Alrighty. Recently I've been reading about a fair amount of hate towards Lamb of God. And, to be perfectly honest, I don't get it.

I've also noticed that a far amount of those who post breathing and scathing comments in regard to LoG aren't very well thought out, so the main point of this thread is to start an informed discussion about why Lamb of God is a pox on the face of Metal.

Personally, I love LoG. They're the band that got me into metal 7 years ago (I'm only 19, give me a break), and to this day they remain one of my favorites. They haven't sold out, either. If anything, they play it too safe as far as their musical progression goes. Their lyrical themes are solid (Randy only wrote ONE SONG about a personal gripe, More Time to Kill), and you don't see anyone in the band slacking and spankin' the monkey on stage (so to speak). They give it their best, or at least they appear to, and that's all one can really ask.

Sure, Randy can be a bit of a dildo towards fans and even his band mates, but that should hardly be a factor in the rejection of this perfectly acceptable and, in my case, enjoyable and influential band.

I can possibly see it being because of them straying far away from the Burn the Priest style (which I consider to be a completely different band, with only New American Gospel serving as the link between the two) which was definitely good in it's own right, but I don't consider that a sellout by any means.

Please, let's keep this a civil discussion.

These types of threads nary last too often, but I'll say something here; it's exactly your nostalgia and that's it that keeps you liking it. If they were a seminal band in getting you into the genre, it's no surprise that you misunderstand why people dislike them. Marduk, Napalm Death and Nevermore got me into metal and I will like them forever, really.

But, to put it simply, LoG plays watered down riffs peppered with generic "slow" sections to increase buildups to cliche'd climatic moments (not quite breakdowns, but close) coupled with really lame lyrics, an awful message (so anti-establishment! Ahhh!) and somehow the ability to completely whore themselves out. They're kinda like the Rage Against the Machine of actual metal, but instead of "rap-metal" they are doing a more masculine equivalent, which is just lukewarm thrash riffs and jumpdafuckup moments.

They're sorta like the modern-day post-Vulgar Display of Power Pantera: full of vomit-inducing tough-guy machismo and bad songwriting.

Actually, that makes quite a bit of sense. To be perfectly honest, listening to Ashes right now I can hear where you're coming from.

I guess I just needed to think outside of the box a little bit to begin to understand. Problem is, the box is a little tougher to break out of when it's your head.

I hate to admit it, but I think you're right. Very Vulgar-esque as far as substance goes... Awww, now I'm sad.

Well there you go. Playing it safe is only fun if you're playing it well, and a lot of metalheads don't really approve of the generic style. Personally I can enjoy them - to some degree - if I don't think about what I hear and don't care, but once I actually start listening I quickly realise "Oh, listen. Chug. Chug. Chugga-chugga-chug. Chuuuuuuug. 'Technical' or at least 'clever' solo. Chug." Music is to a large degree in the eye of the beholder, sure, but it's also about how you behold, and I think a lot of people behold a band playing what appeals to the crowds instead of what appears to be their own thing. It could also, of course, be a certain bias, in that simply through their popularity and style they appeal to the more entry level types, which if not wrong would seem at least suspicious to someone who considers themselves discerning - it's easy to enjoy the simple, popular, mass-manufactured mainstream stuff when you don't know what lurks below the surface.

Just a hunch. Maybe.

I think that may be it as well. At the time, I wasn't really interested in music and didn't really care for it. But it was heavy, new, and cool. Since then I've definitely evolved as far as musical taste goes, however I've always kinda turned a deaf ear to LoG.

The young one is beginning to understand...

People around these parts don't like LOG for the very reasons Frog listed above, which I'll echo here; they are very boring, stale songwriters with an unoriginal sound, stupid and immature lyrics, and have a rather annoying vocalist who is mediocre at best, and unlistenable at worst.

If you like them, it's okay, I won't ostracize you for that. That is, as long as you don't come here telling me they're "metal's saviors" or some such bullshit.

They're boring and breed awful fans.

I also got to go back stage and meet Chris Alder or whomever. He's a dick. And tried kicking out the whole group back there twice.

Dude, I seriously don't get how that plays a part in evaluating a band's worth.

It makes perfect sense: it doesn't change the idea of the worth of the band itself, but generally when a bunch of idiots like something, that should be a warning sign of some sort.

I'll admit that this is one of the reasons I don't like too much Tool and Opeth (besides the musical qualities of course).

