Listening to Lamb of God's new album, Ashes of the Wake, it's hard to believe the Virginia-based heavy metal band is on a major label, Epic Records. Ashes of the Wake is an unrelentingly brutal album, with songs like "Now You've Got Something to Die For" and "Remorse is For the Dead." Vocalist Randy Blythe has a guttural scream that's the hallmark of death metal, and guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton pound out meaty, punishing riffs that sound nothing like the polished, over-processed music that passes for metal on the radio these days.
But that music is on its way out, and Lamb of God is part of a new movement in heavy music, referred to by some as the new wave of American heavy metal, which includes bands like Shadows Fall, God Forbid, Hatebreed and Chimaira. They're one of the few extreme metal bands with a major label contract, too, putting them even more into the spotlight with an obligation to take the music to the next level.
For bassist John Campbell, though, there are no expectations of super-stardom. He mentions the popularity of heavy metal bands like Metallica and Slayer in the late '80s, but he's hesitant to predict the same kind of success for this new crop of acts. "If it got to be that big again, I would be completely amazed," he says. He has modest expectations for Lamb of God, and a skeptical attitude about heavy music's future. "I don't necessarily expect it to go there," he adds, "but it's definitely come around, and all things being cyclical, it will go away one day."
Lamb of God is more concerned with just getting its music out to fans, whether that's on Epic or one of the smaller heavy metal labels like Century Media. They've been playing their uncompromising, powerful music for a decade now, starting in Richmond, Virginia, under the name Burn the Priest, a moniker that created a level of controversy they weren't happy with. By the time they released their debut album in 2000, the name had changed. "Now everybody thinks we're a Christian band," Campbell jokes.
Lamb of God is most certainly not a Christian band, and some have even tagged them as anti-religious ("leery of authority" is how Campbell describes it). Ashes of the Wake is overtly critical of the political situation in America, and Campbell is blunt about what he sees as a need for change. "If I had the power to choose between continuing doing this rock star thing that's going on and going back to bartending," he says, "and my choice by going back to bartending meant that we didn't have Bush in office anymore, I would happily go back to bartending."
Chances are he won't have to do that, though, even if this new movement in American heavy music never gets beyond the level of underground sensation. Metal fans are notoriously loyal, and a band like Lamb of God can thrive for years, even without major label support. They've already got votes of confidence from former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland and former Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick, both metal legends who lend their talents to Ashes of the Wake's title track. And the close-knit community of contemporary metal bands will continue, regardless of how successful any individual act becomes. "We've all been working on this heavy music scene for the love of the music," Campbell says, "not because we thought we were going to make it."