Lamb of God takes it all in with Sacrament

Baaaaaad to the bone Lamb of God defines American death metal by Christine Leonard December 14, 2006 Metalcore comes in many shapes and sizes but when you’re talking about Virginia’s nihilistic quintet, Lamb of God (L.O.G.), things couldn’t be any less cute and fluffy. Building their own vicious empire, these malevolent thrashers arose from the putrefied ashes of the band known as Burn the Priest. Eschewing their all-too-obvious moniker in favour of the curlicued creature biblically associated with Jesus Christ, they have gone on to achieve far greater heights than even they could have imagined. Founding member Chris Adler took a break from the band’s demanding tour schedule to share his insights and experiences as chief percussionist for L.O.G. "Our bass player John Campbell and I are the ones who started the band back in the day," Adler fondly recalls. "My brother Will is our main guitar guy and he’s always bringing in new guitar riffs for me to try out. I then have the advantage of taking my time and thinking about the perfect drum beats to go with his melodies. We don’t want to sound like your average Joes, but then again we’re not reinventing the genre or anything. We just want to create something genuinely unique. My part is to decide where my body’s going to be in the piece – where I want my limbs to fall amongst the guitar and vocals." Stepping out of the ordinary and finding new vistas to conquer has given Lamb of God the freedom to further explore their sound and to flesh out their take on American death metal. Looking back at a discography that encompasses releases such as Ashes of the Wake, As the Palace Burns and New American Gospel, the band is thrilled by the reception given to their DVD debut Killadelphia (Live), that gave many fans their first glimpse of L.O.G. in action. Since then the Atkins brothers along with fellow band members – guitarist Mark Morton and acid-throated howler Randy Blythe – have returned to the studio to hammer out their latest album Sacrament with the help of producer Machine (King Crimson, White Zombie, Godflesh). "Sacrament is not as progressive as it could have been, but by the same token we’re not trying to perpetuate the notion that we’re a partying groove metal kind of affair," Adler explains of their meticulous approach to the recording process. "Our goal was to select songs that include a variety of styles and to showcase our potential in the best light possible. There was a lot of pressure to do something we haven’t done before. Our previous albums have typically been dark and depressing, creepy and strange. We’ve done our best to break away from the two-and-half-minute formula; every song has a different vibe to it."