The song “Walk With Me in Hell” by Lamb of God was written by the band’s guitarist Mark Morton for his wife, and is actually a love song about being with someone through thick and thin. This meaning of the song seems very far-fetched from the title “Walk With Me in Hell” and lyrics such as “Pray for blood, pray for the cleansing,” but it is indeed about love and is confirmed by Mark. I learned of this when I personally saw Lamb of God, as Mark told the story of the song’s writing and explained some of the lyrics for the crowd before Lamb of God played it. The most obvious implications that the song is indeed a love song come from the chorus when the vocalist Randy Blythe says, “Take hold of my hand, for you are no longer alone. Walk with me in hell.” When solely analyzing this line in comparison to the rest of the song, it can be seen that there is definitely something more to this song than what is on the surface. From what Mark described at the show, he said the chorus is a direct reference to the true meaning, and that the verses represent how he would feel every day if he didn’t have the love and friendship he shares with his wife. Now when thinking about lines like “Pray for blood, pray for the cleansing,” it makes sense that without his wife, Mark would feel like he wanted to be through with his life, and want some form of end to the loneliness he would feel. I personally love the music and the meaning behind the song. I do think that Mark goes over the top with how he describes he would feel without his wife, but then again what’s a metal song without blood, destruction, and other radical masculine themes. In the end I think it’s very nice he feels so strongly for his wife and is so devoted to her. I personally follow a style of life called straight edge, meaning I refrain from drugs, alcohol, and any promiscuous activity with the opposite sex. For this reason I find it refreshing to hear about how people cherish love and the idea of being that devoted to someone versus going out to party to meet women and take advantage of them. Musically Lamb of God is incredible and I really enjoy the song. Instrumentally the band is very virtuosic in their playing and is often critically acclaimed to have been at their peek when “Walk With Me in Hell” first came out.

This song is very unusual in a few major ways, and I believe that’s what makes it so misleading and great. First off, it’s a metal song, and rarely are the topics of love or devotion covered in metal lyrics. For Lamb of God, who commonly writes about being strong and standing independently, the song theme is very different from anything else they’ve released. It is also very unusual because fast, distorted guitar and bass don’t typically drive love songs, and there is never lighting fast double bass drums and screaming vocals. Screaming vocals are definitely an acquired taste, and it is not common to hear any screaming in a typical Top 40 love songs. Along with the confusing lyrics, it is this contrast between instrumentals/vocal style and song meaning that make “Walk With Me in Hell” so misleading. Instrumentally the song foils from the meaning of the lyrics, but compared to the rest of Lamb of God’s discography, the song is very normal. Lamb of God commonly combines very heavy grooving metal riffs with fast paced technical riffs, and then accompanies them with a powerful bass and incredibly complex drum beats featuring exceptional double kick drum patterns.

As I previously explained in the first paragraph, the band’s guitarist Mark wrote this as a love song for his wife. For this reason I can imagine it is a very special song to him and something he cherishes above other songs he has written for Lamb of God. As a band Lamb of God also had their first taste of commercial success from the album this song was on, which is titled Sacrament. Due to this song and another song called “Redneck,” Sacrament became their most critically acclaimed album and the album that landed them headlining spots at various metal festivals. From this point on Lamb of God began headlining their own tours instead of opening for other bands, therefore I can imagine this song and Sacrament are special to them. As a listener I really enjoy how the song discuses love and devotion for one person, as even though I’m 18 I consider myself old fashioned. As I mentioned previously I am straight edge, and I also side with many old fashioned beliefs such as staying humble, having respect for the body/sexuality, and being appropriate when dealing with attraction for the opposite sex. For these reasons I think it is very refreshing and nice to hear an artist discuss such devotion for one person. The song is unusual for Lamb of God only because they don’t have any other lyric themes about love, but other than that it is like the rest of their discography.

This song is not for the faint of heart, as it is very heavy and rough on the ears for a first time metal listener. This is mostly due to the harsh vocals Randy uses, as the average music listener is probably not used to anything similar to it. For fans of heavy and more modern types of metal, this song is perfect and I would highly recommend Lamb of God as a band in general. For any musicians that wish to learn a challenging song, “Walk With Me in Hell” is a very difficult song to play on guitar, bass, and drums and I would recommend it highly. It also has an exceptional guitar solo that is very fun to play. The song fits well in any type of metalcore or groove metal playlist, and can be enjoyed by anyone who likes screaming in his or her music. However, regardless of the listener’s opinion, I don’t recommend playing this for a significant other at a nice, candle-lit dinner.

Works Cited

Blythe, Randy. By Mark Morton. Perf. Mark Morton, Willie Adler, Chris Adler, and John

Campbell. Walk With Me in Hell. Lamb of God. Machine, 2006. CD.

Mark, Morton. “Lamb of God Lyrics – Walk With Me in Hell.” AZLyrics. Musixmatch,

n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.

Song Lyrics

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lambofgod/walkwithmeinhell.html