By Andrew Bansal
American heavy metal giants Lamb Of God released their seventh full-length studio album ‘VII: Sturm und Drang’ on July 24th 2015 via Epic Records, and above all else, it is a product of the band, their vocalist in particular, undergoing dark, long periods of tribulation. In 2012-13, frontman Randy Blythe was jailed for and acquitted of manslaughter charges faced as a result of a fan’s death on a stage in Czech Republic, and during this time, Blythe’s own well-being as well as Lamb Of God’s future were under threat. But, lyrically fueled by the experiences of the vocalist and musically boosted by the heightened levels of skill and maturity of the rest of the group, Lamb Of God have emerged triumphant with what can be best described as their finest hour.
For a band with a two-decade career already under their belt, Lamb Of God have delivered with commendable consistency through each album they’ve released over the years. But their newest effort comes forth with undeniable superiority in all aspects, as is proven straightaway with the fast, ferocious opening track ‘Still Echoes’, and settles into a cohesively flowing avalanche of dynamic musical progressions, unabatedly expressive vocals, and dark atmospheres, all built around a powerful groove. There is absolutely no filler on here whatsoever, and ‘Sturm und Drang’ is the kind of vibe-creating record that is best served in its entirety, but the hauntingly dark and melodic ‘512’, the most progressive Lamb Of God tune written till date ‘Embers’, the longest and lyrically strongest ‘Overlord’, and the guitar-dominant ‘Torches’ are the standouts in the ten-track endeavor.
Aside from the expert songwriting by the guitar duo of Mark Morton and Willie Adler, the crushingly proficient performances by drummer Chris Adler and bassist John Campbell and the ever-aggressive lead vocals by Randy Blythe, the most striking feature of ‘Sturm und Drang’ is the usage of clean singing, not only by guest vocalist Chino Moreno on ‘Embers’ but by Blythe himself, and with as many as three tracks boasting of this variation, this is the most clean-sung Lamb Of God album till date.
With such a massive global fan-base that would gladly consume anything the band would put out, Lamb Of God might as well repeat themselves and have little need to innovate and challenge their creativity at this point of their career, but they earn immense respect for still continuing to do so, and have once again proved their intentions as musicians and songwriters to be completely genuine.
‘Sturm und Drang’ justifies Lamb Of God’s stature as the definitive American heavy metal band of the modern era, and contrary to many of their contemporaries, this band and their newest album are ‘mainstream’ for all the right reasons. ‘Sturm und Drang’ is nothing short of a modern-day musical masterpiece.
Rating: 9.5/10
Record Label: Epic
Release Date: July 24th 2015
Track Listing:
01. Still Echoes
02. Erase This
03. 512
04. Embers (feat. Chino Moreno or Deftones)
05. Footprints
06. Overlord
07. Anthropoid
08. Engage The Fear Machine
09. Delusion Pandemic
10. Torches (feat. Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan)
Links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram