Lamb of God Unveil Burn the Priest Cover of Big Black’s ‘Kerosene’
Lamb of God revisit the vibe of their early days band Burn the Priest, unveiling their new cover of Big Black's "Kerosene," which you can hear in the player above. The song will appear on their 20th-anniversary covers set, Legion: XX. It's a fairly faithful cover, though the Burn the Priest version comes off fuller sounding than the more fuzzed out original.
Singer Randy Blythe says, "Big Black is a very important band to me. When I was 12 and first listening to punk rock, I thought all punk came from England - but then through skating, I got into Black Flag and Bad Brains. I soon discovered this super-smart American punk rock - very caustic, and deeply sardonic about the murky side of the human experience. That got me into Steve Albini's future bands Shellac and Rapeman - and all the noisy smart punk rock on labels like AmRep and Touch & Go. 'Kerosene' was one of their biggest songs, if they even had one. It speaks to small-town boredom."
By revisiting their Burn the Priest roots, Lamb of God break free of certain expectations and the Legion: XX album finds the band tackling punk, hardcore, crossover and sludge tracks from the likes of Bad Brains, Agnostic Front, the Cro-Mags, S.O.D., Melvins and more.
“Our inauspicious beginnings somehow grew into something none of us had ever even imagined possible, let alone aspired to, however, this is the story of Burn the Priest,” says guitarist Mark Morton. “The songs we chose to cover on this album reflect that story. They are touchstones from that point in time. The inspiration we gleaned from these bands and these songs carries through our work and our creative pursuits, even to this day. Many thanks to these bands for lighting our fire and endless gratitude to our fans around the world for keeping it lit.”
Burn the Priest’s Legion: XX is set to come out May 18 via Epic Records. To grab your pre-orders and merch bundles, click here. On the street date, a 7” vinyl version of “Inherit the Earth” and a B-side of Helmet’s “In the Meantime” will also be released.
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