Archive for Lamb of God

From the Vault: Inside The Label – Prosthetic Records

Posted in Features, Inside The Label with tags , , , , , , on 09/30/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

As far as the music industry is concerned, the Apocalypse has arrived. All that remains of major labels is their smoldering, blackened skeletons; elsewhere, chaos reigns, with only the very fittest gritting out a way to survive.

But across this bloody battlefield, Prosthetic Records is one of the few labels standing tall. Some way, some how, metal is continuing to sell in this chilly climate: Mastodon and Killswitch Engage, for example, recently cracked the Billboard 200 top 10 with ease. Chalk it up to loyal fans, to kids who want to invest in more than just an invisible file – or maybe to knuckle-draggers who scratch their head at the word “torrent.”

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On Tyranny: 10 Great Protest Records by Refused, Lamb of God, PJ Harvey, Divide and Dissolve, More

Posted in Lists, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 09/19/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

How you likin’ Authoritarian America now? To all the conservative “disrupters” out there, The Bad Penny hopes this is what you were wishing for – and (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) that the wave of tyrannical terror sweeping the nation doesn’t drown you in its wake.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you; after all, we launched this On Tyranny franchise in December. But rather than subject you to “I told you so examples” from our 25-part series, we’ll instead suggest some of our favorite contemporary protest records that you can serve as your soundtrack for the weekend. Here goes, in chronological order:

Refused‘s The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)

System of a Down’s Toxicity (2001)

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On Tyranny: ‘People in America Have Blinders On,’ Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe Says

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny with tags , on 02/25/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

As part of The Bad Penny‘s new series called On Tyranny and focusing on how artists deal with living under authoritarian regimes, we’re dusting off an interview with Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe conducted on December 23, 2007.

At the time, Blythe—known more as a deviant class clown than a philosopher—was one of the only vocalists in metal or punk screaming unabashedly about the Gulf war and the crimes of George W. Bush.

Check out the prescient words of one of metal’s greatest frontman in this interview, originally published in unparalleled graphic novel/ rock magazine Royal Flush and now presented online for the first time.

Check out these related stories:

• “‘On Tyranny’: Musicians Living Under Authoritarian Rule Speak Out” (2.24.25)
• “Thy Catafalque Mastermind Talks About Meaning of Life, Living Under Dictator Viktor Orbán” (12.10.24)
• “Malist Creator ‘Exhausted’ By Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine” (9.7.24)
• “Moscow Metal Band Malist Voices Opposition to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” (5.15.23)
• “Faith In Metal: Orphaned Land Push For Peace In The Middle East” (9.28.10)
• “Steve Earle: ‘It’s Very Dangerous To Be Ignorant Of Islam’” (9.8.10)

Also related: “My Friend Neamah And The State Of Our Country” (9.21.24)

Best Metal Albums Of 2010: Black Anvil, Black Breath, Withered, Down, Howl, More

Posted in Album Reviews, Lists, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 09/25/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

With a handful of this year’s best metal releases dropping Tuesday, the timing feels apt for the Bad Penny to round up its favorite 2010 LPs – at least so far. Continue reading

An Extremely Long Conversation About Extreme Metal With Albert Mudrain

Posted in Features, Interviews, What You Readin' For? with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 01/02/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

There is horror cinema. And then there is splatter cinema.

There is drug use. And then there is drug addiction.

There is heavy metal. And then there is extreme metal. Continue reading

Best Albums Of The 2000s

Posted in Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 12/31/2009 by Kurt Orzeck

1. Queens of the Stone AgeSongs for the Deaf (Interscope)
2. IsisOceanic (Ipecac)
• Bad Penny interview: “Isis’ Aaron Turner In ’02: Oceanic Is ‘The Best Material We’ve Ever Written’
• Bad Penny essay: “Isis’ Oceanic: Mystery Revealed?
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