Since we're so proud of the Lamb of God photos we shot in New York, and since Lamb of God kick so much frickin' ass, we thought we'd take a moment to post a new batch of pix of the band tearing it up onstage, as they always do.

And click here for an article on Blabbermouth.net that includes a link to an audio interview with Lamb of God bassist John Campbell.

Now, here's the pics:

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Infidels will be slaughtered this summer when Lamb of God perform at the first free Ozzfest. With a full stage to storm and around 10,000 or more fans to play for every day, the band will take their pummeling, precise form of thrash to a new level, and, perhaps, reach a new audience in the process. Regardless of who else gets added to the bill, Lamb of God live is reason enough to jump through hoops for a ticket. However, Ozzfest would have to pull off quite a coup to come up with a final lineup that's as dynamic and bludgeoning as the acts on Lamb of God's current tour -- Trivium, Machine Head and Gojira -- each of whom bashed out an impressive set that kept the crowd at New York's Roseland theater captivated until the headliners plugged in and started to roar.

While Lamb of God had a lot to live up to, they still stole the show. Since the band is fronted by ranting, howling singer Randy Blythe, who handles all of the vocals, the stage is unencumbered with microphones and the members are free to roam without worrying about having to sing backup. This gives Lamb of God the freedom to rage unrestrained and unconfined, and graces them with a visual element that bands fronted by a singer/guitarist lack.

Still, it's Lamb of God's sound that make them so powerful. Although the songs are technically complex -- filled with unconventional rhythmic shifts and demanding musicianship -- the band translate them without effort, never flubbing a staggered riff or pregnant pause. At the same time, their brutality is never belied by their challenging arrangements.

Lamb of God are a like a brick to the skull on a rainy day, and during their set, which featured "As the Palaces Burn," "Now You've Got Something to Die For" and tracks from the band's 2006 disc Sacrament, including "Walk with Me in Hell" and "Pathetic," the band demonstrated just how relentless and vicious metal can be without being a sonic blur.

During the set closer, "Redneck," the band brought out Gojira singer Joe Duplantier and ex-Death drummer and current Howard Stern sidekick Richard Christy to sing back-up. The gesture was nice, but it actually detracted from the intensity of the song. Lamb of God are mavericks and iconoclasts who are at their best when left alone. The only trails they follow are the ones they've already carved, and while they've clearly been influenced by classic thrash bands including Slayer and Pantera, they've molded these inspirations into a sound that's as original as it is punishing.

Trivium aren't nearly as original as Lamb of God. They strive to be Master of Puppets-era Metallica, with pinches of Megadeth and Pantera, and they come pretty damn close. Fortunately, their musicianship and songwriting are strong enough to make up for any lack of originality.

Guitarists Matt Heafy and Corey Beaulieu and both accomplished players and fill songs like "To the Rats," "Becoming the Dragon" and "Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" with crafty, surging riffs and piercing, shreddy solos. And, Heafy commands the stage like a young -- well, James Hetfield -- urging the crowd to jump, shout and sing along.

Considering the band members are all in their early 20s and are already on their third album, Trivium should have a long life ahead, and as they continue to write and tour, they'll likely develop their own voice, which is what they'll need to attain real longevity.

For those who lost faith in Machine Head in the late '90s after the band started recording with Ross Robinson and playing slower, more mainstream music, take heart. San Francisco's second biggest thrash band are back at full steam. Their upcoming album, The Blackening, is the best thing they've recorded since their scorching 1994 debut, Burn My Eyes, and onstage they're again focusing on their heaviest, fastest material.

Led by the charismatic Robert Flynn, Machine Head stormed through their set with ferocity and poise, making it perfectly clear that they're determined to forget the uninspired elements of their past and just move on. Highlights included the blowtorch career-starter "Old" and the new, caustic "Aesthetics of Hate," which featured excellent twin-guitar interplay between Flynn and Phil Demmel, who originally played together in the late '80s in the thrash band VIO-LENCE. Demmel joined Machine Head before the release of 2002's Through the Ashes of Empires, and has clearly played a major role in Machine Head's stellar resurrection.

Show opener Gojira are a French space-thrash band that released the critically praised From Mars to Sirius last year. Brainy and pummeling, the band's music see-saws between sludgy Black Sabbath-inspired doom rock, Voivod-style galactic drug odyssey and full-on death metal grind.

There was already a healthy crowd assembled when the group took the stage at the un-metal hour of 6:45, and by the end of the dizzying set, it was clear that Gojira are a refreshing change of pace from the new wave of thrash. If they continue their innovative ways, they could soon be unstoppable.

