Lamb of God – “VII: Sturm Und Drang” [Album Review]

Let’s be honest, we’ve all seen some fucked up stuff on the Internet. Nothing I’ve ever come across, however, has ever brought the words “holy shit” to my lips this many consecutive times.

The first few seconds of VII: Sturm Und Drang instantly resets my pulse from “puppy ambling down the beach” to “jackhammer on solid concrete,” only the concrete can’t be broken through – Lamb of God’s seventh studio album is by far the most cohesive, solid, and absolutely the hardest release the Richmond groove-metal masters have put out since 2004’s Ashes of the Wake.

“Still Echoes,” the opener to the album, sets the tone for the near-hour of headbanging, fuck-someone-up heavy metal that not one among us can resist the urge to bang our head to. Lamb of God’s masterpiece is laden with some of the gnarliest breakdowns of the decade, soaring lead guitars parts on top of pounding rhythms, and a vocal performance by Randy Blythe that explodes with the pure, raw rage of… well, what I imagine you feel after being locked in a Czech prison for five weeks.

The band collaborated with Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno, whose appearance on “Embers” is a wonderful contrast to the raw aggression that makes up most of the album (see “512”, “Delusion Pandemic”). Greg Puciato of Dillinger Escape Plan also guested on “Torches”, which is the one track on the album that I didn’t completely fanboy out to.

For lack of a better way to put it, VII: Sturm Und Drang is unbelievably good. It’s one of those albums that will almost constantly have you completely rocking out to it in inappropriate social situations – just be sure to keep the air drumming to a minimum at Grandma’s funeral. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to listen to it again and need to find someone to kick in the face.

Track Listing:

01. Still Echoes
02. Erase This
03. 512
04. Embers (feat. Chino Moreno)
05. Footprints
06. Overlord
07. Anthropoid
08. Engage the Fear Machine
09. Delusion Pandemic
10. Torches (feat. Greg Puciato)
11. Wine & Piss
12. Nightmare Seeker (The Little Red House)

Run Time: 55:40
Release Date: July 24, 2015

Check out the track “Overlord” here.