Cutesy cult simulator meets roguelike Cult of the Lamb has announced its next project—a metal EP releasing next week called "Cult of the Lamb: Hymns of the Unholy". Devolver Digital, Massive Monster, and Laced Records have come together to produce an EP that will consist of six tracks featuring appearances from While She Sleeps, Trivium, and Malevolence alongside a few other metal stars. The album itself has been written, arranged, and produced by Sam George of Pick Up Goliath too, so you know it's in good hands.
The first single of Hymns of the Unholy, performed by Pick Up Goliath and featuring Howard Jones, Scott LePage, and Mike Malyan, has already been released and is well worth a listen so you can get a feel of what to expect from the album. Titled "CULT" the song re-works the first song from the Cult of the Lamb soundtrack 'Praise the Lamb' and I can't lie—it's a banger.
Given the bleak nature of Cult of the Lamb already, shifting the chipper soundtrack into metal feels like a match made in heaven. Parts of the original soundtrack are sampled throughout the song, but everything blends so well together that I can already sense myself leaving it on repeat, alongside the animated music video that came with it.
To praise the album, in a press release, Massive Monster co-founder Jay Armstrong shared that "There's a natural link between the game's themes and heavy metal music, and given the recent release of the Unholy Alliance DLC and the Goat character, why got get some G.O.A.T.s from the world of metal to transform River Boy’s iconic melodies into heavy metal slammers?"
Matt Heafy of Trivium also added, "Video games have always been an important part of my life, so it has been amazing to work with the Massive Monster team and turn Cult of the Lamb's iconic soundtrack into a metal album." The full tracklist for Cult of the Lamb: Hymns of the Unholy can be found below.
- CULT performed by Pick Up Goliath featuring Howard Jones (Light The Torch, Sion, ex-Killswitch Engage) Scott LePage (Polyphia), and Mike Malyan (ex-Monuments)
- CHAOS performed by Pick Up Goliath featuring Matthew K. Heafy (Trivium) and Mike Malyan
- FAMINE performed by Pick Up Goliath featuring Howard Jones, Scott LePage, and Mike Malyan
- PESTILENCE performed by Pick Up Goliath featuring Matthew K. Heafy, Javier Reyes (Animals As Leaders) and Mike Malyan
- CONQUEST performed by Pick Up Goliath featuring Howard Jones, Josh Baines (Malevolence), Clay Gober (Polyphia) and Mike Malyan
- DEATH performed by Pick Up Goliath Matthew K. Heafy, Sean Long (While She Sleeps) and Mike Malyan
Cult of the Lamb: Hymns of the Unholy will be available in full for streaming on October 28, with physical editions being released around March next year. Two variations of the Hymns of the Unholy record are available for pre-order, including an attractive purple and black splatter vinyl which I will undoubtedly squirrel into my collection given my undying love of the lamb.