Lamb of God (album)

Lamb of God is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Lamb of God. The album was initially set for release on May 8, 2020, through Epic and Nuclear Blast, but was later pushed back to June 19 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3][4][5] Lamb of God marks the first studio album of all-new material by the band since 2015's VII: Sturm und Drang, making it the longest gap between their albums, and the first to feature Art Cruz as the replacement for original drummer Chris Adler, who left the band in July 2019.^[6] Lamb of God was once again produced by longtime collaborator Josh Wilbur, who has worked with the band since 2006's Sacrament.

Lamb of God
Studio album by Lamb of God
Released	June 19, 2020 (2020-06-19)
Recorded	2019
Studio	Studio 606 (Northridge, California, United States) The Halo Studio (Westbrook, Maine, United States) Flagship Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States) In Your Ear Studios (Richmond, Virginia, United States)^[1]
Genre	Groove metal^[2] thrash metal^[2]
Length	44:42
Label	Epic Nuclear Blast
Producer	Josh Wilbur
Lamb of God chronology
VII: Sturm und Drang (2015) Lamb of God (2020) Omens (2022)
Lamb of God overall chronology
Legion: XX (2018) Lamb of God (2020) Omens (2022)
Singles from Lamb of God
"Checkmate" Released: February 5, 2020^[3] "Memento Mori" Released: March 17, 2020 "New Colossal Hate" Released: April 23, 2020 "Routes" Released: May 29, 2020 "Ghost Shaped People" Released: February 19, 2021

A three-disc deluxe edition with two bonus tracks, along with an additional CD and DVD featuring the band's live stream event from September 18, 2020, in which the band performed Lamb of God in its entirety plus four encore tracks, was released on March 26, 2021, through Nuclear Blast.^[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10^[8]
Metacritic	81/100^[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
Blabbermouth.net	8.5/10^[10]
Consequence of Sound	A^[11]
Exclaim!	7/10^[12]
Kerrang!	4/5^[13]
Louder Sound	^[14]
Metal Storm	6.0/10^[15]
NME	^[16]
The Rockpit	8/10^[17]
Rolling Stone	^[18]

Lamb of God received critical acclaim from music critics upon its release. At review aggregate Metacritic, the album has an average score of 81 out of 100 based on eight reviews, indicating "universal acclaim reviews".^[9] At AnyDecentMusic?, the album has an average score of 7.5 out of 10 based on six reviews.^[8]

James Christopher Monger from AllMusic awarded the album four out of five stars, describing the album "a tense, yet confident album for taut and uncomfortable times."^[2] Manus Hopkins from Exclaim! scored the album 7 out of 10, and said that while nothing in Lamb of God feels "groundbreaking" or "cutting-edge" like the band's previous albums, the album is still "essentially what fans should expect from the band at this point."^[12] James McMahon from NME also gave the album four out of five stars, calling the album "a record that's the most authentic version of the band Lamb of God want to be."^[16] He particularly singled out the song "Memento Mori", which "driven by Mark Morton's unforgiving guitar, flirts with the ethereal goth of the Sisters of Mercy."^[16]

Kory Grow from Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, stating that the album contains "the sort of piledriving guitar riffs and Olympic-medal-worthy drumming the band has perfected over the last 20 years" which making it easy for the band's "less political fans" to "get in on the fun."^[18] He also praised Blythe's "open-minded" and "inclusive" lyrics that make listeners to "strain your ears to make sense of his screeds."^[18]

Accolades

Accolades for Lamb of God

Publication	Accolade	Rank
Consequence of Sound	Top 50 Albums of 2020	40^[19]
Loudwire	Top 70 Rock & Metal Albums of 2020	N/A^[20]
Metal Hammer	The 50 Best Metal Albums of 2020	17^[21]
Revolver	Top 25 Albums of 2020	14^[22]
Loudwire	The 35 Best Metal Songs of 2021 ("Ghost Shaped People")	28^[23]

Commercial performance

Lamb of God debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, selling 30,000 album-equivalent units in its first week of release, of which 27,000 were pure album sales.^[24] The album also debuted at No. 2 on both the Current Album Sales and Top Rock Albums charts, and No. 1 on the Hard Rock Albums charts.^[24]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lamb of God

Lamb of God track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Memento Mori"	5:48
2.	"Checkmate"	4:30
3.	"Gears"	3:55
4.	"Reality Bath"	4:32
5.	"New Colossal Hate"	4:30
6.	"Resurrection Man"	4:59
7.	"Poison Dream" (featuring Jamey Jasta)	4:57
8.	"Routes" (featuring Chuck Billy)	3:04
9.	"Bloodshot Eyes"	3:57
10.	"On the Hook"	4:30
Total length:		44:42

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Ghost Shaped People" (also in limited digipak boxset and Japanese edition^[25])	4:05
12.	"Hyperthermic/Accelerate"	4:04
Total length:		52:51

Live in Richmond, VA - Deluxe edition bonus live CD/DVD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Memento Mori" (live)	5:51
2.	"Checkmate" (live)	4:39
3.	"Gears" (live)	3:57
4.	"Reality Bath" (live)	4:48
5.	"New Colossal Hate" (live)	4:38
6.	"Resurrection Man" (live)	5:20
7.	"Poison Dream" (live)	4:55
8.	"Routes" (live)	2:56
9.	"Bloodshot Eyes" (live)	4:21
10.	"On the Hook" (live)	4:28
11.	"Contractor" (live)	4:00
12.	"Ruin" (live)	3:56
13.	"The Death of Us" (live)	4:11
14.	"512" (live)	5:19
Total length:		63:19

