10 Bands Who Had Terrible Names Before They Were Successful

Lamb of God may already be viewed as a blasphemous band name by some, even getting them banned from performing at venues, but it could have been so much worse.

At the band's inception in 1994, Josh Campbell, Chris Adler, Matt Conner and Mark Morton chose to be called 'Burn the Priest' - initially performing as an instrumental quartet before adding vocalist Randy Blythe.

Not only did Burn the Priest release several demos and EPs, they were signed to Legion Records and released a full-length, self-titled album under the moniker. However, a line-up change seemed to usher in a new era for the metal legends and the band would christen themselves 'Lamb of God' shortly before the turn of the millennium.

'Lamb of God' is taken from the Gospel of John, where John the Baptist proclaims Jesus Christ as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" - and not merely a reference to the meaning of Agnes Skinner's forename.

Shortly thereafter, Randy Blythe mentioned the name change would, for people hearing it for the first time, be "a little less of a sledgehammer to the face" and help the Virginia rockers avoid being mistaken for a satanic metal band.

"You're automatically stamped with 'Evil' on your forehead with a name like Burn the Priest."

Ironically, folklore suggests the name change was a result of the band being banned from venues, but those bans actually came thereafter - as bassist John Campbell confirmed to Metalship in 2012.