After exploding out of Virginia in the early 2000s Lamb Of God quickly found their groove — quite literally in a musical sense — and put out a string of good-to-great metal records. ‘Into Oblivion’ is their 10th, arriving off the back of a run of lukewarm releases that have threatened to upset that balance. The question is whether they continue that streak or if there’s fuel yet left to keep them going — the answer isn’t a simple yes or no.
‘Into Oblivion’ isn’t quite the home run it initially hints at being, but it’s certainly the most interesting record Lamb of God have offered up in some time. Its opening title track bursts out of the gate with grooving, hulking riffs, Randall Blythe’s gravel-gargling roar and thunderous double kick.
The energy levels are high as Parasocial Christ takes on the baton, but the first diversion isn’t far away.
Sepsis changes things up early on, Blythe utilising spoken word like a crazed preacher from the pulpit, alongside sludge-metal tempos and grimy bass.
This experimentation is certainly welcome, even if it doesn’t always fully land. El Vacio, a grunge-flecked slow burn, finds Blythe once again utilising clean singing, as he did previously on ‘The Duke’ EP a decade ago.
This aspect of his performance has certainly improved but they still don’t entirely fit in Lamb of God’s world. That said, the callback to the band’s ‘Sacrament’ era with Blunt Force Blues is welcome, as is the Crowbar-chanelling A Thousand Years.
Varying the pacing, rather than going all in on barrel-chested groove metal, works in Lamb of God’s favour here, as does the record’s free spirit, no matter the unevenness it leads to. Its forays into grunge, sludge and thrash give ‘Into Oblivion’ a refreshing edge. It sounds like the band are having fun trying new things this far into their career.
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