Ez Luscombe
Lamb Of God are generally well-respected in the metal world, and Into Oblivion is a rhythmic celebration of all things groovy, hard-hitting, and angry. With iconic frontman Randy Blythe recording his vocals at Redondo Beach’s Total Access studio which boasts a number of seminal punk records ranging from Black Flag to Hüsker Dü, the music may be pure, no-nonsense metal, but there is a certain punk spirit and energy to the record that can’t be disputed. Hard-hitting tracks such as the furiously chugging riffs on single ‘Blunt Force Blues’, and the fast-paced grooves amongst an array of social critiques on ‘Parasocial Christ’ demonstrate this wonderfully. The latter may not be as hooky as some of their earlier material, but the ferocity and passion is still found across these ten tracks which definitely makes Into Oblivion a worthy listen.
Opening and title track ‘Into Oblivion’ has a bouncy aggression that’s almost impossible not to headbang to, and lead single ‘Sepsis’ kicks off the new era of the band with distortion aplenty, an effective spoken-word delivery from Blythe, and industrial strength bass tones which have an attractive layer of sludginess. Longtime producer Josh Wilbur (Trivium, A Day To Remember, Korn) also works his magic as someone who has worked with the band since their 2009 album Wrath, and his dedication to all things heavy and aggressive shines through greatly on this release;
This is especially true on the thrash and speed metal influences of yesteryear on ‘St. Catherine’s Wheel’, the blast beat-heavy ‘Bully’, and the dynamic animosity of final track ‘Devise/Destroy’. The Virgina quintet are so much more than a band at this point, they are a collective and each member is a force of nature within the group. Despite Randy Blythe being in the industry for over thirty years, his vocals show no sign of slowing down, both guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler compliment each other on every single track, bassist John Campbell adds another level of depth to the heaviness, and newest addition Art Cruz provides solid grooves that rival previous drummer and legend Chris Adler.
Into Oblivion may not be the most experimental metal record in the world, but Lamb Of God’s sheer dedication to finding a formula that combines the classic sounds of 80’s thrash with groove metal is something that fans have flocked to see since the late nineties. They may not be making hour-long songs or experimenting with unusual time signatures any time soon, but if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.