While you may be aware of Lamb of God’s status of one of the leaders of American metal for over fifteen years, you may not know how passionate the members of the band are about their fellow people. Perhaps that doesn’t matter to you, and you only like your music without the entanglement of human affairs included with your “bree bree bree” death vocals. Maybe music is your ultimate escape from the coils of life and you’d rather not think about the hard stuff.
However, for the guys in Lamb of God, music is not mutually exclusive to them from everything else. From local activism in their community to frontman D. Randall Blythe using his notarity to bring attention to good causes; the band adds personal fire to their sonic screeds. Their new EP The Duke (Epic) was inspired by the plight of a late fan Randy connected with, and they want you to think about this as you listen to it.
As Ghost Cult reported earlier in the month the EP is a tribute to a fan who recently lost his battle against leukemia. The band launched their highly anticipated Propeller campaign. Mega LOG fan Wayne “The Duke” Ford lost his battle with cancer and the band was inspired to create this release. They are auctioning off merch for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.(WWW.LLS.ORG). You can see the details of the campaign below. From the new songs in this release, it’s clear that Wayne’s life and the loss of it affected them deeply.
The track ‘The Duke’ itself is a great track, as good as the best tracks on last years VII: Sturm Und Drang (Epic) album. Featuring even more of clean vocal stylings of Blythe as first heard dominating a track for the first time in last years’ ‘Overlord’, Randy turns in an incredible singing performance. Many long time fans may not dig it, but Randy’s has a great voice and I would welcome in more of this in future Lamb of God. Especially in the verses, he takes on a smoothed out Mike Patton -esque chilled tone. It is highly effective in delivering the philosophical lyrics about life and death and chill-inducing from first note to the last
‘Culling’ is your typical crushing LOG track for all you purists. Just a riff-fest through and through, full of head-nodding beats and licks. A tasty solo and a relentless groove makes this another excellent effort. The track also marks a return to the Chris Adler solo-drum fill drop that usually gives music nerds a major ear-boner and has helped inspire his legion of fans. They make this kind of track sound so easy sometimes, it’s scary.
The rest of the EP is comprised from live performances of the VII: Sturm Und Drang material. Lamb of God is a terrific live band and while they have several cool concert DVD’s and live albums, there is nothing like seeing them in person. ‘Still Echoes’- recorded at Rock Am Ring 2016 sounds immense with the crowd element. A massive rendering of the lead track of that album. The final two tracks are from the bands Bonnaroo set last year. When you hear the opening notes/signature riff of ‘512’, you get the goose-flesh feels all over. A modern classic, that is all the more intense when you understand that it recounts Randy’s imprisonment in Czech Republic a few years back. ‘Engage the Fear Machine’ is an underrated track that seems even more relevent than when it came out, following recent events in the US.
The Duke is a great tribute EP to a fallen fan, and best of all supports a great cause. Please pick up up today!
8.0/10
KEITH CHACHKES
– Randy Blythe’s Ashes of the Wake gold record plaque
– Signed signature model guitars
– Signed copies of handwritten lyrics
– Signed copies of The Duke EP on CD
– Signed copies of The Duke EP on Vinyl
– Signed copies of Randy Blythe’s book
– Pair of Chris Adler Pro-Mark Drum Sticks Signed by Chris
– Signed Drum Head
Contributors who give $5 or more will automatically be entered to win Randy Blythe’s Ashes of the Wake gold record plaque.
At www.propeller.la/lambofgod, you can also contribute to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society without receiving a reward.