LAMB OF GOD - Omens LP (Black Vinyl)

Naturally the question for the newcomer and the hardened faithful that have followed Lamb Of God since the beginning alike becomes, where does Omens fit in the expansive catalog associated with the band in question? The answer is basically somewhere in the middle, as it lacks the distinction of being the first album to really flesh out this formula that Ashes Of The Wake can claim, nor does it go beyond the expansive variation on said format that was accomplished on 2009’s Wrath, but it is by no means a slouch. There are no weak links to speak of here, nor anything that would sound like a puzzling deviation that would meet with the disapproval of this style’s established audience, and the ante has definitely been upped in how massive things sound given further strides in production quality. It does play things a tad safe, but ultimately accomplishes the same satisfying restatement of what works that many newer albums by established adherents of the NWOAHM movement have been putting out of late, and should not be passed up by anyone who likes their metal as heavy as can be.