out of all the songs on the album, in my opinion. I am sure many people will agree with me on that point. This song is the longest song on the album, wich is great because it has the best guitar of all the songs, but it would have been nice o have some singing. About 5:00 into the song their is another dialogue by the same guy about how he doesnt want to kill any innocent people and he refuses to do so. So! 5:44 of amazing guitar playing, but no singing. I love this song but i can see some people hating it. 4.5/5.
11. Remorse is for the Dead- This is a very VERY slow song at the start wich is nce for the final song on this classic album. After about 1:15 it suddenly goes into some crazy guitar singing and some awsome vocals. The lyrics are great and the meaning is very good. At 5:15 into the song the vocals go all wacky and everything goes very weird into an almost aquatic feel, then it ends. 3.5/5.
SO! I'm done my first review. I'm glad i did it for this album because it is one of my favourie albums ever. I love LOG and this is my fav album byu them. Please leave me some feedback on how i did and some tips for future reviews.
Peace Out!
