Release Roundup: 3/13/26

Top Pick

Lamb Of God – Into Oblivion (groove thrash)

Into Oblivion is the best Lamb of God album in a decade and a half, and it's not even close. Some skepticism was perhaps deserved, given their recent run of (still fairly fine) form, along with the decision to (finally) replace their longstanding Papyrus font with a very metalcore-looking logo and some early-Chimaira-ass album cover. When the singles started to drop though, people did something they haven't done to Lamb of God for a while, which was really start paying attention, and—now that it's here—the band's tenth original full length (under the LOG moniker), not only meets those expectations, but absolutely blows them and about half of the Lamb of God catalogue out of the water.

Into Oblivion has big Wrath energy, and not just because of the way "Prosocial Christ" kicks off like the second comings of "Set to Fail" and "Contractor". There's a lot on here that throws back to that last great Lamb of God album, when the band were arguably at the peak of their powers and popularity, following the genre definition and devastation of Ashes of the Wake and mainstream breakthrough of Sacrament (20026). This is the most alive Lamb of God have sounded in well over a decade. There isn't anything specifically different that the band are doing here that they haven't also been doing on their last four records—which have all been solid enough (if slightly forgettable) in their own way—it's just that everything sounds undeniably more vital and, well, just better. In fact, there isn't anything here that you haven't heard from Lamb of God before, but it's been a while since you've heard it done this well, by them, or anyone else even. Familiarity also doesn't make them any less effective, in this instance. Highlights include the hardcore-tinged fetboard assault of "St Catherine's Wheel" and—especially—the bit in "Blunt Force Blues" where iconic frontman Randy (né D. Randall) Blythe, yells "Go!" and they drop into The Riff, But Slower™.

There are also a couple of moments on Into Oblivion where Lamb of God finally stick the landing on some of their less successful recent experiments. Lead single "Sepsis" is an uncharacteristically sludgy, bass-led number that feels like the final form of awkward Resolution-opener "Straight for the Sun". Despite being out of step with the band's usual groove metal template, it was instantly the best Lamb of God song since the finer cuts from Sturm Und Drang (2015), before the rest of the album's release, and probably the best Cancer Bats one since then as well—evolving into a frantic hardcore rager, before invoking the stomping climax of early glories like "Black Label". "El Vacio" even manages to pull off the kind of clean singing so disastrously attempted on "Overlord" or The Duke (2016) (remember those?), in an even more laid back, and surprisingly comfortable sounding, country setting.

The increased might have something to do with the production. everything here simply hits harder and just sounds bigger than the band have in so (so!) long. Again though, it's Josh Wilber, who's worked with them on every album since Wrath, behind the helm and his production approach seems largely in step with his previous approaches. The bass is perhaps more present, the drums faster and more technical and Blythe certainly sounds a lot more pissed off than he has in a while, but this is the same old Lamb of God we all fell in love with (well, almost...) back at their best, if not everyone else as well.