Best of Budapest & Hungary

With their tenth album, released this year, Lamb Of God have cast aside expectations and the need to prove themselves, exploring new sonic territory in the process. Over the past decades, the band have earned their place among metal’s giants, and that confidence radiates from their new material, which they will present to Hungarian audiences at Barba Negra on January 31.

    Lamb Of God have been in the heavy metal spotlight for more than a quarter of a century and have become an essential force on the international stage. Beginning their career as Burn the Priest, the band have since earned five Grammy nominations and sold more than two million albums. Lamb Of God operate at the highest level of metal while maintaining their fierce punk attitude.

    The band’s tenth album, Into Oblivion, further demonstrates their assured position as veterans of the genre: beholden to no one, with nothing left to prove. The new record simultaneously references the band’s roots, doubles down on their signature grooves and explores new sonic territory.

    “It feels like we’ve arrived at a place where there’s really not much that’s out of bounds for us creatively,” says guitarist Mark Morton. “Over the course of a 25-year career, we’ve seen metal music evolve and go through so many cycles. We’ve been right in the middle of that, which gives us a really wide lens. Even within our own career, there are so many eras we can reference musically. In a lot of places on this new album, we used those early recordings as a catalyst to create music that feels modern and fresh while still celebrating the original spirit of the band.”

    Morton, vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarist Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell and drummer Art Cruz maintained a rigorous vetting process while writing the material for Into Oblivion. “To collectively lock in and create a tenth Lamb Of God album, it’s really important to all of us that we feel like we have something unique and inspired to offer,” Morton says.

    Produced by the band’s returning producer Josh Wilbur, Into Oblivion was recorded at three different studios across the United States. The drums were tracked at The Bakery in Richmond; guitar and bass parts were recorded at Mark Morton’s home studio in Virginia; and the vocals were laid down at the legendary Total Access studio in Redondo Beach, California. The latter was home to Black Flag’s My War, as well as seminal albums by Hüsker Dü, Descendants and Saint Vitus.

    “When I walked in there, I immediately felt at home because I felt that punk rock history, which is the world I come from,” Blythe says enthusiastically. “It was perfect for me.”

    In the end, the music, the recording process, the lyrical themes and the band’s creative goals all came together in what listeners hear on Into Oblivion. “We wanted to stretch out and make things a bit different than the standard Lamb Of God record,” Blythe says. “It was done very purposefully and with intent. And I feel like we succeeded.”

    Fans can experience the result live on January 31 at Barba Negra.