.:Confessions of An Information Junkie:.

I've been listening to two bands a lot quite a lot for the past two weeks, which lead me to write this post. All those who have been following metal for the past decade have been patiently waiting for some band to take over the reigns of the likes of Metallica and Iron Maiden. The onslaught of nu-metal had brought creativity,guitar solos and riffs to a complete halt. Alright, the nu-metal revolution did bring some good music along with it provided by the likes of KoRn, Papa Roach and later on at the start of the new millenium, Linkin Park. The latter has now lost its dedicated fan following of troubled youth who embraced their music as a source of relief. Linkin Park achieved what every other metal band had failed to do :

Making a successful crossover to the pop genre but still managing to maintain their fast decaying metal roots.

Everyone in the music industry knows that commercial success is what eludes any metal band. Of course, the pioneers in each of the hundred metal sub genres would have had their 15 minutes of fame and got their fair share of the dough that came along with it. But, is the world paying any heed to what metal reallllly has to offer?

The degradation of the genre had resulted in old-generation metalheads raising their arms in protest at the formula driven music being dished out to cater to the the zillions of Brtitney loving MTV a**holes. After much trying, the devoted metalheads couldn't embrace the nu-metal sound and were poppin Sabbath and Maiden classics in their cd changers once again. Year 2002, and metal was witnessing a change in order. The metalcore sound was slowly beginning to find a liking among the quality-starved metalheads. Thus, began the NWOAHM(New Wave Of American Heavy Metal) revolution which initially served the purpose of cleansing the metal airwaves of all the nu-metal garbage. Two years on, the revolution has not only ceased to stop but also now enjoys an ever-widening fan base. A fan base, that can filter the good metal from the bad - the time had finally arrived for the true metalheads to once again rebuild the remains of the devastated metal empire.

This post will be a four part series featuring my opinions on four of the bands who I personally feel are single handedly fighting the fight to save the face of metal. These bands have the talent and potential to reclaim metal from the hands of wretched music corporate big wigs. I am going to review one of the big metal bands across the Atlantic who are spearheading the NWOAHM(New Wave Of American Heavy Metal) charge. So without further adieu, I bring to you Melodic Deathcore giants Lamb Of God.

LAMB OF GOD

The name of the band in no way reflects the kind of music or the message their lyrics drives through your concrete brain. This severely underrated, politically charged quintuplet from Richmond are ruling the radiowaves with their simple yet in-your-face metal.

The band in its early days featured the trio of Mark Morton, Chris Adler and John Campbell who were strumming away at their guitars in Virginia Commonwealth University, making instrumentals but with no vocals to back up the blistering riffs and heavy basslines. Adler moved to Chicago and later Randy Blythe was brought on board to lend his choking vocals into this frenzy. The seeds of Lamb of God were ready to sprout but with a different name. The quartet decided to call themselves Burn The Priest. The band's live performances were getting rave reviews and in no time were the biggest metal act in Richmond. This doesn't come as a surprise though as the band exercised (and still continues to do so!) a rigorous work ethic of practising five days a week to 'keep up with the pace' of other metal acts in the Richmond area.

Mark Morton returned to the band after the completion of his post graduation and after playing together for a year, Abe decided to quit the band. Abe's exit opened the door for Willie Adler, younger brother of drummer, Chris. After a year playing together, they band deciced to call themselves Lamb Of God!! They finally landed a record deal in the year 2000 with Prosthetic Records and released their first album New American Gospel. After heavily touring to support their debut release, the band finally released their sophomore effort As The Palaces Burn. ATPM was critically acclaimed with prominent rock magazines claiming it to be the best release of 2003. Lamb Of God's third installment Ashes Of The Wake was released in mid 2004 with Epic Records and helped add some credibility to the dwindling talent-starving metal scene. Ashes Of The Wake with its crisp production, was immediately declared a metal masterpiece.

Lamb Of God are now hailed as the saviours of the American Metal scene and being constantly stated over and over in the media to be playing Pure American Metal. You might finally find a classification which can modestly define the kind of music they play. But Lamb Of God is the only band in the scene offering raw, gut wrenching, complex metal. Lamb Of God embodies everything that metal is about. They have stomped the point across that being on a huge record label need not deter a band from making quality music.