On the 13 track album, the band ditches the metalcore tendencies for a well planned homage to the 80’s style of thrash metal. On the new album, the band decides to indulge in their obvious influences of Iron Maiden and the “Master of Puppets” era Metallica. If this is homage to those bands, it definitely works.

Being a metal fan, the first four tracks on “The Crusade” are about as good as it will get. The one-two punch of “Ignition” and the seemingly two part track “Detonation” show that lead singer/ guitarist Matt Heafy has dropped the mind numbing screaming, and has replaced his vocals with harmony and a growl that would make even the most old school metal fan stand up and cheer.

The album’s highlight tracks are “Anthem (We Are The Fire)”, which comes off like a sped up Judas Priest track, and the searing “Entrance of the Conflagration”, which could make Metallica’s James Hetfield think he actually sang the song. The first four tracks are a sure sign of the band’s maturity and find the band starting to carve their way in the new metal scene.

The band gets a little indulgent with the guitar work, such as the album ending title track, but they make it sound like a band forging out their own identity, and not a band mimicking a sound from a certain era.

Sure, most rock fans are gonna think that Heafy and the band has been listening to “Master of Puppets” just a little too much (just as people attacked Lamb of God’s single “Redneck” for sounding too much like Pantera.) This reviewer’s response is: So what? The band is not completely ripping off a certain style, but showing some respect to its elders.

“The Crusade” may not top Lamb of God’s album for Metal Album of the Year, but right now, it’s a strong number two.

GRADE: B+