Richmond band Lamb Of God are celebrating their first incarnation, Burn The Priest. Mark Morton (guitar), John Campbell (bass), and Chris Adler (drums) formed Burn The Priest in the winter of 1994 after meeting four years earlier as students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Less than a year later, in the summer of 1995, they met vocalist Randy Blythe before adding Chris Adler's brother, Willie Adler (guitar), prior to transitioning to Lamb Of God - and the rest is metal history. As they enter their 20th year since releasing their first self-titled album as Burn The Priest, the band will release a full-length covers album.

Guitarist Mark Morton says: "To truly understand the essence of the band Burn The Priest, one must first consider the landscape in which it began: the mid-90s. Grunge and alternative music ruled the airwaves. Social media and the internet had yet to assume their role as our collective sources for entertainment and cultural exchange. It was a time when DIY 'zines turned us onto new bands and regional scenes, and 'copy and paste' still implied a print shop and a glue stick."

Burn The Priest's self-titled debut album, released via Philadelphia-based Legion Records, documented what was, in essence, a primal punk band performing metal. Ultimately, as they grew in local popularity, the five-piece chose to stray away from their name to avoid being associated with satanic metal, choosing the name Lamb Of God.

Morton continues: "As our sound and songs developed, so did our goals... we began playing basement parties and warehouse shows and in doing so, we realized that the energy we were creating was transferable. The shows we played in those squats and warehouses [in Philadelphia] and the people we met there are forever embedded in our collective consciousness and the DNA of our band."

"Our inauspicious beginnings somehow grew into something none of us had ever even imagined possible, let alone aspired to, however, this is the story of Burn The Priest," adds Morton. "The songs we chose to cover on this album reflect that story. They are touchstones from that point in time. The inspiration we gleaned from these bands and these songs carries through our work and our creative pursuits, even to this day. Many thanks to these bands for lighting our fire and endless gratitude to our fans around the world for keeping it lit."

Legion: XX will be officially released on May 18th, 2018 via Nuclear Blast [Epic Records in the US] and will be available for purchase via all physical and digital retailers.

Watch the brand new Burn The Priest music video for "Inherit The Earth", originally performed by The Accüsed, (video directed by Travis Shinn).






Legion: XX tracklist:

01. Inherit The Earth (originally performed by The Accüsed)
02. Honey Bucket (originally performed by Melvins)
03. Kerosene (originally performed by Big Black)
04. Kill Yourself (originally performed by S.O.D.)
05. I Against I (originally performed by Bad Brains)
06. Axis Rot (originally performed by Sliang Laos)
07. Jesus Built My Hotrod (originally performed by Ministry)
08. One Voice (originally performed by Agnostic Front)
09. Dine Alone (originally performed by Quicksand)
10. We Gotta Know (originally performed by Cro-Mags)

Bonus song (only on LP):
In The Meantime (originally performed by Helmet)

Blythe adds: "I have a radio show on Gimmie Radio, and [the station] is all metal shows except for mine. I do the punk rock show because I want to show the direct correlation between my band, and the punk scene going back to THE MC5 and The Stooges. There is a direct link ? look at old pictures of Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax and they're wearing Misfits, D.R.I., and C.O.C. t-shirts. They fused the technicality of metal with the intensity of punk rock. Before them, metal was like in slow motion. Speed metal bands were listening to Discharge. I beat that drum all the time when I talk to kids."

Source:	nuclearblast.de
Band profile:	Lamb Of God