On August 31 Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake (Epic Records) officially turns twenty. I was still in highschool and vividly remember stopping by Bullmoose Records in Salem, New Hampshire to pick up my copy. But that’s not to say that those were simpler times.
No, to truly discuss and understand Ashes of the Wake’s cultural standing we have to look back to 2004 and the events that helped form such a seminal release. The United States was still under the shadow of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and morale was dangerously low. Of course, disingenuous politicians – particularly the Republican Party – were quick to use that tragedy as an excuse to launch military campaigns against Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. Not only did these wars face little initial pushback, but they were also applauded by the rattled masses.
But not everyone was willing to toe the party line, especially as the war in Iraq was getting sloppy and no weapons of mass destruction – the reason for the fracas to begin with – were being found. Public trust eroded and folks were getting angry. Enter Lamb of God.
Longtime underground darlings the Virginia unit’s As the Palaces Burn put them on the forefront of the burgeoning New Wave of American Heavy Metal. And with Nu-metal shitting the bed this new crop of bands like Mastodon, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, and Hatebreed were now being courted by major labels and more importantly having access to healthy recording budgets. With the backing of Epic Records, Lamb of God enlisted producer Machine (Coal Chamber, King Crimson, Clutch) and holed up at Sound of Music studios to record the follow-up to the savage As the Palaces Burn.
Ashes of the Wake still channeled the Pantera grooves and heaviness of its predecessor, but stacked on even more Melodic Death Metal and Hardcore Punk to the sonic stew. Also, the crystal-clear production gave tunes neck-snapping tunes like “Omerta” and the hard-charging “The Faded Line” even more potency. Just pay attention to how crisp every cymbal on Chris Adler’s kit sounds throughout this thing. It was clear that if Lamb of God was going to take a chance with a major, they were going to make the absolute most out of the opportunity. And you know you’ve got something good if an absolute banger like “Another Nail for Your Coffin” doesn’t make it onto the final tracklist (with the exception of the Japanese release).
And why was the Iraq war so important to the context? Well, Ashes of the Wake may as well be a concept album about that wretched campaign. What …And Justice for All did for late eighties malaise and Reaganomics, Ashes of the Wake was going for the restless early aughts. Ironically, it’s in its instrumental title track – featuring shredding appearances by Thrash Metal royalty Alex Skolnick and Chris Poland – were Lamb of God spells out the thesis in the form of samples from an interview with disenfranchised Marine Jimmy Massey. And yet it seems like the world is doomed to keep repeating history as Massey’s statements of: “That’s okay; don’t worry about it. Because this is a new type of war. This is an eradication” ring eerily true for what Israel is currently doing in Gaza. But by the time we think we’re reaching the end the opening acoustic passages of “Remorse is for the Dead” lure us in before pulling out the carpet in the form of Adler’s volleys of double kicks and Willie Adler and Mark Morton just loose with piles of molten guitars. The musical assault rages on for nearly five minutes before Randy Blythe growls lines that not only apply to the disaster in Iraq but may as well be the motto for war in general: “I don’t hate you. I’m just removing an enemy. Remorse is for the dead.”
Ashes of the Wake would reach Gold certification for sales in excess of 500,000 units in the US and it was the first of many albums to follow under Epic Records. Eventually, the wars officially ended but the violence in the Middle East raged on as a direct result of our meddling.
Buy the new version of Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake, an expanded 20th Anniversary deluxe edition featuring new mixes by HEALTH, Justin K Broadrick (Godflesh/Jesu), and Kublai Khan TX and Malevolence, as well as demo and live versions of the album’s classic songs, arrives on Aug. 30 via Epic Records and Legacy Recordings. https://lambofgod.lnk.to/AshesOfTheWake20
HANS LOPEZ