As Lamb Of God heads out on the road supporting Slayer on that band’s farewell world tour, they’ve unleashed an incredible collection of covers released under their original name Burn The Priest in order to celebrate 20 years of being a band. This collection highlights the band’s roots and eccentricities in a neat little 40 minute package that actually contains some of the best songs of the year.
Opening track and first single “Inherit The Earth” by Seattle hardcore veterans the Accused is one of the band’s best songs ever. It features great riffs, excellent musicianship, and is a real tribute to a band that most people outside of hardcore circles might not know at all. This is fantastic (and a great way to screw with neighbors).
Big Black’s “Kerosene” is an interesting one, with very simple riffs but which gives Randy’s vocal chords a bit of a breather. It’s definitely a song that grows on the listener after many repeats and is a very much a welcome detour for the band. Melvins’ “Honey Bucket” again shows off their musicianship, which is way above most other metal bands around. A song this complex and all over the place also gives the band a chance to show off their more relaxed side. 
Bad Brains’ “I Against I” is one of the strongest tracks here and one that deserves infinite repeats. Randy’s diehard love of the band comes across loud and clear, and this is key to be able to introduce the Brains to a brand new audience. S.O.D.’s “Kill Yourself” is a song I had completely forgotten about, but this version brought it right back to the foreground. It’s just a goof and shows that a band as serious as Lamb Of God knows how to have fun.
“Axis Rot” by a previously unknown punk band and Agnostic Front’s “One Voice” are the only real duds here, as neither of them have enough power to carry through to the end. The latter would’ve been better suited as a B-side, but we’ll take what we can get.
“Jesus Built My Hotrod” is just funny, a piss take on the Ministry “classic” and showcasing the fact that this band doesn’t always take itself so seriously. Randy’s no Gibby Haynes, but the homage is there and you can’t miss it. The band even add two more minutes to this already insane ‘90s jam.
The real eye-opener of the disc is Quicksand’s “Dine Alone.” Randy actually sings the damn thing and the music taking a downturn is quite the shock, but I dig it. It’s very good and should allow people to discover a great band like Quicksand if they haven’t already.
All in all, this is one of the best covers album to come from a major artist in quite some time. In the end, this record really shows how diverse and unique a band like Lamb of God is, not just to the metal community but to music in general.