LAMB OF GOD is a Metalcore/Groove Metal band from Richmond, Virgina. This is their eighth full-length album and first since ''VII: Sturm und Drang'' back in 2015. If you don't know who these guys are, you probably have been hiding in a cave or under a rock for over two decades. One of the most well respected Metal bands out there and a true story of hard work does pay off.

Honestly I haven't listened to LAMB OF GOD in a very long time. I veered off the bandwagon after the release of ''Wrath''. I felt it was underwhelming at best and I pretty much abandoned the band throughout the last decade or so. I did listen to snippets here and there of the last 2 albums and nothing impressed me and was bored. I obviously thought they lost their vigor and enthusiasm and were mailing it in so to speak. It's like LAMB OF GOD on autopilot and that wasn't what I was hoping or looking for unfortunately.

To get me prepared for such a task as reviewing the new album, I listened to a few live shows they did in the past few years and then it dawned on me, I did miss these guys. Their force is usually the live shows, what an energetic bunch of people on stage and they give one hell of a show but it never really translated on the last few albums. I believe they learned a lot in the last 5 years with Randall Blythe's prison run and the leaving of longtime drummer Chris Adler. They felt a sense a purpose and of renewal.

This is by far the most politically charged album they have down and its scathing lyrics prove a point and it's a far more aggressive album than the previous efforts. No radical departures, no driving off into another tangent, they stayed true to form and delivering their best album since ''Resolution''. It's safe to say that this album marks a new chapter in the band and what a tour they planned out this year with MEGADETH and they would be propelled to the heights of the mid 2000s. Unfortunately for us, that tour has been ushered off to next year. I believe they have reconnected with their roots and showed the whole world what they had left in the tank.

This album marks the first with Art Cruz and he gives his all on this album and even though Chris Adler was a wonderful drummer, they add an experienced drummer, another view, another fresh pair of eyes (or legs and arms persay) to the band. He brings enthusiasm and does not want to be a clone of the previous album and he injects his own personality in the band and it really is seamless. His chemistry with the band is evident from the first notes of the opener ''Memento Mori''.

The rest of the band seem to be in fine form, Blythe spits out like fire his lyrics and usually brand of frantic energy and feels completely refreshed. He has that intensity from the first four albums and he is laser focused in his threatening yells and scathing lyrics. The band seems to be a much more cohesive unit and the guest vocalists Jamey Jasta from HATEBREED and Chuck Billy from TESTAMENT add another dimension to those tracks. Jasta does a fine job dueling vocals with Blythe on ''Poison Dream'' and it's really a mish-mash of the breakdowns of HATEBREED and the sybreed energy of LAMB OF GOD, definitely one of the go-to songs on this opus. As for Chuck Billy, he brings his charisma and larger than life presence to ''Routes''. A song that could have been on the last TESTAMENT album, aggressive yet melodic. I really believe albums like ''The Gathering'' and ''Low'' influenced and shaped LAMB OF GOD at the beginning of the band.

The song that really stood out for me is ''New Colossal Hate'', this is going to be such a killer live track and a surefire winner. It's an adrenaline pounding Groove Metal classic in the making, it has the mark of greatness stamped throughout. It's the ''Redneck'' of this album, a killer old school PANTERA-esque Groove Metal song that engages the listener and makes you bang your head until the head.

Maybe not the most varied album and they are absolutely not reinventing the wheel but it's the most consistent album in over 15 years. A lot of songs do sound alike but it doesn't hurt the overall value et replay ability of this album at the forefront.