“They didn’t like the idea of choruses”: Lamb Of God producer reveals one of the “pop ideas” he snuck into Ashes Of The Wake

Lamb Of God ’s former producer has explained one of the “pop ideas” he added to 2004 album Ashes Of The Wake .

Talking exclusively in the new issue of Metal Hammer , Gene ‘Machine’ Freeman says that the groove metal veterans were resistant to outside suggestions while in the studio for their fourth full-length record.

However, one battle the producer was able to win was adding extra lines to the song Now You’ve Got Something To Die For , repeating the track’s namesake lyric to turn it into a refrain.

“The band were quite a closed book,” Machine says to journalist Stephen Hill.

“I had to fight to get a lot of my ideas across to them.”

He continues: “I remember the hook for Now You’ve Got Something To Die For was just a single line in the song.

“I said, ‘If you were to repeat that, you’d get thousands of people chanting it back at you and it would really connect emotionally.’

“Even getting that over was tough. They didn’t like the idea of choruses.

“I managed to sneak a little bit of, dare I say it, pop ideas in there.”

In the same interview, Lamb Of God vocalist Randy Blythe calls Machine “the guy who really broke down some of the walls that we had put up around us, the fortress that is Lamb Of God creatively”.

Despite never being released as a single, Now You’ve Got Something To Die For has become a fan favourite.

The song is Lamb Of God’s third-most performed ever, according to setlist wiki setlist.fm . It’s been played live 977 times at time of publication.

The only songs that have been performed more frequently are fellow Ashes Of The Wake cut Laid To Rest (1,013 times) and 2003 As The Palaces Burn track Ruin (1,001).

Ashes Of The Wake is being reissued on August 30 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

The re-release includes a new version of bonus track Another Nail For Your Coffin , featuring metalcore beloveds Kublai Khan TX and Malevolence, plus a remix of Laid To Rest by industrial noise-pop group Health.

Lamb Of God will also mark two decades of Ashes Of The Wake by co-headlining a tour of North America with Mastodon .

The band will play the album in full. Mastodon will perform their 2004 album Leviathan in full as well.

See the full list of dates below.

As well the interview with Machine and Blythe, the new Metal Hammer contains a celebration of four decades of thrash metal, featuring Metallica , Exodus, Anthrax and more. Order your copy now and get it delivered directly to your door.

Lamb Of God and Mastodon Ashes Of Leviathan North American tour 2024

Jul 19: Grand Prairie, TX - Texas Trust CU Theatre
Jul 20: Austin, TX - Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Jul 21: Houston, TX - 713 Music Hall
Jul 23: Jacksonville, FL - Daily’s Place
Jul 24: Orlando, FL - Orlando Amphitheater
Jul 25: Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Jul 27: Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater
Jul 28: Richmond, VA - Virginia Credit Union LIVE!
Jul 30: Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
Jul 31: London, ON - Budweiser Gardens
Aug 1: Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
Aug 3: Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
Aug 4: Manchester, NH - SNHU Arena
Aug 6: Bangor, ME - Maine Savings Amphitheatre
Aug 8: Reading, PA - Santander Arena**
Aug 9: Cleveland, OH - Jacobs Pavilion**
Aug 10: Sterling Heights, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre @ Freedom Hill**
Aug 13: Moorhead, MN - Bluestem Center For The Arts Amphitheater
Aug 15: Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
Aug 16: Penticton, BC - South Okanagan Events Centre
Aug 17: Kent, WA - accesso ShoWare Center
Aug 18: Portland, OR - Theater of the Clouds
Aug 21: Los Angeles, CA - The Kia Forum
Aug 23: Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre
Aug 24: Rio Rancho, NM - Rio Rancho Events Center
Aug 25: El Paso, TX - El Paso County Coliseum
Aug 27: Magna, UT - The Great Saltair
Aug 29: Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug 31: Omaha, NE - The Astro Amphitheater