Ashes of the Wake is the fourth studio album and first major-label release by American heavy metal band Lamb of God, released in 2004 via Epic Records. 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.[9] This album also was rated by Metal Hammer as the 5th greatest Metal Album of The 21st Century.[10] The album was inspired by the events that took place during the war in Iraq with songs such as "Ashes of the Wake" (which includes snippets of former Marine Staff Sergeant 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". The quote at the beginning of "Omerta" is a paraphrase of the Sicilian Mafia's code of silence.[11] As of August 2010, Ashes of the Wake has sold 398,000 copies in the United States.[12] Ten years after its release, as of 2014, sales have topped 400,000 copies sold and is Lamb of God’s best-selling record.[13] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in February 2016.[14]
Ashes of the Wake | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 31, 2004 | |||
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Length | 47:42 | |||
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Producer |
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Lamb of God chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
Blabbermouth.net | 7/10[5] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[6] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[1] |
Kerrang! | [7] |
PopMatters | favorable[8] |
The first pressing came with a bonus disc titled "Pure American Metal", including songs taken from the band's previous albums (Burn the Priest, New American Gospel and As the Palaces Burn), a live recording of the song "Black Label" from DVD Terror and Hubris, as well as a pre-production demo of the song "Laid to Rest".
The Japanese edition included a bonus song "Another Nail for Your Coffin" which was released worldwide in 2010 in a three-CD box set called Hourglass: The Anthology. The song was later included on the 15th anniversary edition of the album.
A DualDisc version was released in the United States. 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 "Break You" causes the vocals to be displaced throughout the track, and pitch shift high and low throughout the song. This error is also in the Dolby Atmos mix on Apple Music.
The album was generally well received; Blabbermouth.net gave it a 7 rating.[5] Johnny Loftus of AllMusic gave it a 4 out of 5 star rating.[4] He praised Blythe's vocals, saying they became, "Lamb of God's threshold of pain conduit."
All tracks are written by Randy Blythe, Willie Adler, Chris Adler, Mark Morton and John Campbell
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Laid to Rest" | 3:50 |
2. | "Hourglass" | 4:00 |
3. | "Now You've Got Something to Die For" | 3:39 |
4. | "The Faded Line" | 4:37 |
5. | "Omerta" | 4:45 |
6. | "Blood of the Scribe" | 4:23 |
7. | "One Gun" | 3:59 |
8. | "Break You" | 3:35 |
9. | "What I've Become" | 3:28 |
10. | "Ashes of the Wake" | 5:45 |
11. | "Remorse Is for the Dead" | 5:41 |
Total length: | 47:42 |
No. | Title | Length |
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12. | "Another Nail for Your Coffin" | 4:37 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Bloodletting" (from Burn the Priest) | 1:58 |
2. | "The Subtle Arts of Murder and Persuasion" (from New American Gospel) | 4:10 |
3. | "11th Hour" (from As the Palaces Burn) | 3:43 |
4. | "Black Label" (live, from Terror and Hubris) | 4:37 |
5. | "Laid to Rest" (demo) | 3:47 |
No. | Title | Length |
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12. | "Another Nail for Your Coffin" | 4:37 |
13. | "Laid to Rest" (demo) | 3:47 |
14. | "Ashes of the Wake" (demo) | 5:32 |
15. | "Remorse is for the Dead" (demo) | 4:20 |
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada)[19] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[21] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Lamb of God dipped their toes into the metalcore craze with 2004's 'Ashes of the Wake,' but only so far as to successfully incorporate the style rather than allowing it to disfigure their already well-developed thrash-groove-death amalgam.
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