Leaders of the new wave of American heavy metal, Lamb of God have been terrorizing audiences worldwide for over a decade with their unique blend of bluesy-thrash guitar riffs, breakneck beats and throaty vocals. On February 14 (yes, that's Valentine's Day), the Richmond, Virginia quintet make their first ever stop in Shanghai.

“Lamb Of God is the reflection of how im-perfect our world generally can be,” explains frontman Randy Blythe. “It’s like your rudest awakening in an explosive way . . . the result of an instant energetic emotional explosion.”

They have an impressive history that includes seven studio albums, a live disc, three DVDs, over two million sales and a trio of Grammy nominations. Lamb of God—Blythe, modern guitar hero Mark Morton, bassist John Campbell and brothers Chris and Willie Adler on drums and rhythm guitar—have become one of the premier names in metal, forgoing the seven-string clichés of their noughties contemporaries. They climbed the musical ranks the old fashioned way, supporting legends like Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth on tour. Lamb of God are set to serve the Shanghai audience a brutal, live sonic bludgeoning, complete with tracks from the newly-released Resolution.

“This time we felt like digging deeper [in]to our Southern metal roots, meaning that this album [is] a relentless smoky-groovy-straight-punch-in-the-face,” offers Blythe. “We combined an epic vibe and a twisting feeling at the same time . . . It turned out to be completely beyond our expectation.”

Listen to Lamb of God

DETAILS

What: Lamb of God

Where: MAO Livehouse

When: Valentine's Day, Tue., Feb. 14 | 8:30pm

How much: RMB340 pre-sale, RMB450 at the door

Web: www.mao-music.com