God Bless America

Helping them along was Today is the Day's Steve Austin, who produced. "We worked with Steve on the Burn the Priest record," Adler says. "This label in Philadelphia, Legion Records, put it out. And it was a severely independent label. It was basically a buddy of ours who had a few extra dollars and wanted to get us on record because he believed in us. And with the kind of budget we had, we really didn't have many options to get this going. So we put the word out that we were looking to record stuff to the guys who do this stuff, and we had played a few of the shows with Steve. He got in touch and said, 'I don't care what your budget is--I really want to work you guys. I really like your band.' So we went up and spent four of the longest days ever recording that record, actually tracked 14 songs and mixed and produced it in four days.

"But in those four days something really magical happened between us and Steve, just a mutual respect and understanding that we have for each other that couldn't be replaced," Adler continues. "And I think that's why when it came time to do New American Gospel there was no choice but to go back. He's worked harder for us than I know anyone would. He's really become like a sixth member of this band. He laid down vocal tracks on both records. He just really believes in what we're doing and wants to help as best he can."

Nü metal, meet new metal: "We go 110 percent and it's about the music," Lamb of God’s Chris Adler says. "We'd much rather spend our time working on the songs than our makeup."

Details

Lamb of God performs October 14 at the Dreamworld Music Complex as part of the Metallennium tour. God Forbid, Darkest Hour and Six Feet Under also perform.

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More About

• Will Adler
• Chris Adler
• Richmond (Virginia)
• Heavy Metal
• Religion

That assistance is finally starting to pay off for the band. New American Gospel has opened a number of doors for the band and has been the main reason Lamb of God has been getting offers to hit the road extensively and expose its sound to metal heads looking for that new kick. "We're supposed to be, and looking forward to greatly, touring in England later in the year," Adler says. "Everything for us recently has been very alive. We're starting to take that leap. We're stepping out of the van and doing some big-time stuff. It's nice, of course, to be received well, and we're flattered by the press that we've been getting lately, but we just want to keep pushing the envelope. We're really just happy to do this and be the friends we are and have such a good time."