Formation and Burn the Priest (1994–1999) In 1994, bassist John Campbell, drummer
Chris Adler, and guitarists
Mark Morton and Matt Conner started a band named Burn the Priest. The band members knew each other from the college they were all attending,
Virginia Commonwealth University, in
Richmond, Virginia. Morton and Conner left the band soon after its inception to pursue a
master's degree and work on other bands respectively. After the demo, Burn the Priest recorded two
split EPs with Agents of Satan and ZED respectively. The album was produced by
Today Is the Day guitarist and vocalist
Steve Austin. Spear left the band, leaving an open position for a guitarist. Patrick Kennedy of
Allmusic compared the band to
Pantera stating, "The essential signatures of post-Pantera metal are in abundance on Lamb of God's inaugural album.
New American Gospel provides a mighty oak upon which gritty American metal's faith is maintained, effectively bridging the '90s' insistence upon drill-sergeant technicality and the old school's determined focus on riff construction." Lamb of God toured for two years before releasing their third studio album,
As the Palaces Burn, on May 6, 2003. Kirk Miller of
Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, writing that "unlike many of their overreaching,
Slipknot-influenced contemporaries, Lamb of God deliver a meticulously crafted metal assault." The band was part of the first
Headbangers Ball tour, where they recorded a DVD including live performances and a documentary, titled
Terror and Hubris. The DVD was a success, debuting at number 31 on the
Billboard Top Music Videos chart.
Ashes of the Wake (2004–2005) 2004 Lamb of God released
Ashes of the Wake in August 2004. The album debuted at number 27 on the
Billboard 200, and sold over 35,000 copies in its first week. The album was distributed through the band's new record label,
Epic Records. Johnny Loftus of
Allmusic praised the album, saying "With the genre getting clogged by PVC goofs and
Alice in Chains impersonators, Lamb of God balances the equation of power, rage, tradition, and craft. It kills the filler." The title track of the album featured
Testament guitarist
Alex Skolnick and ex–
Megadeth guitarist
Chris Poland. The band supported
Ashes of the Wake with extensive touring, including a second stage slot on
Ozzfest in 2004, and the 2005 Sounds of the Underground tour. The band was awarded 2nd Best Album of the Year by
Revolver magazine behind
Mastodon's Leviathan, and was awarded Best Music Video for "
Laid to Rest" (2005). While on tour, the band recorded a performance and released it with the name of
Killadelphia. The release was made available as a DVD and a CD. In 2006, a cover version of the first single from the album, "
Laid to Rest", was featured as a playable track in
Guitar Hero II. The original version was released for
Guitar Hero Smash Hits in 2009. The original version is also available as downloadable content for
Rock Band.
Sacrament (2005–2007) In August 2006, Lamb of God released its fifth studio album
Sacrament. The album debuted at number eight on the
Billboard 200 and sold nearly 65,000 copies in its first week of sales, nearly doubling the first week sales of
Ashes of the Wake. Ed Thompson of
IGN referred to
Sacrament "one of the best metal albums of 2006", and Jon Pareles of
Blender called it a "speed rush all the way through".
Sacrament would become the band's second gold record issued by the RIAA in September 2019. 2007 The band appeared on major tours to support the album, including
The Unholy Alliance with
Slayer,
Mastodon,
Children of Bodom, and
Thine Eyes Bleed,
Gigantour, supporting
Megadeth; main stage at Ozzfest; Lamb of God was nominated for
Best Metal Performance at the 2007
Grammy Awards for "
Redneck", but lost out to
Slayer's "
Eyes of the Insane". In December 2007, the band rereleased the album as
Sacrament: Deluxe Producer Edition. The release contained all of the original songs from
Sacrament on the first disc, and the second disc was a
CD-ROM featuring all of the vocal, bass, guitar, and drum
tracks in 192 kbit/s MP3 format, enabling the buyer to produce their own interpretation of the songs. The band negotiated for a new record label to distribute records outside the United States. After playing a sell-out show in Glasgow, Scotland, members of the band and crew were involved in heavy drinking. The DVD is a double-disc and has nearly five hours of footage, containing the feature documentary
Walk with Me in Hell and multiple live performance extras from the
Sacrament World Tour. Josh Wilbur was also named as the producer for the record. The recording process of the new record was made available to view online live through the band's website, with two
webcams installed in the studio (specifically in the drum room and mixing room). On February 23, 2009, the band released their sixth studio album internationally via
Roadrunner Records, titled
Wrath and one day later in America via
Epic Records. The album is dedicated to Mikey Bronsnan, who helped them get started in Philadelphia. In November 2008, Bronsnan was killed by a drunk driver. According to drummer Chris Adler, "Without Mikey, we'd very well might not be a band today." "Wrath" debuted on the
Billboard 200 at number two, selling over 68,000 copies in its first week. In support of Wrath, the band in spring of 2009 embarked on the first leg of their
world tour,
No Fear Energy Tour headlined by themselves with main support from
Children of Bodom and
As I Lay Dying, and rotating opening slots with
God Forbid and
Municipal Waste. The band played in Europe in the summer to perform with
Metallica on the
World Magnetic Tour along with
Mastodon, while also playing headlining shows of their own and performing at major European festivals. For the final six dates of the tour,
Unearth's
Buz McGrath filled in for Mark Morton, as he left early to be with his wife and his first child. Lamb of God was announced to also serve as
Metallica's direct support for the North American leg of their 2009
world tour, as well as finishing the year off by headlining shows in Australia and New Zealand with
Shadows Fall and
DevilDriver.
Resolution and Blythe's arrest (2010–2013) Lamb of God performed for the first time in the Philippines for the annual PULP Summer Slam on April 17, 2010 with thrash metal band
Testament and performed there again on February 18, 2012. The band also played in India for the first time on May 15, 2010, headlining the Summer Storm festival in Bangalore. They played for their Turkish fans at Kucukciftlik Park, Istanbul, on May 17. Lamb of God was featured on the 2010
Mayhem Festival, playing on the main stage alongside
Korn,
Rob Zombie, and
Five Finger Death Punch.
Paul Waggoner, guitarist for
Between the Buried and Me, filled in for Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton during the Mayhem Festival. In June 2010, the band played on the main stage at the
Download Festival. It was their third appearance at Download Festival. On April 19, 2010,
IGN released a 'making of' video that features Lamb of God working on their next single, "Hit the Wall". The single is featured in the
Iron Man 2 video game. On February 15, 2011, Lamb of God announced that "Hit the Wall" would be available to buy via digital download. The band was also featured on the soundtrack for
Namco Bandai Games' 2010 remake of
Splatterhouse. Lamb of God was announced as one of the bands (the other being
Baroness) to support
Metallica on their Australian tour in late 2010. In a September 2010 interview, drummer
Chris Adler mentioned that Lamb of God will enter the studio in February 2011 to begin work on a seventh album.