Garage bands are often seen as infant musical acts, typically groups that don't make it off the ground. Lamb of God is an exception, then, both because it started with that kind of sure-fail foundation, and because it's now one of the most well-known names in metal. From the band's beginnings in college to their current success, these guys definitely took the post-graduation road less taken - and came out the better for it.

Lamb of God's Love for Metal

"We had never changed anything we do to appeal to anyone, appease anyone or seek any sort of approval from anyone other than ourselves."

Garage bands are often seen as infant musical acts, typically groups that don't make it off the ground. Lamb of God is an exception, then, both because it started with that kind of sure-fail foundation, and because it's now one of the most well-known names in metal. From the band's beginnings in college to their current success, these guys definitely took the post-graduation road less taken - and came out the better for it.

Lamb of God: Don't Burn the Priest

Virginia Commonwealth University is recognized as the band's birthplace, as it's where Mark Morton, Chris Adler and John Campbell met in 1990. They formed a band, Burn the Priest, which they worked on when they weren't busy with classes. Soon after the band was born, however, Morton left for his master's degree.

Abe Spear took over Morton's guitar, and the band lived on, practicing primarily at the Adler residence and taking gigs around Virginia. By 1995, the band had released a self-titled demo along with two others with ZED and Agents of Satan, respectively. Randy Blythe came on board as vocalist soon after the third demo was released.

Morton returned to the band in 1997 and, two years later, they were able to release a self-titled debut album with Legion Records. Abe Spear left the band not long after the release of Burn the Priest; his guitar position was taken by Chris' brother, Willie Adler. After a deal inked with prosthetic records, the band formally changed its name to Lamb of God, as some establishments didn't let them play because their original name was 'evil'.

Lamb of God: Gospel According to Them

With a new name, line-up and record label, the band released its sophomore album, New American Gospel, in 2000. Both critics and the band members themselves recognize New American Gospel as something of a landmark album in their career.

Two years of touring later and the band was ready to release a third, As the Palaces Burn, in 2003. The new album gained them even more mainstream success with critics hailing them as "unlike many of their overreaching, Slipknot-influenced contemporaries". It also scored #1 Album titles from several music magazines, as well as a live performance DVD that became a bestseller.

More success followed with Ashes of the Wake, their 2004 album which made it to #27 on the Billboard charts and gave them their very first music video, Now You've Got Something to Die For. Ashes gave the band its first platinum album - a live performance DVD release that Lamb of God made while touring, released as Killadelphia.

Sacrament, released in 2006, was an even bigger hit than its predecessor. Its first week sales doubled the numbers from Ashes of the Wake, and many music magazines gave it a rave review. The album was re-released in 2007 as a Deluxe Producer Edition that had all the songs from Ashes, while a second CD had all the songs' respective instrument tracks.

Wrath, the band's latest effort, debuted in 2009.

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