12 Most Underrated Metal Albums

Before they become one of the breakout stars of the New Wave Of American Metal, four fifths of Lamb Of God’s ‘classic’ line up played together in the metallic hardcore act Burn The Priest. When they signed with Prosthetic Records, their debut album New American Gospel was released under the new name but ejected none of the previous band's punk spirit and raw ferocity.

It’s a relentless and intimidating body of songs with sharp songwriting and production that manages to be engaging in spite of itself. The album is as raw as a scraped knee, particularly by Lamb Of God’s later standards when they would go on to do brilliant work with Devin Townsend and Josh Wilbur. The drums crack like rifle rounds, the guitars are fuzzy and feral, and Randy Blythe’s screams as if buried in a shallow grave.

The craftsmanship on display is far from Lamb Of God’s finest, but in terms of pure, raw ferocity, New American Gospel has rarely been topped over the last few decades. The album has unjustly fallen by the wayside the further Lamb Of God have risen in prominence, perhaps because it’s so much less palatable than their later, more polished work.

However, if you want to hear the sound of a smart young band lunging for the world’s jugular vein, New American Gospel is begging for your time.