I first heard Lamb of God through a Metal Blade sampler that had the song O.D.H.G.A.B.F.E. on it, and I thought it was pretty cool. A few months later As the Palaces Burn came out, and I thought the first half of that album was good, the second half toiled in mediocrity. With Ashes of the Wake, they followed the same formula, but with less memorable songwriting(save for Laid to Rest). Anything after has been pretty bland. I have never thought Lamb of God was a bad band, but I just think that they are extremely mediocre. They sound to me like an opener on a local show that somehow got big. I think their mediocrity is what made them big. It's almost like Pantera's career. Most of Pantera's albums are filler, with just a few good songs sprinkled in. The rest just are content to flop around at mid-pace, trying to drain something out of an idea that isn't really there. This is Lamb of God to a T.

I sure hope I'm not counted among them!

Lol. But in all seriousness, this thread has 'opened my eyes' as far as why they're not respected among the metal community. Thanks for the valuable and intellectual input!

Ok then, glad to help!

Pantera was awesome, LOG are not. Totally lame, one dimensional shit. Pantera's music was catchy, heavy as hell and fun. Lamb of God, from what I remember the last time I listened, which wasn't recently since I don't listen often to bands I dislike, are just bland and boring as hell.

Empyreal speaks the truth.

PS: Although I don't know if I'd go as far as calling Pantera "awesome", though I do like them.

I love Pantera more every time I listen. So glad I outgrew the whole stigma the metal underground sometimes has on that band.

You say that like Pantera aren't one-dimensional and Lamb of God aren't catchy or heavy as hell.

I don't think there's any bands I'd actually consider myself to hate, there's plenty of bands, like Lamb of God, who I would consider to be unappealing and not something I'd really ever want to listen to. I think that it goes without saying that metal's an incredibly diverse genre, there isn't a single band besides maybe Bolt Thrower that is going to match up with every single fans taste.

Also, I wouldn't really recommend forcing yourself to dislike the band just because a lot of people here dislike them.

One of the better who has showed up around these parts. You know the type of fans I'm talking about

That is what I'm saying. Pantera aren't exactly prog but they have all the dimensions they need to have.

It's a good reason not to go to one of their shows. I went to a LoG show to see some other band a few years ago. Their fans were very confrontational for no reason at all. Dicks.

As for the music, I'm largely benign. I never really think about them unless someone brings them up(this thread). I had a used copy of Ashes of the Wake a few years ago, and I remember liking it, but I can't say it blew me away. I haven't listened to much of their other work.

Overall, they're just an extremely average band that has gained a legion of fanatical fans. The metal community at large is going to have some nasty things to say about it.

I have to say I was fairly impressed by Resolution as a whole (a few songs were quite unimpressive), but again, that's from listening to them for 7 or 8 years. I haven't had a problem with other fans, but for the most part when I go to larger shows like that I tend to keep to myself. It's no secret that holier-than-thou machismo infused dildos like to roll at shows like that.

[The quote system did something really goofy, sorry if it doesn't make sense]

New American Gospel is great for the Pantera-esque metalcore album it is, Id take it over any of the awful crap they've done post-Ashes of the wake the same with As the palaces burn. The truth is the accusations of being "watered down" are kind of laughable, watered down based on what criterion actually? Simply being devils advocate here they're marginally heavier than most of the nu-metal of the late nineties, heavier than Pantera minus the occasional solo, obviously the stuff after Ashes sucks, but Overkill, Onslaught, Kreator, Metallica, Exodus, and many other thrash titans hopped the groove metal bandwagon and never get twice the lumps LOG get.

But then again none of those bands are aiming towards your average Tapout shirt beer guzzling neanderthal except for maybe every worthless Overkill album after Taking over and up to Ironbound.

It's tough to put my finger on why. What I do know is they didn't appeal to me before I was into metal, while I was getting into metal or now that I am into metal. That's quite the trifecta.

I don't have Lamb of God's latest album but the ones I do have are okay. They're one of the first bands I started enjoying, too.

I personally think Chimaira are better, despite The Age Of Hell kind of sucking.

Really, after the great string of albums they've done going back to The Impossibility of Reason, they were bound to hit a bump in the road eventually. I'm chalking that one up to the lack of a dedicated drummer and bassist - parts recorded by their producer and Rob Arnold, respectively - at that point and everything with Rob and Matt eventually jumping ship and so forth, and even then it's still very much a Chimaira album as the previous ones... just a lesser one. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next album will bring if Emil Werstler becomes a primary songwriter.

On topic, I don't have "hate" for Lamb of God (a term which really needs to be excised as a label against someone who simply fucking disagrees with you) but after they adopted more typical song structures starting with Sacrament, they lost one of the key elements that made their first 3 albums just plain better than anything since. Resolution seems to hint at getting back to that, but with Blythe's vocals sounding more like a local band's imitation of himself, the songs simply become vehicles for him to be the focal point rather than cohesive band efforts. There's good albeit derivative riffs in there but it wouldn't hurt for him to shut the hell up for a few measures and let the rest of the guys do their thing. Although after recent events, that's probably not happening. They're settled into their formula and it's one that sells, but considering how years ago journalists were trying to force Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, etc. into the position Lamb of God is in today, their music and fans are certainly more tolerable - or at least less irritating.

