Lamb Of God’s former producer has explained one of the “pop ideas” he added to 2004 album Ashes Of The Wake.
Talking exclusively in the new issue of Metal Hammer, Gene ‘Machine’ Freeman says that the groove metal veterans were resistant to outside suggestions while in the studio for their fourth full-length record.
However, one battle the producer was able to win was adding extra lines to the song Now You’ve Got Something To Die For, repeating the track’s namesake lyric to turn it into a refrain.
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“The band were quite a closed book,” Machine says to journalist Stephen Hill.
“I had to fight to get a lot of my ideas across to them.”
He continues: “I remember the hook for Now You’ve Got Something To Die For was just a single line in the song.
“I said, ‘If you were to repeat that, you’d get thousands of people chanting it back at you and it would really connect emotionally.’
“Even getting that over was tough. They didn’t like the idea of choruses.
“I managed to sneak a little bit of, dare I say it, pop ideas in there.”
In the same interview, Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe calls Machine “the guy who really broke down some of the walls that we had put up around us, the fortress that is Lamb Of God creatively”.
Despite never being released as a single, Now You’ve Got Something To Die For has become a fan favourite.
The song is Lamb Of God’s third-most performed ever, according to setlist wiki setlist.fm. It’s been played live 977 times at time of publication.
The only songs that have been performed more frequently are fellow Ashes Of The Wake cut Laid To Rest (1,013 times) and 2003 As The Palaces Burn track Ruin (1,001).
Ashes Of The Wake is being reissued on August 30 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
The re-release includes a new version of bonus track Another Nail For Your Coffin, featuring metalcore beloveds Kublai Khan TX and Malevolence, plus a remix of Laid To Rest by industrial noise-pop group Health.
Lamb Of God will also mark two decades of Ashes Of The Wake by co-headlining a tour of North America with Mastodon.
The band will play the album in full. Mastodon will perform their 2004 album Leviathan in full as well.
See the full list of dates below.
As well the interview with Machine and Blythe, the new Metal Hammer contains a celebration of four decades of thrash metal, featuring Metallica, Exodus, Anthrax and more. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.
Lamb Of God and Mastodon Ashes Of Leviathan North American tour 2024
Jul 23: Jacksonville Daily’s Place, FL
Jul 24: Orlando Orlando Amphitheater, FL
Jul 25: Alpharetta Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, GA
Jul 27: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC
Jul 28: Richmond Virginia Credit Union LIVE!, VA
Jul 30: Pittsburgh Stage AE, PA
Jul 31: London Budweiser Gardens, ON
Aug 01: Montreal Bell Centre, QC
Aug 03: Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena, CT
Aug 04: Manchester SNHU Arena, NH
Aug 06: Bangor Maine Savings Amphitheatre, ME
Aug 08: Reading Santander Arena, PA
Aug 09: Cleveland Jacobs Pavilion, OH
Aug 10: Sterling Heights Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre, MI
Aug 13: Moorhead Bluestem Center For The Arts Amphitheater, MN
Aug 15: Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome, AB
Aug 16: Penticton South Okanagan Events Centre, BC
Aug 17: Kent Accesso ShoWare Center, WA
Aug 18: Portland Theater of the Clouds, OR
Aug 21: Los Angeles The Kia Forum, CA
Aug 23: Phoenix Arizona Financial Theatre, AZ
Aug 24: Rio Rancho Rio Rancho Events Center, NM
Aug 25: El Paso El Paso County Coliseum, TX
Aug 27: Magna The Great Saltair, UT
Aug 29: Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO
Aug 31: Omaha The Astro Amphitheater, NE
