After This Album, Metal Music Was Changed Forever: 20 Years Later, and It Still Holds Up!

A visionary mix of thrash, groove, and death metal from the New Wave of American Heavy Metal’s finest.

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During the late ’90s and early ’00s, the umbrella term of New Wave of American Heavy Metal (NWOAHM) competed against nu metal as the biggest thing going on in the genre.A vague term, the movement encompassed a diverse range of acts that could fit under subgenres like metalcore, groove metal, alternative metal, and industrial.One of its flagship bands in the ’00s was Lamb of God, praised for their mix of hardcore-leaning aggression, technical precision, and melodic sensibilities.The group’s 4th album (counting their previous incarnation as Burn the Priest), “Ashes of the Wake”, remains not only one of the most celebrated records of the NWOAHM era but also one of the most defining moments in modern metal.To celebrate the album’s 20th anniversary, we look back at what made this record so special, and how it went on to impact heavy music as a whole in the following decades.

From Gospel to Epic

After a 5-year run and a modest debut as Burn the Priest, Lamb of God changed their name in 1999 and dropped “New American Gospel” with a solidified line-up, which added Willie Adler on rhythm guitar as a 6-string pair to Mark Morton.

The record, albeit plagued by a production too rough around the edges, was praised for its blend of influences that went from grindcore and death metal to thrash and hardcore.

Its 2003 follow-up, “As the Palaces Burn”, went on to achieve greater acclaim. With a spotless production by Devin Townsend and the band, the record is a massive display of catchy riffs, crushing aggression, and hints of a developing melodic edge that would be honed in following releases.

Hailed as one of the finest metal albums of the 21st century, “As the Palaces Burn” earned Lamb of God a major label deal as they signed with Epic.

And at a time when the last remnants of nu metal and post-grunge dominated mainstream heavy music, the band’s 4th record upped the stakes set by its excellent predecessor, tearing a hole in the genre and changing metal for good.

War, Gold, and Riffs

Released in August 2004, “Ashes of the Wake” took inspiration from one of the most divisive moments in modern American History, influenced by the Iraq war and its entailing themes of revolution, loss, and power.

Heavily political, the album’s criticism of US politics and portrayal of Army life gave a timely backdrop to some of the finest and most pissed-off metal instrumentals of the 21st century.

Musically, “Ashes of the Wake” is a mix of metalcore, thrash, groove, and melodic death metal, with frontman Randy Blythe’s passion for punk and hardcore being noticeable in his vocal delivery and on fast-paced tunes like the uptempo “Break You”.

Commercially, the album became Lamb of God’s best-selling effort, earning a Gold certification in the US and climbing to No. 27 on Billboard. The record’s success was largely propelled by the strength of the lead single “Laid to Rest”, arguably the band’s biggest hit.

A Modern Masterpiece

Hailed as one of the best guitar-driven albums of this century, “Ashes of the Wake” deserves every bit of its praise, as a masterclass in catchy riffs, heavy breakdowns, and metal songwriting.

Mark Morton and Willie Adler are on fire throughout the record, delivering riff after riff that is as memorable as it is heavy and intricate, with clear melo-death and thrash influences while still sounding unique.

Bangers like the frenetic “Hourglass”, the socially conscious “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For”, or the aggressive “Omerta” all display fantastic guitar work, elevated by Blythe’s unique vocals and Chris Adler’s creatively frantic drumming.

While the album has a very cohesive musical soundscape and lyrical theme, it offers interesting moments of diversity that make for a dynamic listen.

These could come on the apotheotic frenzy of solos of the title track, with contributions from Testament’s Alex Skolnick and ex-Megadeth’s Chris Poland, or with the band’s melodic sensibilities at full display, such as in the melancholic intro to closer “Remorse is for the Dead” or the uplifting outro on the bonus track “Another Nail for Your Coffin”.

Overall, “Ashes of the Wake” is a monumental masterpiece, cementing Lamb of God as one of the best metal bands of the ’00s and delivering a brilliantly-produced album with a unique mix of melody and crushing heaviness that was tight, intricate, catchy, and angry.

The Legacy of ‘Ashes of the Wake’

A resounding critical and commercial success, “Ashes of the Wake” put Lamb of God on the mainstream map as one of the best bands to come off the NWOAHM movement.

The group followed that masterpiece with “Sacrament” to similar commercial and critical success, before leaning more heavily on their thrash influences on 2009’s “Wrath” and 2012’s “Resolution”.

Lamb of God’s more recent output, although criticized for a certain degree of blandness, has explored more melodic passages and alternative influences.

Starting with “VII: Sturm und Drang”, the band became more adventurous in experimenting with clean singing and ethereal guitar work, even as it eventually lost Chris Adler’s genre-defining drum work when the musician left the fold in 2019.

Their consistent career was built on the group’s early work, and more specifically on “Ashes of the Wake”‘s success, which laid the blueprint for their core sound over the next two decades.

Not only that but Morton and Adler’s dual guitar work and the band’s blend of melo-death, metalcore, and punk elements went on to influence a whole new generation of musicians.

From the mid-to-late ’00s wave of death metal-leaning metalcore to the crushing heaviness of modern hardcore bands like Knocked Loose and Code Orange, many acts have Lamb of God and “Ashes of the Wake” to credit for creative riff-writing and blend of heavy genres, with even peers like Machine Head borrowing from this sound later in their career.

All in all, “Ashes of the Wake” remains as fresh and timely now as it did 20 years ago, and its fantastic songwriting and groundbreaking sound should be celebrated just as much today as they were in 2004.