Lamb of God’s Ashes of the Wake (20th Anniversary Edition), featuring new mixes of classic tracks like “Laid To Rest” and “Omerta” by HEALTH and Justin K Broadrick, respectively, along with an enhanced version of “Another Nail For Your Coffin” with guest vocals from Malevolence‘s Alex Taylor and Kublai Khan TX’s Matt Honeycutt, is out now via Epic Records and Legacy Recordings.
The album’s release is accompanied by a lyric video for Justin K Broadrick’s (Godflesh/Jesu) reimagined version of “Omerta” (https://lambofgod.lnk.to/OmertaLyricVideo). “Since the release of Godflesh’s landmark 1989 debut album, Streetcleaner, I’ve been a fan of the beautifully abrasive sounds Justin Broadrick has unleased,” Randy Blythe shares. “To have this groundbreaking artist remix my personal favorite song from Ashes of the Wake is beyond wild to me.”
In a recent Revolver x Lamb of God special issue, Blythe explained that the song title refers to “the old-School Sicilian Cosa Nostra code of silence,” and adding, “that aspect of ‘handle your own shit’ is very attractive to me, especially in this insane, litigious, whiny society we live in.”
Mark Morton, in conversation with Decibel Magazine, discussed the 20th anniversary of the pivotal record: “The fact that Mastodon’s Leviathan came out on the same day as Ashes… and the Killswitch Engage record End of Heartache came out just a few months before those records got me thinking about the scene then. It was a vibrant and fertile period for contemporary heavy metal. It was really happening. It felt right to honor that.”
In addition to the pair of new mixes and the augmented version of “Another Nail For Your Coffin,” Ashes of the Wake (20th Anniversary Edition) also includes live recordings of “Remorse Is for the Dead” and “Now You’ve Got Something To Die For,” while the 2CD and digital versions feature demo versions of “Laid to Rest,” “Ashes of the Wake,” and “Remorse Is for the Dead.” The set is available now via https://lambofgod.lnk.to/AshesOfTheWake20.
Lamb of God wraps up the “Ashes of the Leviathan” tour this weekend, with the band’s co-headlining trek with Mastodon playing the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre this evening, followed by a performance Omaha’s Astro Amphitheater tomorrow before wrapping up the tour with a Sunday outing at Rocklahoma. Lamb of God have two additional dates slated for 2024: Riot Fest on Sept. 22, and the band’s Headbanger Boat cruise, Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 with guests including Chimaira, Poison the Well, Carcass, Soulfly, Exodus, Napalm Death, Corrosion of Conformity, After The Burial, Currents, Bleeding Through, Unearth, Eyehategod, Frozen Soul and Unity.
Ashes of the Wake (20th Anniversary Edition) tracklist:
1. Laid to Rest
2. Hourglass
3. Now You’ve Got Something to Die For
4. The Faded Line
5. Omerta
6. Blood Of The Scribe
7. One Gun
8. Break You
9. What I’ve Become
10. Ashes of the Wake
11. Remorse Is for the Dead
12. Laid to Rest (Pre-Production Demo) *
13. Ashes of the Wake (Pre-Production Demo) *
14. Remorse Is for the Dead (Pre-Production Demo) *
15. Another Nail For Your Coffin (Feat. Kublai Khan TX & Malevolence)
16. Laid to Rest (HEALTH Remix)
17. Omerta (Justin K Broadrick Remix)
18. Remorse Is for the Dead (Live in Richmond, VA)
19. Now You’ve Got Something To Die For (Live from 2007)
*-Exclusive to 2CD & Digital
Lamb of God is Randy Blythe (vocals), John Campbell (bass), Mark Morton (guitar), Willie Adler (guitar) and Art Cruz (drums). Formed in 1994, the Richmond, Va.-based band have released nine critically-acclaimed albums, received five GRAMMY-Award nominations and are widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative forces in heavy music. The band’s most recent collection, Omens, arrived in late 2022 with Kerrang! noting that the album finds the band “as reliably heavy, violent, and pissed off as ever,” and Consequence saying the “album will break you down to nihilistic pieces.”
