The late 1990s and early 2000s was an interesting time in the world of heavy music. Metal had evolved into what is now known as Nu Metal which incorporated a hip-hop element. This style can be found among Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and even early Kid Rock records. While popular, it divided fans immensely. The screaming guitar solos, heart-pounding kick drums, and Cookie Monster guttural vocals were abandoned for scratching turntables, seven string airy guitar riffs and rap-centered verses. Jonathan Davis of Korn even incorporated beat boxing into their music which became a defining characteristic for the band.
On the other side of the spectrum, the bands that were popular in the 1980s and early 1990s had fallen into obscurity. Metallica had pushed themselves into a more alternative style, Pantera was plagued with drug addiction and Slayer had released a few less than stellar albums that had failed to live up to their previous glory. Grunge that had once dominated the alternative radio waves had gone silent. There was a void that needed to be filled. Heavy music needed their new poster child for brutality.
[/media-credit] The Halo Studio in Windham helped engineer the latest self-titled Lamb of God CD. Pictured front center is Kevin Billingslea, rear left is Lamb of God drummer Art Cruz and producer Josh Wilbur.
The void in question was filled when a groovy, thrash band from Virginia who called themselves Burn the Priest struck a major record label deal and changed their name to Lamb of God. Their first album, appropriately titled “New American Gospel” was released in September of 2000 and with it the New Wave of American Heavy Metal was born.
Flash forward two decades and nine albums later, we’re about to see the release of Lamb of God’s self-titled 10h studio release on June 19. It’s been a wild couple of years for the band with the departure of original drummer Chris Adler as well as ongoing legal disputes with lead singer Randy Blythe. This album is a long time coming with five years since the band’s last release with original compositions. It is the longest wait between albums thus far.
Kevin Billingslea of The Halo Studio was brought on to help engineer the album by the brother of the singer of his band Too Late The Hero, Josh Wilbur. “[Wilbur]’s also been the primary producer for Lamb of God for as long as I’ve known him,” added Billingslea.
In 2018, Lamb of God began work on this album by venturing to The Halo Studio in Southern Maine to do pre-production. “That process was mostly just taking all the riffs and parts that their guitarists, Mark [Morton] and Willie [Adler], had written and collected over the last few years and assembling cohesive songs from them,” said Billingslea.
Writing songs from idea fragments is a challenging endeavor to take on. “Most songs would start with a couple of riffs, and then some time talking about the best ways to expand upon them. It’s a lot of experimenting and reverse engineering,” said Billingslea.
Billingslea believes that being in Maine for 10 days helped influence the sound of the album and aided in the pre-production process. “One of the first days they were here, we happened to see a moose that a couple hunters got laying in the back of a way-too-small lawnmower trailer at a convenience store. I believe the quote was, ‘Man…That’s some real Maine s**t huh?’ So maybe that inspired some riffs, maybe not,” said Billingslea.
Lamb of God is arguably one of the most popular heavy metal bands in the world. They’ve seamlessly picked up where Pantera left off and have carried on a long standing tradition of heavy music. Why they came to Maine is both confusing and makes complete sense. “When you’ve made as many records as Lamb of God has, it’s important for the creative process to keep things fresh. When I was approached about them coming out here, we discussed the fact that The Halo being somewhat secluded in the grand scheme of things was appealing to them,” elaborated Billingslea.
The album was written and pre-production had completed, the group as well as Billingslea flew to Los Angeles to record the album at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606. “We were there for a few weeks, and it was certainly a highlight of my life and career, for sure,” said Billingslea.
Billingslea is remaining busy since his adventure with Lamb of God. He just finished working on a record by a new band from Southern Maine called The American Classic which took years to complete. “New England is brimming with talent these days and I feel so incredibly fortunate to get to work with so many of these artists!,” said Billingslea.
The Halo Studio | Contributed
The Halo Studio in Windham helped engineer the latest self-titled Lamb of God CD. Pictured front center is Kevin Billingslea, rear left is Lamb of God drummer Art Cruz and producer Josh Wilbur.
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