Customer Reviews

Burn the Priest (Rmx)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Randy Blythe, Abe Spear, Mark Morton, John Campbell, and Chris Adler formed a band called Burn the Priest in 1998, and released this, their first full length album, in 1999. Then they dropped Abe, replaced him with Willie Adler (Chris' brother) and changed their name to Lamb of God (probably to appeal to a broader audience). Five or six years ago, Burn the Priest were almost unheard of; but now any metalhead should know who they are.

Due to the success that Lamb of God have had, they re-released Burn the Priest's self-titled debut. If you thought "As the Palaces Burn" was brutal, you'll have to think of a different adjective for this band. You'll immediately know that this album is nothing short of a furious, all-out onslaught. It is simply relentless and extreme metal.

You may make some comparisons to "New American Gospel," but if I heard this C.D. without knowing Lamb of God's history, I would have never guessed this was them. First of all, it is about five times heavier than L.o.G. and about two times darker. Next, Chris Adler's constant double bass drumming is missing-or it's not AS constant, at least. And finally, Randy's vocals are different. He still summons his guttural death metal growls, but he lays down an equal amount of VERY high pitched, throat straining yells. Sometimes, he even switches back and forth (between the two vocal techniques) in the same song (i.e. in track eight). This C.D. is pretty unique, but if I had to compare it to some other bands, I'd say it's like a cross of Behemoth, Black Dahlia Murder, and Heaven Shall Burn.

"Bloodletting" is (especially the beginning) very freaky and startling. It has flattening drum work and non-stop, uncompromising guitar riffs, but what really makes the listener's ears bleed is Randy's blood curdling, almost emo-like shrieking, which begins as soon as you hit the PLAY button.
"Dimera" has a pounding beat with bobbing riffs and Randy's vocals are deeper here than they were on track one. And near the end of the song, he lets loose an extended, descending bellow.
"Resurrection #9" has thunderous double bass drumming and more shrill battle cries. There's a tempo change, making the beat even faster, but it slows way down (while remaining equally as heavy) by the end.
"Goatfish" is forcefully heavy and blindingly fast. The drums are first crashing, but then they become crushing, and some more retching yells are included. This is one of the many tracks on here that sounds like Chris is using a sledgehammer instead of drum sticks.
"Lies of Autumn" has slower, churning riffs, before the drums kick in, speeding the beat way up. There is some cascading riffs and furious drumming, but the song eventually changes to bobbing riffs and staccato vocals. It speeds up again, back to its first speed, to end the song.
"Chronic Auditory Hallucination" begins with a sprinting beat, which consists of white hot riffs and iron metal bass drums. This song eventually becomes a stop-start beat with inhuman vocals.
"Preaching to the Converted" is almost deafening. It begins with booming riffs, before the guitars change to echo Sepultura (a la their "Arise" album), and a driving double bass is also included. Plus, Randy, of course, rattles his vocal chords to release some roars which are both high and low pitched.
"Ruiner" charges ahead with the usual impenetrable wall of sound, but this song is a highlight because of the two mini guitar solos.

So, there's still a ringing in my ears. From beginning to end, this disc is skull-rattling and speaker shredding. Every song and every beat pummels you and beats you down. This is an impenetrable wall of sound if I've ever heard one. There are no slow beginnings and no soft outros or interludes, so there is no relief. Every song is as punishing as the last.

Since this album was previously discontinued, and since all of the band members were fairly young when they were originally in this band, I didn't expect much when I first listened to this C.D. I expected it to be not very far removed from the other Lamb of God albums. I had no idea it was going to be this heavy, and I also had no idea it would be better than "New American Gospel." But it is!

What I don't understand is why this album isn't more popular. Some Lamb of God fans must not know about it, because if they did, they'd be sure to pick it up. I do not recommend this C.D. to the faint hearted; but if you're a fan of turbo-charged, often deafening hardcore metal, this is for you.

Before they were Lamb of God, there was Burn the Priest; and the band name alone should tell what you're in for when you pop this disc in. The first thing you'll notice is that the music and vocals and far more death metal-esque tuned than anything the gang has released as Lamb of God, and it's all the better for it. Standout tracks like "Bloodletting", "Resurrection #9", and "Ruiner" are great, and will even have old time metal heads banging their heads in approval. The only downside of Burn the Priest is that it's over too short, and in that short time it loses steam towards the end of it's second half; which hurt the overall package. Not to mention that while this album features some amazing double bass drum assaults and roaring vocals, this isn't as "brutal" as previous reviewers are making it out to be, but despite all that, this is still great. If you're a Lamb of God fan, you'll no doubt eat this up, and for the rest of us, this is a solid re-discovery of a lost gem.

This is perhaps the most vicious CD I have ever listened too. When I put it in I was expecting LOG to give me some sort of intro. No intro, you press play and its like setting off a car bomb. Favorite song? Chronic Auditory Hallucinations after the first listen it was immedialty put at the top as my favorite LOG song. I was hypnotized, it was truly startling. May not be perfect, but as most would agree, still way ahead of the rest.

i picked this cd up because a coworker and me were talking about different metal bands around the other day and he mentioned burn the priest. He told me that they were formally lamb of god and the whole history and the only way he could possible say to describe them was is that it was brutal and one of the most insane cds ever. It was so convincing i picked up the cd(i never do this) and the only thing i can say is wow he was right. This cd is more than brutal, its insane. The double bass, the vocals are leaps and bounds better than LoG in my opinion, and the guitar riffs are mind shattering. My favorite song is Bloodletting by far.....but all of them are amazing, if you like some good straight up metal, thats a lot heavier than lamb of god and most other metal bands out there today pick up this cd you wont be dissapointed. Its worth every penny. When i get mad i just blast this cd and wow....it makes me go crazy. Pick up this cd!