They sound like Pantera(i.e. jumpdafuckup metal), and I hate Pantera

They're inoffensive, "safe" metal. I don't really like them, but I don't have a problem with them.

The heck am I reading in this thread?

Bolt Thrower are as one dimensional and 'safe' as it gets, yet they almost have a cult following in the 'mature' metal community. I feel lukewarm about LoG, but these 'one dimensional' arguments make no sense to me.

OP, are you really letting them convince you so easily? They are expressing their own opinions, but I'm surprised at how quickly you're agreeing with them, seeing as few have posted any particularly well thought out scathing comments like you asked for. You probably like the band for the exact reasons people have posted that they hate it (with the exception of the idiotic 'fan breeding' comment--I've been to a LoG show and they're no different to most metalcore fans i.e. not as bad as everyone is saying), there's no reason to make this band your 'guilty pleasure' because most others think it's super gay mallcore.

I was annoyed by the fan reaction to Randy Blythe's imprisonment though. They made it such a huge fucking deal.

Eh, I only meant to bring up the band somewhat jokingly and not really as something to be seriously compared to Lamb of God.

I actually hadn't read your comment, so that was by chance, but I stand by my comment. I'm comparing the aforementioned 'safe' and one-dimensional aspects of the bands that people brought up.

I really like Lamb of God for what they are – dumbed down US metal. They are perfect when drinking beer and pretty fun live. However I do understand why people don't like them.

Like we say in Sweden, the taste is like the ass – divided.

Despite BT being known for doing the same album over and over again they have adopted different stylistic nuances over the years, which translated into different writing periods. You surely know that in detail so no need for further explaining. To call them one dimensional would be acceptable but a bit out of character when considering the entire discography. As Emp said before Pantera is also one dimensional, yet he likes them for that because they have one dimension that works! When you only have one dimension and it doesn't work then calling the band one dimensional shit is kind of appropriate don't you think?!

As for the OP being convinced I don't think he is. He asked why people dislike them, to which people gladly explained their own reasons. He then read them and agreed on those reasons pointed out in a "Oh, that's why then, now I get it" kind of way. That doesn't mean that now he'll be torn apart from listening to the band. At least that shouldn't happen, OP stick to your guns if you still like the band, don't let anyone ever tell you what you like or dislike.

As for the original question, everything has been said already. I don't hate the band, it's just that I don't feel anything good when listening to them so I just ignore them. It's not a band that I say I hate because they're pretty unimportant to me actually, which actually makes me want to punch the band's fans in the face when they come all over me saying how fantastic they are. That I hate!

OP, I subscribe the words written above for you. It's really great to have a civil discussion with a fan of the "dark side" once in a while.

I dunno, Pantera being one-dimensional it's reducing too much their work. Up until Cowboys, they did something completely different from the macho thing and Trendkill WAS different too, albeit moving more or less in the same genre. I understand people considering Vulgar and Far Beyond the most 'representative' Pantera albums cause they were the best known works and stuff, but I hear enough diversity among their whole body of work, whereas LoG just reprises that Vulgar/Far Beyond period in an even-less interesting way than Pantera did.

Watered down? sure; taking as a starting point those Pantera albums, LoG sounds deritative.

Far Beyond Driven is my favourite Pantera album.

@ Kveldulfr - I'm just considering Pantera's groove period for the purpose of this discussion.

Lamb Of God blows! I really never liked them and I'm sure as hell not going to start now. When I want my dose of overprocessed metal that will add absolutely nothing to my life, I listen to RISE TO ADDICTION , an Andy Sneap produced band from here in Blighty!

I don't hate Lamb of God, but I think a lot of metal fans dislike them because they're just a ripoff of Pantera mixed with shitty metalcore riffs. I think they have some good things going for them, though. I always thought Randy was a good screamer, and the band sounds tight and they seem to be talented at what they do. My main problem with them is most of their songs are way too similiar, and they only seem to be good at one particular sound. I can listen to one or two tracks and be fairly entertained, but then it all just starts getting repetitive and boring. Pantera at least experimented on some tracks. Lamb of God rarely do any kind of experimentation, but that's a lot of bands in the metalcore genre (which is why it's so stale!). The band needs to experiment a bit and not just keep writing the same song over and over.

Still, as far as metalcore bands go, they're one of the more listenable ones. I'll give them that.