Ashes of the Wake
Encyclopedia
Ashes of the Wake is the fourth studio album by American groove metal
band Lamb Of God
, released in 2004. The album debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200
, selling 35,000 copies in its first-week and was rated by Guitar World
as the 49th greatest Guitar Album of all Time. The album is more political than their previous work, aimed at the war in Iraq, with songs such as "Ashes of the Wake" (which includes snippets of former staff sergeant and former Marine Jimmy Massey in an interview after his return from the Iraq War), "Now You've Got Something to Die For", "One Gun" and "The Faded Line". As of August 2010, Ashes of the Wake has sold 398,000 copies in the United States, making it Lamb of God's best-selling album.
version was released in the U.S. The DVD side contained the album in LPCM 2.0, and Dolby Digital
5.1 surround sound
, as well as various video clips, including the promo videos for "Now You've Got Something To Die For" (intended to promote the Killadelphia
release) and "Laid to Rest", a short on the New England Metalfest, a "Meet the Band" and a clip from the Terror and Hubris DVD
. A production error in the 5.1 mix of "One Gun" causes the vocals to pitch shift
high and low throughout the song.
, while the site officially gave it a 7.0 rating. Johnny Loftus of AllMusic.com gave it a 4/5 star review. He praised Blythe's
vocals, saying they became, "Lamb of God's threshold of pain
conduit
."
Additional musicians
Production
Groove metal
Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It was often used to describe Pantera and Exhorder.- Characteristics and origins :Pantera's Cowboys from Hell album from 1990 was described as "groundbreaking" and "blueprint-defining" for the groove metal genre...
band Lamb Of God
Lamb of God (band)
Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler...
, released in 2004. The album debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling 35,000 copies in its first-week and was rated by Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
as the 49th greatest Guitar Album of all Time. The album is more political than their previous work, aimed at the war in Iraq, with songs such as "Ashes of the Wake" (which includes snippets of former staff sergeant and former Marine Jimmy Massey in an interview after his return from the Iraq War), "Now You've Got Something to Die For", "One Gun" and "The Faded Line". As of August 2010, Ashes of the Wake has sold 398,000 copies in the United States, making it Lamb of God's best-selling album.
Track listing
The first pressing of the album came with a bonus disc entitled Pure American Metal with the following songs:DualDisc
A DualDiscDualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
version was released in the U.S. The DVD side contained the album in LPCM 2.0, and Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
5.1 surround sound
5.1 surround sound
5.1 is the common name for six channel surround sound multichannel audio systems. 5.1 is now the most commonly used layout in both commercial cinemas and home theaters. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low frequency enhancement channel . Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, and...
, as well as various video clips, including the promo videos for "Now You've Got Something To Die For" (intended to promote the Killadelphia
Killadelphia (DVD)
Killadelphia is a 2005 live DVD from US metal band Lamb of God, released on Epic Records and shot and directed by Doug Spangenberg. It consists of footage filmed during the band's two gigs at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia on October 16 and 17 of 2004, hence the pun title of the DVD...
release) and "Laid to Rest", a short on the New England Metalfest, a "Meet the Band" and a clip from the Terror and Hubris DVD
Terror and Hubris
Terror and Hubris is the first DVD by the metal band Lamb of God. It was released in January 2003. Due to legal reasons, the video for "11th Hour" could not be included on the DVD.-Track listing:#Intro#How They Met Interview#"In the Absence of the Sacred"...
. A production error in the 5.1 mix of "One Gun" causes the vocals to pitch shift
Pitch shift
Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval are called "pitch shifters" or "pitch benders".-Pitch/time shifting:...
high and low throughout the song.
Reception
The album was generally well received, with users giving it a score of 8.4 on Blabbermouth.netBlabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001...
, while the site officially gave it a 7.0 rating. Johnny Loftus of AllMusic.com gave it a 4/5 star review. He praised Blythe's
Randy Blythe
David Randall "Randy" Blythe is the vocalist of American groove metal band Lamb Of God and side-project band Halo of Locusts. He is known as D. Randall Blythe on Lamb of God's albums....
vocals, saying they became, "Lamb of God's threshold of pain
Threshold of pain
The threshold of pain is the point at which pain begins to be felt. It is an entirely subjective phenomenon. The intensity at which a stimulus begins to evoke pain is the threshold intensity. So, if a hotplate on a person's skin begins to hurt at 42°C , then that is the pain threshold temperature...
conduit
Conduit (channeling)
A conduit, in esoterism, and spiritual discourse, is a specific object, person, location, or process which allows a person to connect or communicate with a spiritual realm, metaphysical energy, or spiritual entity, or vice versa...
."
Personnel
Lamb of God- Randy BlytheRandy BlytheDavid Randall "Randy" Blythe is the vocalist of American groove metal band Lamb Of God and side-project band Halo of Locusts. He is known as D. Randall Blythe on Lamb of God's albums....
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Mark MortonMark Morton (musician)Mark Duane Morton is the lead guitarist of the American groove metal band Lamb Of God.- Before Lamb of God :Morton grew up near Williamsburg, Virginia. His first band was Axis, which was composed of other local youth, one being Ryan Lake of Alabama Thunderpussy fame. Morton played rhythm guitar...
– leadLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Willie AdlerWillie AdlerWilliam M. Adler is the rhythm guitarist in the groove metal band Lamb Of God. He is the younger brother of bandmate Chris Adler.Willie joined Lamb of God after the first guitarist, [Keven Maglasang ], left the band...
– lead and rhythm guitar - John CampbellJohn Campbell (bassist)John Steven Campbell is the bassist and a founding member of the groove metal band Lamb Of God.Unlike many bass players who will use four and five string basses, Campbell at one time played a self modified three-stringed Guild Pilot bass, excluding the higher G-string...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Chris Adler – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional musicians
- Alex SkolnickAlex SkolnickAlexander Nathan Skolnick is an American jazz and metal guitarist. He was a member of the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Testament from 1983 until his departure in 1993...
(of TestamentTestament (band)Testament is an American metal band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1983. They are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
) – second guitar solo on "Ashes of the Wake" - Chris PolandChris PolandChris Poland is an American guitarist, best known for being a former member of heavy metal band Megadeth.-Early career:...
(formerly of MegadethMegadethMegadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
) – third guitar solo on "Ashes of the Wake"
Production
- ProducedRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by MachineMachine (producer)Machine is an American music producer and engineer who has worked with many bands of many different genres.-Discography:Machine has worked with a number of artists on their albums:-External links:* * *...
and Lamb of GodLamb of God (band)Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994, the group consists of vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, bassist John Campbell, and drummer Chris Adler... - Recorded and mixedAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
by Machine - EngineeredAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
by John AgnelloJohn AgnelloJohn Agnello is a producer, recording engineer and mixer who has been involved with many albums throughout the last 25 years. Most recently, John has been involved with Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, Sweet Apple, Dinosaur Jr...
and Machine - Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
by Tony Schloff, Todd Parker, and Dan Korneff; assisted by Ted Young, Al Weatherhead, Casey Martin, Jeremy Miller, and Cam DiNunzio - 5.1 surround sound5.1 surround sound5.1 is the common name for six channel surround sound multichannel audio systems. 5.1 is now the most commonly used layout in both commercial cinemas and home theaters. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low frequency enhancement channel . Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, and...
mixed by Thom Cadley and masteredAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
by Mark Wilder