Upon their formation in 1994, Lamb of God initially wreaked metal havoc under the name Burn the Priest. The Virginia outfit will now revive their original band moniker for a new album of cover songs.
Titled Legion: XX, the 10-track album will arrive May 18 through Epic/Nuclear Blast. As the band put it, the album's tracklist features "covers of artists that inspired us to form the band over 20 years ago."
The album's tracklisting finds Lamb of God covering tracks from Bad Brains, Melvins, Big Black, Ministry, Cro-Mags, Quicksand and more.
In a statement, guitarist Mark Morton said the following about the new/old project:
To truly understand the essence of the band Burn the Priest, one must first consider the landscape in which it began: the mid-'90s. Grunge and alternative music ruled the airwaves. Social media and the internet had yet to assume their role as our collective sources for entertainment and cultural exchange. It was a time when DIY 'zines turned us on to new bands and regional scenes, and 'copy and paste' still implied a print shop and a glue stick.
As our sound and songs developed, so did our goals… we began playing basement parties and warehouse shows and in doing so, we realized that the energy we were creating was transferable. The shows we played in those squats and warehouses [in Philadelphia] and the people we met there are forever embedded in our collective consciousness and the DNA of our band.
Our inauspicious beginnings somehow grew into something none of us had ever even imagined possible, let alone aspired to, however, this is the story of Burn the Priest. The songs we chose to cover on this album reflect that story. They are touchstones from that point in time. The inspiration we gleaned from these bands and these songs carries through our work and our creative pursuits, even to this day. Many thanks to these bands for lighting our fire and endless gratitude to our fans around the world for keeping it lit.
Alongside the announcement, a video has arrived for the LP's opening cover of the Accüsed's "Inherit the Earth." The black and white clip, directed by Travis Shinn, finds the band cranking out their cover in a dimly lit rehearsal space.
Speaking of the cover choice, band member Chris Adler recalled:
"Inherit the Earth" hit me in the face soon after I managed to get my grubby mitts on the album sometime around '88. I got the Accüsed record at a Yellow Banana record store on Route 1 south of DC while in route back from my 'counselor' to my home in Woodbridge, VA. I got home and grabbed my board and I rocked it on my Discman. At about 2:12 into the tune the clouds parted above me and on a loudspeaker, God bellowed down to me, 'RECEIVE YOUR PURPOSE.' That was the moment I knew that if I tried hard enough, I could convey myself and how I felt — with music. It will never be 'ours,' and we know that about all the tunes we've covered, but hopefully one of them hit you in the face as I had been, and God will part the clouds for you, too.
Find a full tracklisting for Legion: XX below. Lamb of God's last studio album was 2015's VII: Sturm und Drang.
Legion: XX:
1. Inherit The Earth (The Accüsed)
2. Honey Bucket (Melvins)
3. Kerosene (Big Black)
4. Kill Yourself (S.O.D.)
5. I Against I (Bad Brains)
6. Axis Rot (Sliang Laos)
7. Jesus Built My Hotrod (Ministry)
8. One Voice (Agnostic Front)
9. Dine Alone (Quicksand)
10. We Gotta Know (Cro-Mags)
Titled Legion: XX, the 10-track album will arrive May 18 through Epic/Nuclear Blast. As the band put it, the album's tracklist features "covers of artists that inspired us to form the band over 20 years ago."
The album's tracklisting finds Lamb of God covering tracks from Bad Brains, Melvins, Big Black, Ministry, Cro-Mags, Quicksand and more.
In a statement, guitarist Mark Morton said the following about the new/old project:
To truly understand the essence of the band Burn the Priest, one must first consider the landscape in which it began: the mid-'90s. Grunge and alternative music ruled the airwaves. Social media and the internet had yet to assume their role as our collective sources for entertainment and cultural exchange. It was a time when DIY 'zines turned us on to new bands and regional scenes, and 'copy and paste' still implied a print shop and a glue stick.
As our sound and songs developed, so did our goals… we began playing basement parties and warehouse shows and in doing so, we realized that the energy we were creating was transferable. The shows we played in those squats and warehouses [in Philadelphia] and the people we met there are forever embedded in our collective consciousness and the DNA of our band.
Our inauspicious beginnings somehow grew into something none of us had ever even imagined possible, let alone aspired to, however, this is the story of Burn the Priest. The songs we chose to cover on this album reflect that story. They are touchstones from that point in time. The inspiration we gleaned from these bands and these songs carries through our work and our creative pursuits, even to this day. Many thanks to these bands for lighting our fire and endless gratitude to our fans around the world for keeping it lit.
Alongside the announcement, a video has arrived for the LP's opening cover of the Accüsed's "Inherit the Earth." The black and white clip, directed by Travis Shinn, finds the band cranking out their cover in a dimly lit rehearsal space.
Speaking of the cover choice, band member Chris Adler recalled:
"Inherit the Earth" hit me in the face soon after I managed to get my grubby mitts on the album sometime around '88. I got the Accüsed record at a Yellow Banana record store on Route 1 south of DC while in route back from my 'counselor' to my home in Woodbridge, VA. I got home and grabbed my board and I rocked it on my Discman. At about 2:12 into the tune the clouds parted above me and on a loudspeaker, God bellowed down to me, 'RECEIVE YOUR PURPOSE.' That was the moment I knew that if I tried hard enough, I could convey myself and how I felt — with music. It will never be 'ours,' and we know that about all the tunes we've covered, but hopefully one of them hit you in the face as I had been, and God will part the clouds for you, too.
Find a full tracklisting for Legion: XX below. Lamb of God's last studio album was 2015's VII: Sturm und Drang.
Legion: XX:
1. Inherit The Earth (The Accüsed)
2. Honey Bucket (Melvins)
3. Kerosene (Big Black)
4. Kill Yourself (S.O.D.)
5. I Against I (Bad Brains)
6. Axis Rot (Sliang Laos)
7. Jesus Built My Hotrod (Ministry)
8. One Voice (Agnostic Front)
9. Dine Alone (Quicksand)
10. We Gotta Know (Cro-Mags)
