<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEmpty actions to fill the time<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commercial gods keep you in line<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Industry and empire thrive<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While you’re dying for, always more\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Lamb of God, \u201cGears\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Now, here is the articulate wisdom that graces the 9th spot this week (debuted at #1 in March):
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cGotta shoot two at her (yeah)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayy, gotta shoot two at her (and you are Lil Uzi? Vert, let’s go)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayy, stay with the blue cheddar (whoa)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That girl, she got with my clone<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I told that lil’ girl that she gotta just do better, whoa (one, two, three, let’s go)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Lil Uzi Vert, \u201cFutsal Shuffle 2020\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Uff da!<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\nVirginia-made metal juggernauts Lamb of God released their new self-titled album in June. Yet, while still charting, the album was no match for tunes about healthy posteriors or the artist\u2019s bank account information. And, yes, debuting where they did is still a tremendous accomplishment for a metal band that does not talk only about their feelings.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut, it is not nearly the commercial performance they had last time with VII: Sturm und Drang<\/em>, which peaked at number three on the chart back in 2015. Is it because this new album is not quite like their 2015 masterclass? Maybe, but not by that <\/em>much.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cDistraction flows down an obsessive stream<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rejection grows into oppressive screams\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Lamb of God, \u201cMemento Mori\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The world is scary right now, and Lamb of God<\/em> is not afraid to admit it with a wrathful growl unlike most. The new work highlights themes such as internet disinformation, the lack of civil discourse, the flaws of the \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d, and school shootings. These themes are difficult to discuss (I bet you shuddered just slightly on the inside after reading them) and were even slightly difficult for me to bring up in print. However, it must<\/em> be brought up in order for something <\/em>to happen, conservatively or liberally. Seems simple enough, at least for Lamb of God.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cAnother massacre, another day gone by<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is this the new abnormal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pursuing illusions as we turn a blind eye<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the new abnormal\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Lamb of God, \u201cReality Bath\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Lamb-of-God-pic-from-Consequence-of-Sound.jpg?fit=790%2C444\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The track \u201cReality Bath\u201d bats 4th on the album for a reason. Sweet Jeff Hanneman, what a lyrical slugger this song is from the first phrase (too explicit to share here). Although it throws more gas bombs into the fiery debate of gun control, it is able to do so in a biting rapid fire of words not seen since Slayer.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI’m the resurrection man<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A jackal in a three-piece suit<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Death and taxes for the damned<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brought to heel beneath my boot\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Lamb of God, \u201cResurrection Man\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Lamb of God is renowned for its effective breakdowns. No, not the clunky computerized ones Hot Topic kids push each other to nowadays. Just plain, natural, filthy tempo changes. I am talking about Pantera levels of filthiness. You get this and much more in \u201cResurrection Man\u201d, a vengeful track about the negative effects of trickle-down economics.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis album is also one of the band\u2019s new drummer, Art Cruz\u2019s, best performances. Cruz, in his first album since replacing fan-favorite Chris Adler, at least temporarily muted most critics with his seamless tempo changes and superb fundamental craftsmanship. Give him a chance, die-hard L.o.G. fans. Adler\u2019s fingerprints are on everything <\/em>released before this album, of course it will not sound exactly the same.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cBecause you’re not a human being, just a fine to be paid<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just the cost of doing business in their cancerous trade<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More collateral damage to be swept away<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A footnote in the story of their moral decay<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Know you’ll never find compassion in their empty souls<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From their ravenous eyes to their corrupted bones<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life means nothing to them as our history shows<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Endless chemical warfare waged on our homes\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Lamb of God, \u201cPoison Dream ft. Jamey Jasta\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The more I read these lyrics over, the more I realize why the government tried to censor music back in the 80\u2019s. \u201cPoison Dream\u201d with Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta would be a politician\u2019s worst nightmare if people would actually read the lyrics. Musically speaking, the riffs are tasty with a crispy showing from Cruz. Lyrically, it is a beast and one of the best written on the album.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nUnfortunately, most people put their earplugs in a long time ago.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nLamb of God <\/em>does exactly what a self-titled album should, and that\u2019s to show listeners the band\u2019s overall message, sound, and attitude. It displays the controlled guitar anarchy mixed with poignant political lyrics in a patented groove that just makes you want to boogie-woogie.
<\/p>\n\n\n\nJust like every L.o.G. album has done before. From a political standpoint, you can agree or disagree with what is being said. Constitutionally, you can even believe <\/em>that \u201cthe devil\u2019s music\u201d should be eliminated altogether. But, can we at least admire the intestinal fortitude it took to release such a volatile album in such volatile times?
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhether they root for the elephant or the donkey, Lamb of God continues to inform instead of distract, since no one else seems to want to.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BY JUSTIN SABATA \u201ci DoN\u2019t LiKE tHEm ANyMoRE, theY\u2019Re tOo PoLITicaL!\u201d Here are some lyrics from an album that debuted at 15th in this week\u2019s… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":55807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3399,55],"tags":[69,106,12479,13853,103,290],"class_list":["post-55805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-reviews","category-opinion","tag-fhsu","tag-fort-hays-state-university","tag-justin-sabata","tag-lamb-of-god","tag-tiger-media-network","tag-tmn"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/album-from-LOG-official-site.png?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55808,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55805\/revisions\/55808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/55807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Lamb of God, \u201cPoison Dream ft. Jamey Jasta\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Lamb of God, \u201cResurrection Man\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Lamb of God, \u201cReality Bath\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Lamb of God, \u201cMemento Mori\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Lil Uzi Vert, \u201cFutsal Shuffle 2020\u201d, 2020<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n