Wrath

Arguably the best band in metal today, Lamb of God brings a unified front to their material and their performances that’s hard to beat. Wrath is a crispy compilation of good post-millenial, hardcore-inflected thrash metal. Randy Blythe still growls, but that’s not the only trick up his sleeve. Like Phil Anselmo, Blythe can sing when he wants. It’s just that most of the time, he just don’t want. Besides, dude screams in key.

A few curve balls: “The Passing” is a delicate acoustic piece, and “Grace” has a pretty little intro before vomiting back into the chuggy thrash and symphonic harmonized leads we know, love and, dammit, expect from this music. “Broken Hands” and “Contractor” teem with brutal riffs and bellowed vocals, but everything is done melodically. These are songs, not just bursts of noise. If you’re not a fan by now, you’ll probably never get it, but know this: If you don’t like Lamb of God, you don’t like metal.