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[1]

Lamb of God

• Randy Blythe – vocals
• Mark Morton – lead guitar
• Willie Adler – rhythm guitar
• John Campbell – bass
• Art Cruz – drums

Additional musicians

• Jamey Jasta – guest vocals (on "Poison Dream")
• Chuck Billy – guest vocals (on "Routes")
• Samantha Wilbur – children voice (on "Memento Mori")
• Maxwell Wilbur – children voice (on "Memento Mori")

Production and design

• Josh Wilbur – production, engineering, mixing
• Kevin Billingslea – engineering
• Nick Rowe – engineering
• Oliver Roman – engineering (additional)
• Jerred Pollaci – engineering (additional)
• Evan Myaskovsky – engineering (additional)
• Kyle Hynes – engineering (additional)
• Matthew Erlichman – engineering (additional)
• Paul Bruski – engineering (additional)
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• K3n Adams – artwork, art direction
• Randy Blythe – photography
• Travis Shinn – photography (band)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performance for Lamb of God Chart (2020) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[26] 5 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[27] 8 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[28] 23 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[29] 15 Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[30] 11 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)^[31] 62 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[32] 44 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[33] 6 French Albums (SNEP)^[34] 117 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[35] 7 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[36] 19 Italian Albums (FIMI)^[37] 96 Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[38] 39 Scottish Albums (OCC)^[39] 8 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[40] 4 UK Albums (OCC)^[41] 16 UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)^[42] 1 US Billboard 200^[43] 15 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[44] 2

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Lamb of God Chart (2020) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[45] 94

References

1. "Credits". Lamb of God (booklet). Lamb of God. Nuclear Blast Records. 2020. NB 5375-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
2. James Christopher Monger. "Lamb of God - Lamb of God". AllMusic. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
3. "Lamb of God Announce Self-Titled New Album + Release New Single 'Checkmate'". Wall of Sound. February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
4. "LAMB OF GOD To Release Self-Titled Album In May; Track Listing, Cover Artwork Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
5. "LAMB OF GOD's Self-Titled Album Pushed Back To June". Blabbermouth.net. April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
6. "It's Official: LAMB OF GOD Parts Ways With Drummer CHRIS ADLER". Blabbermouth.net. July 19, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
7. Kory Grow (February 5, 2021). "Hear Lamb of God's Crushing 'Ghost Shaped People' Off Upcoming Deluxe Edition". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
8. "Lamb Of God by Lamb Of God". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
9. "Lamb of God". Metacritic. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
10. Dom Lawson (16 June 2020). "CD Reviews - Lamb Of God Lamb Of God". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
11. Michael Pementel (June 16, 2020). "Lamb of God Deliver the Album of Their Career with Self-Titled Effort: Review". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
12. Manus Hopkins (June 19, 2020). "Lamb of God Have Plateaued — but Their Self-Titled Album Proves That's Not Such a Bad Thing". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
13. Sam Law (June 18, 2020). "ALBUM REVIEW: LAMB OF GOD – LAMB OF GOD". Kerrang!. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
14. Dom Lawson (June 19, 2020). "Lamb Of God's Lamb Of God: self-titled, hook-powered thunder-crunch". Metal Hammer. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
15. "Lamb Of God - Lamb Of God review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
16. James McMahon (June 16, 2020). "Lamb Of God – 'Lamb Of God' review: metal deities show no sign of letting their wrath subside". NME. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
17. Andrew Massie (June 7, 2020). "ALBUM REVIEW: Lamb Of God – Lamb Of God". The Rockpit. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
18. Kory Grow (June 18, 2020). "Lamb of God Embody 'The American Scream' on Self-Titled Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
19. "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
20. Divita, Joe; Al-Sharif, Rabab; Childers, Chad; Hartmann, Graham (November 30, 2020). "The 70 Best Rock + Metal Albums of 2020". Loudwire. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
21. "The 50 best metal albums of 2020". Metal Hammer. January 8, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
22. Madden, Emma (November 25, 2020). "25 Best Albums of 2020". Revolver. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
23. Al-Sharif, Rabab; DiVita, Joe; Hartmann, Graham; Richardson, Jake; Trapp, Philip; Summan, Yasmine (December 6, 2021). "The 35 Best Metal Songs of 2021". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
24. Robert Pasbani (June 30, 2020). "LAMB OF GOD's New Album Debuts In Top 15 on Billboard 200". Metal Injection. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
25. "「Lamb of God / ラム・オブ・ゴッド」 | Ward Records". ワードレコーズ | Ward Records (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 September 2020.
26. "Australiancharts.com – Lamb of God – Lamb of God". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
27. "Austriancharts.at – Lamb of God – Lamb of God" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
28. "Ultratop.be – Lamb of God – Lamb of God" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
29. "Ultratop.be – Lamb of God – Lamb of God" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
30. "Lamb of God Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
31. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 13.Týden 2020 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
32. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lamb of God – Lamb of God" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
33. "Lamb of God: Lamb of God" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
34. "Top Albums (Week 26, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
35. "Offiziellecharts.de – Lamb of God – Lamb of God" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
36. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 26. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
37. "Italiancharts.com – Lamb of God – Lamb of God". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
38. "ラム・オブ・ゴッド" [Lamb Of God] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
39. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
40. "Swisscharts.com – Lamb of God – Lamb of God". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
41. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
42. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
43. "Lamb of God Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
44. "Lamb of God Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
45. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2020.