Ashes of the Wake

Untitled

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blabbermouth.net	7/10
Entertainment Weekly	B+
PopMatters	favorable

Ashes of the Wake is the third studio album by American groove 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. The album is aimed at 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 Mafia's code of silence. As of August 2010, Ashes of the Wake has sold 398,000 copies in the United States. Ten years after its release, as of 2014, sales have topped 400,000 copies sold and is Lamb of God’s best-selling record. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in February 2016.

Releases

The first pressing came with a bonus disc titled "Pure American Metal",

The Japanese edition included a bonus song "Another Nail for Your Coffin" which was released worldwide in 2010 on disc 3 of the 3-CD box set Hourglass: The Anthology along with other band rarities.

A DualDisc version was released in the U.S. 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 "One Gun" causes the vocals to pitch shift high and low throughout the song.

Reception

The album was generally well received; Blabbermouth.net gave it a 7 rating. Johnny Loftus of AllMusic gave it a 4 out of 5 star rating. He praised Blythe's vocals, saying they became, "Lamb of God's threshold of pain conduit."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Randy Blythe, Willie Adler, Chris Adler, Mark Morton and John Campbell

No.	Title	Length
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:		47:40

Japanese bonus track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Another Nail for Your Coffin"	4:37

Pure American Metal (First pressing bonus disc)

No.	Title	Length
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

Personnel

Lamb of God

• Randy Blythe – vocals
• Mark Morton – solo and lead guitar
• Willie Adler – rhythm guitar
• John Campbell – bass guitar
• Chris Adler – drums

Additional musicians

• Alex Skolnick (of Testament) – second guitar solo on song "Ashes of the Wake"
• Chris Poland (formerly of Megadeth) – third guitar solo on song "Ashes of the Wake"

Additional personnel

• Produced by Machine and Lamb of God
• Recorded and mixed by Machine
• Engineered by John Agnello and Machine
• Pro Tools by Tony Schloff, Todd Parker, and Dan Korneff; assisted by Ted Young, Al Weatherhead, Casey Martin, Jeremy Miller, and Cam DiNunzio
• 5.1 surround sound mixed by Thom Cadley and mastered by Mark Wilder

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
126
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)	11
US Billboard 200	27