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DISCOGRAPHY
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Metal messiahs Lamb of God still slaughter the competition.
Wrath
(Epic)
Rating: 
Penthouse Pick: “Contractor”
For ten years, Virginia hard-rock titans Lamb of God have earned their metal cred producing album after blitzkrieging album, each packed with furious songs heavier than Mario Batali on a pasta bender. So it’s quite a surprise to hear their new record open with the plaintive plucking of—gasp!—an acoustic guitar. But breathe easy, heshers: It’s just a brief instrumental. Track two, “In Your Words,” erupts with familiar, crushing riffs and lyrics about maggots. Phew—close one. Frontman Randy Blythe, in fact, seems angrier than ever. His superpissed growling on the vicious anti-Blackwater screed “Contractor” is the sound of a man choking on his own bile. This leaden bellowing is key to Lamb of God’s success: When paired with thunder-drummer Chris Adler’s attack, Blythe’s vocals lift Wrath from mere metal to something approaching percussive poetry. “Mankind is a festering parasite,” he doth proclaim on “Reclamation.” That may or may not be true, but we sure aren’t about to argue with him.
