metal

Lamb of God

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Richmond, Virginia's groove-metal institution, fronted by Randy Blythe's bark — riffs built for the kind of pit that clears a field.

Lamb of God trace their roots to Richmond, Virginia, where bassist John Campbell, guitarist Mark Morton and drummer Chris Adler formed a band at Virginia Commonwealth University, initially called Burn the Priest. Randy Blythe joined as vocalist and the group released a self-titled debut in 1999 on Legion Records, produced by Steve Austin, before changing their name to avoid being mistaken for a satanic-metal act.

The band's sound combines thrash speed with mid-tempo groove riffing, layered under Blythe's shouted, largely unmelodic vocals. Early reviewers likened the approach to Pantera, and Lamb of God became a leading name in what critics called the new wave of American heavy metal, later grouped with Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold and System of a Down as part of a so-called 'Big Four' of 2000s metal.

Albums including Ashes of the Wake and Sacrament made them one of the most prominent American metal bands of the 2000s. Across twelve studio albums the band has sold close to two million records in the United States, with two albums certified Gold, and picked up Grammy nominations for songs from 2009's Wrath as well as for '512' in 2016.

Lamb of God toured twice with Ozzfest, joined Metallica's World Magnetic Tour from 2008 to 2010, and supported Slayer on its final world tour in 2018 and 2019, cementing their standing as touring stalwarts of American metal.

In 2012 Blythe was arrested in Prague and charged in connection with the death of a fan at an earlier Lamb of God show; he was acquitted the following year after a trial that drew international attention, and he later wrote about the ordeal.

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