“Can I offer you a nice egg in this trying time?”

–Frank Reynolds

In this case, the egg is the 20^th Anniversary edition of one of my favorite albums of all time, the seminal Ashes of the Wake. Wait, wasn’t there a 15^th anniversary reissue? Yes, yes there was. As for the “trying time,” just look around you. Shortly before finishing up this review, what many sadly consider a legitimate POTUS candidate in the good ol’ US of A literally trampled the graves of servicemen and used them as props for a campaign ad. It’s easy to draw parallels between gripes of “Dubya” and the war on which this album is based to Rumple Thinskin himself, but after this paragraph, I will try my best to not mention it again.

Of course, the burners are still here with fan favorites “Laid to Rest,” “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For,” and perhaps my favorite song in the band’s entire discography, “Omerta.” There’s not much to say about those tracks that hasn’t been. So that is going to take us into the bonus content, which begins with a pre-production demo of “Laid to Rest.” I really enjoy this version because of the subtle differences. Ashes of the Wake was never in need of a remix or remaster, so it’s nice to hear one of its most popular tracks in this early form. Specifically, the production on the demo is a little dirtier, and it sounds vicious. Randy was clearly still working out his vocal patterns and cadence, which gives the track a different feel. If anything, I recommend checking this out.

That pre-production demo is not worth the price for buying it, though. Unfortunately, the other two demos don’t do much for me. Unlike your mother.

That brings me to the remixes. The first one is of “Another Nail for Your Coffin,” remixed by Kublai Khan and Malevolence. Randy’s vocal parts are replaced in spots by each band’s respective frontman. I am a huge fan of Randy and particularly the power of his vocals, so I’m perplexed as to why someone would want to take this on and insert their own. However, the track sounds excellent, and the vocals work well, so it’s a winner.

The next one is “Laid to Rest” remixed by HEALTH. They essentially turn it into a dance/house music number. Being that I’m not into this style, despite people constantly telling me I would love it as if I have no idea what it is, I’m indifferent on this one. This is an instance of “why mess with a good thing?”

The last remix is Justin K Broadrick’s remix of “Omerta.” The original is perhaps my favorite Lamb of God track, but it’s Justin Broadrick, so this should be fun. If you immediately get images of Godflesh, this isn’t far from it. The guitar tone is a lot deeper and perhaps even warmer, but also maintains that industrial machine sound. This is a completely different song in many ways. While it’s cool on its own and as a novelty, I can’t find myself returning to it over the original.

See who gives a fuck, shall we? Honestly, I can only see diehards getting into this or purchasing it. There’s just not much here if you’ve already heard the album. The bonus tracks could have just been released digitally or as an EP. I also understand a reissue if an album has been out for a while to introduce new fans, but there was also one 5 years ago, so meh. The bonus tracks are worth a listen, but I don’t recommend rushing out and buying it, which is a rarity for me.

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