Only two years after their self-titled record – pretty soon for a band of their caliber – the Virginia quintet releases its ninth studio album. The timing is justified, on the one hand because the pandemic sabotaged 2020’s ‘Lamb of God’ (no promotion, cancelling tours etc.) and on the other hand because the band, after the departure of Chris Adler, an important founding member, wants to confirm its brand remains unaffected and strong.

On ‘Omens’ you’ll get to hear exactly what you expect from a LoG record: manly riffs, tight playing, and of course Randy Blythe in a permanent frenzy, a recipe that works easily on songs like ‘Vanishing’ and ‘Ditch’. However, it is in following this tried and true recipe that ‘Omens’ ends up being undermined; if you exclude closer ‘September Song’ the band gives off the vibe that it’s playing on autopilot, even more so than on the last album. It was very interesting to watch a Mark Morton interview, where the guitarist was asked to rank Lamb of God’s previous works from worst to best. He begins by critiquing two records, ‘Sturm und Drang’ and ‘Resolution’, which, specifically thanks to their diversity, belong much higher on the list in my opinion. Views differ therefore, and during this specific part of their career, LoG have chosen not to stray off the beaten path.