Omens (Lamb of God album)

Omens is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Lamb of God. The album was released on October 7, 2022, through Epic Records and Nuclear Blast. It was produced by Josh Wilbur, who has collaborated with the band since 2006.[1]

Omens
Studio album by
Lamb of God
ReleasedOctober 7, 2022
Genre
Length41:06
Label
ProducerJosh Wilbur
Lamb of God chronology
Lamb of God
(2020)		 Omens
(2022)

Omens sold 19,000 copies in its first week, including 5,100 of pure vinyl sales. It debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and also debuted at the No. 1 of Top Hard Rock Albums, No. 3 of Album Sales, No. 3 of Top Rock Albums and No. 5 of Vinyl Albums.[2]

Background

The band's previous album, the self-titled Lamb of God, was released in 2020 shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The band was unable to tour behind that album, thus disrupting their usual cycle of recording and releasing albums, with each followed by a supporting tour, The band was unaccustomed to the downtime in 2020–2021, so they decided to create a new album with Omens being written and developed more quickly than their previous albums.[1] The album's release was accompanied by a documentary film called The Making Of: Omens, which is available at the band's website.[3]

The album's lyrics are informed by the social upheavals experienced in the United States since 2020,[3] including the debate over the history of the band's hometown of Richmond, Virginia in the song "Nevermore",[1] plus awareness of international environmental issues informed by singer Randy Blythe's recent advocacy work with indigenous communities in the United States and Ecuador.[4] Most of the album was recorded live in the same room, as a departure from the online sharing of tracks that many bands had to adopt during the pandemic.[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
Kerrang![7]

Omens was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 80, based on 5 reviews.[6]

Kerrang! concluded that "Omens finds the Virginia metal bruisers returning sounding as reliably heavy, violent, and pissed-off as ever."[7] According to Spin magazine, the album grabs "listeners by their prefrontal cortexes, shaking the metal faithful around to what the hell is going on as they blissfully mosh through the ruins of modern living."[4]

Metal Injection noted that the album mixes in some elements of other genres that have rarely appeared in Lamb of God releases before, including hardcore punk, and described "a genuine thread of palpable lament woven through every track".[5] Distorted Sound also noticed the influence of hardcore punk, plus a "raw" feel arising from the live recording techniques used in the studio, and concluded that "Omens is another incredible album to add to an already stacked back catalogue that features just enough subtle additions to keep the band still sounding as fresh as ever."[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lamb of God

Omens track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Nevermore"4:36
2."Vanishing"4:49
3."To the Grave"3:44
4."Ditch"3:38
5."Omens"3:48
6."Gomorrah"4:12
7."Ill Designs"3:41
8."Grayscale"4:00
9."Denial Mechanism"2:38
10."September Song"6:00
Total length:41:06
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Evidence"3:50
Total length:44:56

Personnel

Lamb of God

Technical

Charts
Chart performance for Omens
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 61
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 54
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 111
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 9
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 62
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 10
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 110
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[18] 76
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[19] 84
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] 11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[21] 85
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 34
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[24] 4
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[25] 3
US Billboard 200[26] 15
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[27] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[28] 3

References
  1. Graff, Gary (October 6, 2022). "Inside the 'Very Live Pulse' of Lamb of God's New Album 'Omens'". Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  2. "LAMB OF GOD, COUNTERPARTS, & more first week sales numbers". lambgoat.com. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  3. Scarlett, Liz (October 7, 2022). "Lamb Of God's video for the their new, heavy AF track Ditch is dirty, wild chaos". MSN. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  4. Pettigrew, Jason (October 5, 2022). "Lamb of God's Omens Are Coming to Light". Spin. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  5. McKenna, Shaun (October 5, 2022). "Album Review: Lamb of God Omens". Metal Injection. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  6. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  7. Ruskell, Nick (October 6, 2022). "Album review: Lamb Of God – Omens". Kerrang!. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  8. Ray, Graham (October 4, 2022). "ALBUM REVIEW: Omens - Lamb Of God". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  9. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 17 October 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1702. Australian Recording Industry Association. October 17, 2022. p. 6.
  10. "Austriancharts.at – Lamb of God – Omens" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Lamb of God – Omens" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Lamb of God – Omens" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  13. "Lamb of God Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lamb of God – Omens" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  15. "Lamb of God: Omens" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  16. "Top Albums (Week 41, 2022)". SNEP. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Lamb of God – Omens" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  18. "ラム・オブ・ゴッド" (in Japanese). Oricon. July 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  19. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of October 12, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  20. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  21. "Spanishcharts.com – Lamb of God – Omens". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  22. "Swisscharts.com – Lamb of God – Omens". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  23. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  24. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  25. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  26. "Lamb of God Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  27. "Lamb of God Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  28. "Lamb of God Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
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