Richmond, Virginia’s Lamb of God are one of the premier heavy acts of this millennium. With a instantly recognisable sound, both aggressively fierce yet groove-driven, they’re potentially the biggest American metal act since Slayer or Pantera. Having never truly compromised their style over the course of eight albums, Lamb of God have built up a legion of fans across the world.
As a band with a deep back catalogue nearing 100 songs, the five-piece has plenty of lesser-known material dotted throughout their career – one-off tracks, deluxe edition only numbers and tunes simply overlooked in favour of their higher regarded album-buddies.
For the sake of keeping this list solely Lamb of God orientated, we’ll avoid anything from their two Burn The Priest efforts – the collective that would eventually morph into Lamb of God. So nothing from both the self-titled 1999 release, as well as their ‘revival’ cover LP Legion: XX that came out back in 2018.
So with that in mind, let’s go digging for some of Lamb of God’s finest deep cuts…
Another Nail For Your Coffin
Released as a bonus song on the Japanese edition of 2004’s excellent Ashes of the Wake, “Another Nail For Your Coffin” is a truly a track of two halves. The front-end is all thrash-style drumming and air-tight rhythm guitar attack, while it’s second half features superb melodic riff lifted straight from the Gothenburg-sound playbook, with a wailing Mark Morton guitar solo on top of it to boot. Yes, you could overanalyse it a say that it feels like it’s two seperate leftover songs slapped together, but at this point of their career even Lamb of God’s leftover’s were gold.
Beating On Death’s Door
Closing arguably the band’s best album, Sacrament, “Beating On Death’s Door” is a relentlessly attacking track. The sheer pace on display feels almost overwhelming at times, especially the lightning quick guitar work in the song’s chorus – it’s only the outro that sees a healthy groove give the listener a breath of air. “Beating On Death’s Door” has never seen the live stage, a fact that probably can only be attributed to amount of other great songs that it has to contend with on Sacrament. It’s a shame, as it’s speed-metal, foot-to-the-floor intensity makes it stand out from a lot of Lamb of God’s more groove and technical orientated songs – plus how can you not love the brief intro-reprise at the halfway mark, before it cuts to rampaging Chris Adler drum-fill.
Confessional
A deep cut from Lamb of God’s super-raw debut proper, New American Gospel, it’s been over 15 years since “Confessional” has made into LOG setlist. While the production is far from polished, and frontman Randy Blythe’s vocals aren’t as developed and enunciated as they are today, “Confessional” shows clearly shows that Lamb of God had already begun to hone in on their unique sound. With only New American Gospel’s opening track “Black Label” being routinely featured in their live sets post-2004, perhaps it’s time for the band to pull out some of their earliest material once again.
Culling
Originally recorded during the Wrath sessions back in 2008, “Culling” finally came to light on the EP The Duke over eight years later. The title number for that release is probably one of the most emotional tracks of the band’s career to date, paying tribute to a close friend of the group who had passed from leukaemia. “Culling”, however, is good ol’ pissed off Lamb of God, with Blythe spitting vitriol and Morton, guitarist Willie Adler and bassist John Campbell firing off digit twisting riffs. The fact that “Culling” couldn’t even make the deluxe editions of Wrath shows off the quality of that album, and it’s a great deep cut that’s been tucked away for too long.
Digital Sands
An iTunes exclusive for Resolution, how the rampaging “Digital Sands” was relegated to bonus track obscurity is beyond us. It’s got the classic thrashing Lamb of God verse section, a big chorus, and a great bridge and ending section that would work fantastic in the live setting. A big call here, but Resolution is Lamb of God’s most forgettable album – far too many tunes that don’t quite live up the high standards that the band had built for themselves – however with the addition of the deep, deep cut of “Digital Sands”, the release could have gone up a notch in the eyes of most fans.
Hit The Wall
A standalone single recorded for Iron Man 2: The Videogame back in 2011, “Hit The Wall” was released at potentially the peak of Lamb of God’s popularity. A somewhat random appearance, the track works nicely as something of a stop-gap between Wrath and Resolution; but now feels somewhat forgotten by both band and fans alike. While it does feel like a bit of a call back to “Walk With Me In Hell”, from Sacrament some five years earlier, the song’s great chugging, yet driving, breakdown and wailing guitar solo are highlights, as to is the simple yet immediately memorable chorus.
In Defense Of Our Good Name
One of only a handful of tracks from Lamb of God’s sophomore LP As The Palaces Burn to have never been played live, “In Defense Of Our Good Name” also holds the dubious distinction of being the least streamed song off that album. It’s initially groove-heavy and kicks off with impressive drum work from Chris Adler, before shifting gears and quickening the pace during it’s furious middle section. “In Defense Of Our Good Name” is buried towards the back end of As The Palaces Burn, so the argument could certainly be made that it’s simply been overshadowed by the record’s more revered material, but it’s nonetheless a great, lesser-known Lamb of God song.
Shoulder of Your God
Released on the deluxe edition of 2009’s Wrath, “Shoulder of Your God” is the perfect example of mid-career Lamb of God, mostly mid-paced with the occasional blast beat thrown in for good measure. It truly comes alive during it’s awesome chorus, and it’s climaxing finale works perfectly with a lot of the material that the band were releasing at the time. It does certainly have ‘album closer’ vibes about it, however, and with the monstrous “Reclamation” already rounding off the standard edition of Wrath, perhaps Lamb of God couldn’t find a home for it beyond being tagged on as a bonus track.
The Death of Us
The backbone of the first two Bill & Ted films was always our dimwitted heroes love of heavy metal, with the original motion picture featuring music by the likes of Megadeth, Extreme and Faith No More. So when the third film, Bill & Ted Face The Music, was in production in 2019 & 2020 it only made sense for the soundtrack to include some of the current generations bigger guitar orientated acts. Groups like Mastodon, Weezer and, of course, Lamb of God, were drafted in, with Richmond’s finest contributing “The Death of Us”. It’s a no-nonsense, classic Lamb of God, with not a hint of compromise in either it’s musical attack or Blythe’s lyrical conviction.
Wine & Piss
Available physically on the various deluxe editions of 2015’s IIV: Sturm und Drang, as well as being released as a 7” single with fellow bonus track “Nightmare Seeker”. “Wine & Piss” is built around a great main riff and Randy Blythe’s roaring vocals, and while it’s far from the band’s most technical effort, it’s more of a to-the-point, three and a half minute rager. Considering IIV… now serves as their swan song with founding member Chris Adler, his drumming is as on point as always; check out the massive rolling fills after the first chorus and before the final refrain.
With a healthy amount their material never being played, a bunch of bonus tracks cropping up on a lot of their albums, as well as the occasional soundtrack appearance and standalone single, there are plenty of choices to form a list of ten underrated, under appreciated – yet not completely forgotten Lamb of God material. But with heaps of other options out there, we’re bound to have missed someone’s favourite deep cut – so sound off below on what tracks you’d have featured and why!
