Still Echoes

The first taster from VII: Sturm und Drang is a heavy, aggressive track inspired by frontman Randy Blyth's time in Prague's 19th century Pankrác Prison. Blythe was arrested in late June 2012 in the Czech Republic and indicted on manslaughter charges related to the 2010 death of Daniel Nosek, a 19-year-old fan, during a Lamb of God concert. He was incarcerated for over a month in Prague's Pankrác Prison before being released on bail. Blythe was acquitted of the charges the following year.

The song opens with the lyric: "A thousand heads cut clean across their necks, right down the hall from me." Blythe explained the inspiration for the line to Rolling Stone. "There was a guillotine right down the hall from me, from when the Nazis had the prison," he said. "From 1943 to 1945 they executed almost 2,000 people by the guillotine, because it was cheaper than shooting and quicker than hanging … They call it the Pankrác 'Saw Room' or the 'Axe Room.'" Blythe continued: "I sat there at night, and I'd think about all those dudes that got their heads chopped off – men and women – in that place not too far from me."

This is Lamb of God's take on the Misfits song "London Dungeon," which was written by the legendary punk group's former singer Glenn Danzig after being locked up in England. According to Randy Blythe, that was one of three songs that kept going through his head while he was in prison (the others: "Attitude" by the Bad Brains and "Rise Above" by Black Flag. In our interview with Blythe, he said: "I'm like, 'Well, I'm going to write my 'London Dungeon,' but I'm in Prague in a dungeon.'"