Band:	Lamb Of God
Album:	As The Palaces Burn
Style:	Groove thrash metal
Release date:	May 06, 2003
Guest review by:	Passenger

01. Ruin
02. As The Palaces Burn
03. Purified
04. 11th Hour
05. For Your Malice
06. Boot Scraper
07. Devil In God's Country
08. In Defense Of Our Good Name
09. Blood Junkie
10. Vigil
11. Ruin [demo] [Reissue bonus]
12. As The Palaces Burn [demo] [Reissue bonus]
13. Blood Junkie [demo] [Reissue bonus]

After a very good release named "New American Gospel", I was waiting with great expectation Lamb Of God's new album. And it was worth the waiting. Three years after the bomb, comes the explosion. It's obvious the evolution of the band as deeper and more complex riffs and solos constantly appear. The songs are better written and the execution is great.

The album starts with "Ruin", a great song that has a big brutal change of in the middle. "As The Palaces Burn" is very fast and reminds me of Slayer in some parts, and this is a positive note. "Purified" has a great solo and drums work. "11th Hour" is one of the best songs, with amazing and powerful riffs. "For Your Malice" has good drums but gets a little repetitive. After that we have "Boot Scraper", with a great moment at 3 minutes and great bass work. "A Devil In God's Country" clearly show us the Death Metal influences in what we can call the second part of the song. The 8th track is called "In Defense Of Our Good Name" and, indeed, it defends very well their name, with evident Slayer similarities, specially in the drums. "Blood Junkie" starts with a great riff and looks more like Death Metal then Thrash Metal really, specially the end, with violent growls. "Vigil" is the last song. The beginning is great, with a clear guitar intro. Then we have the guitars slower then usual, but still aggressive, until the 2:45, when the song gets more fast and interesting. Great end.

Hard to appreciate at the first listen, its an album that seems to get better and better as you listen to it a few more times. With a top level of aggressiveness from the beginning until the end, "As The Palaces Burn" is amazing brutal Thrash Metal. It can also be a very good release for those who are more into brutal Death Metal, as the band is very influenced by that style as well. Thirty eight minutes won't seem as short in the end because you are so absorbed by the sound that, when it ends, you won't even realize how many time you spent listening to the album. But if you want more you just have to pull it back and listen to it again. And that's exactly what you will want to do.