Some might say that Lamb of God can do no wrong, and those same people might be blowing a different trumpet after hearing the latest release from Lamb of God’s forthcoming album, VII: Sturm Und Drang. The new track, “Overlord,” is a pretty big departure from the typical Lamb of God sound, taking a detour to grungier times and perhaps sounding almost reminiscent of Alice in Chains. For that, some fans might be turned off, but I still say that LOG kills it. With the right band, there’s a certain amount of gravitas that can come with playing slower and with more directness.
Nonetheless, “Overlord” also comes with a video, which you can watch above. The video is a dark interpretation of what “played” in Randy Blythe‘s head while conceiving the video and the story to tell. Upon watching it for the first time, my interpretation was of our societies current state of apathy, and after reading Blythe’s explanation below, I guess I wasn’t too far off the mark:
For years I’ve wished that I could have a movie camera directly linked to my brain so that some of the ideas I see in my mind’s eye could be translated into film for others to watch. Although that is obviously an impossibility (and probably a good thing — I find many things amusing that might not be so funny to everyone else), the video for ‘Overlord’ is the next best thing for me. I came up with the idea and wrote the treatment for this video myself — to see Jorge (the director) take my concept, add his own touches, and use his technical know-how to translate my ‘mental script’ into a suitably dark visual narrative is just an awesome, awesome experience for me.
I wrote the song about the dangers of self-obsession in our distressingly myopic and increasingly entitled ‘me-now/now-me’ culture; just like the couple in the video, many people can’t seem to look past their own relatively small problems to see the bigger picture: the world is in serious trouble. Having a bad day at work or a fight with your significant other or getting a crappy haircut or table service does not in any way shape or form constitute an emergency. Sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want them to — deal with it. People who only see their own problems eventually wind up alone because no one wants to hear their crap anymore — we all know someone like that, always whining and complaining about some inconsequential setback as if it were the apocalypse. This song is for those people.
Oh yeah — if you’re out and about, watching the video on your pocket hate machine (mobile phone), try not to wander into traffic. A little situational awareness goes a long way.
Catch Lamb of God on tour this summer with Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine, and Motionless In White. See dates below.
Lamb of God VII: Sturm Und Drang will be released on July 24th, but you can place your pre-order here.
Lamb of God North American Tour:
w/ Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine, and Motionless In White
7/24 – West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
7/25 – Tampa, FL @ MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre
7/26 – Atlanta, GA @ Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
7/28 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy MusicTheatre
7/29 – Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
7/31 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
8/1 – Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
8/2 – Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre
8/4 – Boston, MA @ XFINITY Center
8/5 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
8/6 – Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
8/8 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
8/9 – Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean-Drapeau – Heavy Montreal
8/11 – Washington, DC @ Jiffy Lube Live
8/12 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
8/14 – Indianapolis, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
8/15 – Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8/16 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/19 – Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
8/21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
8/22 – Garden City, ID @ Revolution Center – NO SLIPKNOT *New Show*
8/23 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheater
8/24 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
8/26 – Concord, CA @ Concord Pavilion
8/28 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Resort Festival Grounds
8/29 – Phoenix, AZ @ AK-Chin Pavilion
8/30 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
9/2 – Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater
9/4 – Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
9/5 – Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
Rock Hard \m/
