Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe feels disgusted by the direction the United States is headed in, so he titled the band’s upcoming album, Into Oblivion. “That’s where we’re heading,” he said in a statement.
He says the LP, due March 17, “is about the ongoing and rapid breakdown of the social contract, particularly here in America,” adding, “Things are acceptable now that would’ve horrified people just 20 years ago.” He also wrote a song about it.
The album’s title track, released with a dimly lit music video (to match Blythe’s dimly lit Weltanschauung) on Thursday, finds Blythe declaring himself “the bringer of the truth from which you run into oblivion.” And in another lyric, he proclaims. “In an age of conspiracy/I am the face of your tyranny.” His bandmates, naturally, summon apocalyptic cacophonies of gut-rattling guitar-riff fuselage and pummeling drumming.
“For me, the album is about having the space to breathe creatively and not feeling like we have to keep up with any trend or expectation,” guitarist Mark Morton said. “It feels nice to be untethered from any agenda beyond rallying around the notion of, ‘Let’s just make music that we think is cool,’ which is really where it all started.”
For the record, the band teamed again with producer and engineer Josh Wilbur, who collaborated with them on their last five records. They recorded it all over the place, including their hometown of Richmond, Virginia, for the drums, Morton’s home studio for the guitar and bass, and Redondo Beach, California’s Total Access studio for the vocals. That last spot is meaningful to Blythe, a vocal hardcore punk fan, since that studio is where some of his favorite records by Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, and the Descendents originated.
To support the album, Lamb of God will embark on a North American tour this spring that features support from Kublai Khan TX, Fit for an Autopsy, and Sanguisugabogg. Full ticketing details are on the group’s website.
Into Oblivion track list:
1. “Into Oblivion”
2. “Parasocial Christ”
3. “Sepsis”
4. “The Killing Floor”
5. “El Vacío”
6. “St. Catherine’s Wheel”
7. “Blunt Force Blues”
8. “Bully”
9. “A Thousand Years”
10. “Devise/Destroy
Lamb of God North American tour dates:
March 17 – National Harbor, MD @ The Theater MGM National Harbor
March 19 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
March 20 – Toronto, ON @ GCT Theatre
March 22 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
March 24 – Minneapolis, MN @ Armory
March 25 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
March 27 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
March 28 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center
March 30 – Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds
March 31 – Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater
April 1 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum
April 3 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
April 4 – Inglewood, CA @ YouTube Theater
April 5 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
April 7 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel Entertainment Center
April 10 – Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater
April 11 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
April 12 – Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
April 14 – Nashville, TN @ War Memorial Auditorium
April 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre
April 16 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
April 18 – Reading, PA @ Santander Arena
April 19 – Virginia Beach, VA @ The Dome
April 21 – Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo RiverWorks
April 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
April 25 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
April 26 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
May 9 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
May 17 – Dayton, OH @ Welcome to Rockville
May 20 – San Juan, PR @ Coliseo de Puerto Rico
October 30 – November 3 Miami, FL @ Headbangers Boat