Ozzfest has done it again.

For a while it looked like Ozzy Osbourne would be the only marquee act to tour with the first free Ozzfest, but today event organizers revealed that the bill will also feature Lamb of God, Hatebreed and Lordi, and more major acts will be announced soon, some of which will likely play select dates.

Lordi will open the main stage this year and Lamb of God will be on before Ozzy. Hatebreed will headline the second stage, which will also feature Nile, Mondo Generator, Ankla, Circus Diablo and The Showdown.

"When we left Ozzfest three years ago, that was a mantra that burned itself into our collective subconscious, one that we repeat to this day in an almost autistic manner," says Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe. "To know once the power, the glory, the sheer brutality of the parking lot circus stupidity that is Ozzfest is to be destined to repeat it. The fangs are out- our souls (and livers) needed three years to recover from the last run, but we are back and couldn't be more excited."

"For us, the idea of playing Ozzfest is still hard to believe," adds Lordi frontman, Mr. Lordi. "I'll believe it when we're there. It's going to be a great opportunity for us to show people in the U.S. what we can do."

For Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta, returning to Ozzfest is especially exciting because he feels more at home on the second stage than he does on the main one.

"We had a great time on the main stage last year but it was obvious that our fans wanted to see us in the setting that they know and love," he says. "Having co-headlined the second stage twice in the past -- once with Down in 2002 and again with Slipknot in 2004 -- it's a great achievement for us to now be able to close the show on the second stage and truly make Ozzfest history with our fifth appearance on the world's best tour."

Ozzfest launches July 12 in Seattle. The event was originally scheduled to start July 7 in Southern California, but the extension of Ozzy's European tour caused the run to be bumped five days.

To get passes for this year's free Ozzfest, fans will log onto www.ozzfest.com or www.livenation.com to find links that will direct them to special sponsor sites where tickets can be secured. Tickets will be available for download on June 12. Stay tuned to www.ozzfest.com and www.livenation.com in the coming weeks for more ticketing information.

To see the complete Ozzfest press release click here.

Thrash metal veterans Slayer are hatching plans for their second Unholy Alliance tour, which will launch this fall and will feature three of four other bands, say sources close to the tour. However, no other groups have been announced.

Last year's Unholy Alliance tour, one of the strongest metal bills of the year, featured Slayer, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Children of Bodom and Thine Eyes Bleed. A live CD and DVD of that outing is scheduled for release May 1, according to Amazon.com.

Until then, check out the band playing "Necrophiliac" during a February 15 soundtrack at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom. 666

And now, here's the video for "Eyes of the Insane."

Tune in to "Headbangers Ball" this week to catch the debut of Terror's video for "Lost." The clip was filmed in Los Angeles last August by director Doug Spangenberg of High Roller Studios, which has also shot videos for Unearth and Lamb of God.

In other news, singer Scott Vogel and drummer Nick Jett recently hosted the third Hot Topic Podcast (click here to download).

During the show, they played their own songs, as well as tracks by Madball, Every Time I die and others, telling stories and narrating between tunes. Then, Vogel grabbed the mic and let fly.

Now, click here for a video for "Overcome."

The latest young Christian metal band swooping down to smite the infidels is San Diego's Destroy the Runner, whose new video, "Saints," makes its TV debut on Headbangers Ball this weekend. The group's first album, Saints, seesaws between atmospheric melody and pummeling dissonance, and has been compared to Underoath, Norma Jean and As I Lay Dying.

Incidentally, Destroy the Runner are managed by As I Lay Dying's singer, Tim Lambesis, so a copycat lawsuit is probably not forthcoming. Originally, Destroy the Runner were called Die Like Me, but they changed their name before entering the studio. But as some obscure English dude once wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Actually, this stuff isn't really sweet, it's kinda sweet and sour -- like Chinese soup touched by the hand of God.

Anyway, here's a live video of Destroy the Runner playing "My Darkness". And while you're here, get a sneak peek at "Saints".

Recently, Slayer beat out fellow nominees Lamb of God, Mastodon, Ministry and Stone Sour for this year's Best Metal Performance Grammy. Let us first kiss Slayer's ass by saying that it goes without saying that they are legends, and we all owe them our first born children for their contributions.

However, was "Eyes of the Insane," really the best of the best in metal recordings for '06? Or did Slayer get the nod because they are the most familiar name to a committee of Grammy voters who probably never even heard of the others? The answers: "No" and "Yes," respectively. But, at least it's not as bad as Jethro Tull winning the first one back in '89.

Slayer will always be legends, but we say give new blood some of the primetime shine.