Lamb Of God

Lamb Of God emerged in 1998 amid a nü-metal landscape of turntablists and rappers, Mike Patton wannabes, and pseudo-frightening costumes purchased from post-Halloween bargain bins. The Virginia band (then known by its original handle, Burn The Priest) wasn’t having any of it, however, opting instead for the long-haired, sweaty thrash metal of Slayer and future tourmates Metallica. Now that nü-metal has all but bitten the dust, LOG has risen to the top of metal’s mountain of skulls. Its screamed vocals and bloody-stumps-for-fingers guitar playing has become the 21st century’s hard-rock standard. The band’s last two albums, 2006’s Sacrament and 2009’s Wrath, open up LOG’s song structures with prog-rock movements and a more pronounced rhythm section. The latest,Resolution, is due at the end of January.

Updated 01/17/2012