Sacrament is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Lamb of God. Released on August 22, 2006, Sacrament debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 charts with first-week sales of 63,000. The album was the top-selling heavy metal album of 2006 and received the Album of the Year award from Revolver magazine. As of 2010, it has sold over 331,000 copies in the United States, and was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 27, 2019.

The song "Redneck" was nominated in the 2007 Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance, but lost out to Slayer's "Eyes of the Insane".

Background and recording After headlining the 2005 'Sounds of the Underground' tour in August 2005, Lamb of God returned to Richmond, Virginia and began the writing process for Sacrament.

In a 2006 press release drummer Chris Adler stated:

Following several months of writing the band took a break in December 2005 to headline a European tour.

The album was produced by Machine who produced their previous 2004 album Ashes of the Wake. Pre-production began in Richmond, Virginia on March 13, 2006.

Release and promotion The albums first and only single "Redneck" was released on June 21, 2006.

The album was later released on August 22, 2006 and sold 62,000 copies in its first week debuting at number 8 on the Billboard 200. The album went on to become the best selling heavy metal album of 2006. It was initially released on CD and DVD deluxe edition, which included a 90 minute special behind the scenes footage of the making of the album.

The band appeared on major tours to support the album, including The Unholy Alliance with Slayer, Mastodon, Children of Bodom, and Thine Eyes Bleed, Gigantour, supporting Megadeth; main stage at Ozzfest; an appearance at the Download Festival, and an exclusive co-headlining tour with Killswitch Engage, Soilwork, and DevilDriver, where Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God shared headlining spots alternately each show. The song "Pathetic" was performed live on the February 9, 2007 edition of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.LAMB OF GOD "Pathetic" Live On Late Night With Conan O'Brien Posted Online MetalInjection.et (February 10, 2007). Retrieved on 3-24-09. This marked the first major network performance for Lamb of God.

Critical reception The album received generally positive reviews Christopher Monger of AllMusic dubbed "Pathetic" one of the best metal songs of 2006 and gave the album a 3.5/5 stating "If Sacrament suffers from anything, it's a pounding sense of sameness. They rarely stray from the "Drop D" tuning, resulting in a second half that tends to blur, shake, and sputter out a bit, but there's no denying Lamb of God's almost unnerving power to conjure wind from the tiniest of stereo speakers." Blabbermouth.net gave the album a 8/10 claiming "Sacrament" is a "damn fine album that is assuredly worthy of accolades, based on a refinement of its patented sound and a consistently strong batch of songs.  "Sacrament" is in no way disappointing and will be a contender for many writers' year-end Top 10 lists; it's just that the outstanding "Ashes of the Wake" is awfully hard to top."

Awards +YearAwardCategoryResult2006RevolverAlbum of the Year2006Metal Storm AwardsBest Thrash Metal Album2007Grammy AwardsBest Metal Performance (for Redneck)

Accolades +PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRankLoudwireUS10 Best Metal Albums of 200620207RevolverUS13 Great Metal Albums From 20062026NR

Track listing

The deluxe edition of the album includes a bonus DVD with two videos for the track "Redneck" and a 90-minute making of the album itself, along with an Easter egg video segment entitled "Go Karts". The DVD was produced by High Roller Studios and directed by Doug Spangenberg, the same director from Lamb of God's Killadelphia DVD.

Personnel Lamb of God Randy Blythe – vocals Mark Morton – guitar Willie Adler – guitar John Campbell – bass Chris Adler – drums

Production Machine – producer, mixing Drums recorded by Josh Wilbur and Machine Pro Tools by Josh Wilbur and Richard Stoltz, assisted by Jim Feeney Guitars recorded by Josh Wilbur, Ian Whalen and Machine; Additional editing and assistance by Jim Feeney; Assisted by Jeremy Miller and Brian Hoffa Vocals recorded at The Machine Shop, Hoboken, NJ, assisted by Jim Feeney Brian Gardner – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, CA Vlado Meller – mastering on "Redneck" at Sony Studios, NYC

Artwork K3n Adams – art direction, design

Charts Chart (2006) Peakposition

Certifications

References

External links Randy Blythe interview at Ultimate-Guitar.com