If you claim to like music of the harder pursuasion and listen to this and pass, you are and idiot. Truely, this CD is one of the best things I've heard. It's not perfect, not that that kind of CD is easy to find, but it should impact you for some time.

I've always thought that you have to give a band a little slack on their first release. BtP is really Lamb of God's first album. It has a lot going for it: it's brutal and heavy and the production is good (this is a re-release). Obviously, as a new band, they didn't have the songwriting maturity that they do now. There were times I heard hints of Pantera and even (if you take away the vocals) Black Sabbath. I think most LoG fans will appreciate this release. Don't buy this as your first LoG purchase. It's pretty good but not something I would recommend that people rush out and buy.

Not bad but not recommended.

I absolutely love this cd. Everyone who is a Lamb of God fan MUST have this cd as well. Personally, I could listen to these guys everyday for the rest of my life and still never get enough of them. This cd is golden, just like all of the Lamb of God cds. I highly recommend this band (& Lamb Of God) for any person who is looking for some really great metal.

I was introduced to Burn The Priest probably the same way everyone else was, knowing this was the beginnings of Lamb Of God. But this isn't the Lamb Of God that released Ashes Of The Wake (a great CD), this is more in line with the Lamb Of God that released New American Gospel, but take the band's intesity and brutality in that CD and multiply that by 4. Then you'll begin to have an idea of how crushing this CD truly is. I've been listening to death metal for about a year and this surprised me. If you think Randy's voice is insane now, then you haven't heard anything yet. My favorite CD of LoG's was New American Gospel, but for me, this CD tears it to shreds.

Everything you love about LoG is still here, the crazy guitars, bass, and drums, the only difference is that the intensity level is amped up beyond reason. When compared to other death bands, Burn The Priest's wealthy helping of 14 tracks against the average 10 goes to show that they weren't typical, so there's nothing you could really hate about this release. Each song sounds completely different from the last so it's not hard to decipher one track from the next. While I love the way the band plays, I think Randy's vocals are what makes this CD what it is. He goes from complete death growl to an all out scream like it's nothing, and that keeps the songs fresh to me. From the instant heaviness of Bloodletting to brutal ending of Ruiner, there's not one point on this CD that'll have you yearning to skip a track.

My favorite songs are Bloodletting, Resurrection #9, Lies Of Autumn, Suffering Bastard, and Ruiner. For me this is the perfect death metal album. I like when bands experiment, but I also admire the straight-forward metal. Burn The Priest being the latter of the two. If you're someone wanting to get into death metal, or metal in general, I wouldn't start here, but if you're already a fan of the genre and have yet to hear this, then by all means, head out right now and get it.

Before Lamb Of God, there was a band called Burn The Priest. This band was formed in 1998 with Randy on vocals, Mark and Abe on guitars, John on bass and Chris on drums and this people are meant to bring the "REAL" metal back. Burn The Priest was not widely known then, but they played countless underground shows in clubs and basements. In 1999, they released their first full-length self-titled album under Legion Records. After that, they dropped Abe and replaced him with Chris' brother Willie then changed their name to Lamb Of God. Now, after the success of their Ashes Of The Wake album, Sony decided to re-release their self-titled album, remastered it and remixed it to make it more audible. You must be thinking that this is another Lamb Of God album? Think again. Although I love and cherish every album made by Lamb Of God those are nothing compared to this album because this album is darker, heavier, faster, insanely brutal and very raw. The first time you hear this album, you will find out that it has influences of Death, Grind, Thrash and even Black Metal. You'll be surprised to hear that Randy's voice is very very heavy on this C.D., he can create high ear-piercing shrieks and can also create Cannibal Corpse-like growls. This enhanced C.D. contains a video of "Bloodletting" taken from the amazing Killadelphia DVD and if you think the album front cover is lame, look inside and you will see the original front cover artwork. So, if you want to know the brutal history of Lamb Of God, then this album is for you. If you love Death Metal, Thrash Metal or anything Metal then this album is also for you. If I could only give this album 1000/5 stars, I would. Trust me, you'll never regret buying this album. Also get, New American Gospel, As The Palaces Burn, Ashes Of The Wake C.D.'s, and my all-time favorite concert DVD, Killadelphia by Lamb Of God.

Here are my ratings for each track:

01. Bloodletting - 5/5
02. Ah, f@#k every track of this album is 5/5 for me.

Peace out and stay metal!!!!! \m/ (o_0) \m/

When I picked up this album,I was not expecting anything significant.I am a Lamb Of God fan,but this is discontinued material,so why the hell should it be any better then LOG?
Not only does it match up to LOG's great performance but it over dominates LOG.
I listen to Death Metal everyday,ranging from dying fetus,to Cannibal Corpse,to Six Feet Under,to bands like Behemoth...but over all: I have never heard of anything more brutal and ferocious then Burn The Priest.
This album holds a brutality bigger then anything LOG has done.The guitar riffs make you want to destroy what is around you,the drum beats beat you to a bloody pulp,and the vocals are massive.Randy alternates between low screams to high screams to deep growls.
This is truely an amazing album to behold,only for the ones who can take the extreme,otherwise stay away.
BTW on the inside of the booklet you get the original cover too.
The best songs are:

Bloodletting
Dimera
Resurrection*9
Goatfish
Suffering (...)
Preaching To The Converted

The heaviest album of all.So sit back and endure the pain.
Oh and if anyone is believing no children listen to this stuff: I do,I am 13.