Once Lamb of God's career skyrocketed with the undoubtedly DIVINE Sacrament, only good things could be expected in the future career of the Groove Metal gods. However, as good as following records may be, you'll always get the feeling it's just never going to top Sacrament.
The most noticeable change in the new album is Randy's vocals, he apparently had some vocal training between the two albums to stop him tearing his vocal chords and it definitely shows. In some places they sound quite surprisingly out of place, such as the chorus to 'Set to Fail', which can give a certain edge to it at times but might make some listeners think he can't keep up the blistering screams and squeals he used to do. The guitars don't have a complete turnaround and keep the Drop-D groovy feel as Sacrament had (and thrived off) but as much as their technical skill with speed and complexity still blows many bands out of the water, the riffs simply aren't as memorable and catchy as, say, Redneck from Sacrament. There are some, such as Dead Seeds, which are downright repetitive and disappointing. Moshability is definitely still a strong factor, however, and these songs live are a great experience, some of them matching the likes of Walk With Me in Hell.
The album doesn't kill Lamb of God's career by any means and fans will on the whole find this to be a very enjoyable listen, but it seems that Sacrament's extremely high standard was a little too good to stick around. Nonetheless, a worthy buy and one of the best records of 2009, from one of the best bands around at the moment.
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