Burn the Priest - Legion: XX (2018)^{Release ID: 14839}

When Lamb of God returned to their previous name of Burn the Priest for the release of a covers album, they managed to find a real sweet spot for themselves with these ten tracks from a selsction of punk, hardcore, industrial and alt-rock bands.  I do not class myself as a fan of either iteration of the band's music from a discography perspective, however here on Legion: XX they bring an appeal in the earthiness of the tracks they choose to perform.  They push the right buttons for me at least with the likes of Kill Yourself (S.O.D.), We Gotta Know (Cro-Mags) and Kerosene (Big Black).

Blythe finds his best territory on the Bad Brains cover especially and drummer Chris Adler sounds like he is having a ton of fun on more or less all of the tracks.  In fact, the vibe throughout the whole album is a positive one with the band capturing a real jam session ethos on the record.  As a result, Legion: XX sound like a real fun album.  Whilst not being one I will probably revisit very often beyond this couple of weeks of discovery, it has kept me entertained and works well as an accompaniment for driving around or even as background music when working.

So, as it turns out my favourite BtP/LoG release is one were the band wrote none of the music themselves.  If nothing else this proves that you do not necessarily need to make music yourself that appeals to me everytime.  Harking back to your roots and exploring some of you influences on a release is not always as shameful and corporate a move as can often be implied.