Two years after the great Ashes of the Wake, LOG is back with their next metal-defining album, Sacrament. This album isn't perfect, but it's damn near close. Since this is my first full review, and it's quarter-past 2 in the morning, I'll do a simple t-b-t review, just to quicken things (yeah, I'm that lazy)
Here we go:
1) Walk With Me In Hell- This is a great opening track, one of my favorites on the album. Yeah, the intro kinda drags along, but it's a great riff and a great chorus as Randy screams: "take hold of my hand! For you are no longer alone! WALK WITH ME IN HELL!" The one problem that I have with this song is the interlude, which actually drags along (more than the intro), but a great solo makes up for that. 5/5
2) Again We Rise- When I first heard the very beginning of this song, I knew that LOG had really changed. It sent shivers up my spine, but the good kind. This is another awesome song. There's another solo in there, and the whole song is great guitar work and drumming by Chris Adler, who is one of my favorite drummers. Another good, yet vulgar, song lyrically ("Store-bought attitude attitude and spit; A sugar-coated piece of ***", etc) 4.5/5
3) Redneck- This is not like any other song on the CD. Again, great guitar and drum work (I won't say that again, every other song has great guitar and drum parts), and Randy's voice is not screaming most of the time, which suits this song and adds a nice touch. It's a good song, but it can get tiring with too many listens. 4/5
4)Pathetic- Another un-LOG-esque intro, which serves as a nice chorus. More different-sounding vocals, and another nice solo here. Besides that, I don't really have much to say. 4/5
5) Foot to the Throat- This gets back to the old LOG style with a metal opening riff and chorus. The interlude is only ok though. The riff repeats itself too many times, but Randy's whispering that slowly builds into talking and then screaming makes up for that partly. 3.5/5
6) Descending- Like Walk With Me In Hell, this song is a highlight of the album. IMO, this song is even better. Although it has the same intro, verse, and pre-verse riff, it doesn't matter because it's one of the best riffs I've heard in a while. Chris's drumming is really powerful, and JC is heard at times. More excellent lyrics ("This god that I worship, This demon I blame, Conspire as one exactly the same!) One of the shortest interludes I've heard from LOG, but no matter. This song gets a 5/5
7) Blacken The Cursed Sun- Another great track. A Slayer-esque intro (at least that's the first thing that comes to my mind when I listen to it) that leads to more power drumming and a long interlude that leads to one of my favorite LOG outros of all time. This consists of Randy saying and/or screaming various questions (e.g., Is there time to repent? Will we rise from the dead?, etc), only to be replied with a chant of "HELL NO!" a near-perfect song 4.5/5
8) Forgotten (Lost Angels)- For the shortest song on the album, a lot happens in this song. It begins with an Adler-iffic drum solo, and leads to some fast guitar and drums. In less than three-and-a-half minutes, there's two verses, three choruses, an interlude w/ a guitar solo, and two "other" choruses ("Burn it down!") 4/5
9) Requiem- This song starts the second after Forgotten (Lost Angels) ends, it's hard to tell that it's a different song. It has an awesome intro (harmonized and everything) with a cool verse and another interlude featuring soft talking by Blythe and another solo (this album sure has a lot of those, finally) 4/5
10) More Time to Kill- This is the inevitable "crappy" song on this album. I really don't like it. Looking at the lyrics, they're really death metal, but Randy doesn't deliver (except for the first verse, which is pretty awesome). There's also a quickie clean interlude part that leads to a nice scream, and another solo with singing behind it. Besides that, there's not much that's good to say about this song 2.75/5
11) Beating on Death's Door- This isn't the awesome ending that it should be. Not that it's bad, it just doesn't have that feel to it. It's still a pretty good song with some really good drumming and it has its shining moments with some good lyrics. It also has a weird ending where it just stays silent for half a minute. Not the best way to end the album, but it's pretty decent. 3.5/5
All in all, this is LOG's best album, I must say. They really took a step up musically, including vocally (it seems that the more they progress, the better the vocals become. Hell, the better the everything becomes!)
Uhh... yeah, final rating (time for my math skills): 44.75/50
There ya go, kiddies.
