Lamb of God "New American Gospel" in the band's Prosthetic Records debut. Revolver magazine called New American Gospel one of the "69 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". NME said the album "harks back to the days when Slayer ruled the kingdom of metal with speedy riffs and nihilism", and described the sound as "ferocious". Kerrang! said that New American Gospel "is dawn for the most brutally aggressive band since Pantera." CMJ described New American Gospel as "grindcore and death metal for the hardcore kids". Exclaim! compared New American Gospel to bands such as Pantera and Meshuggah, noted its "truly killer snare drum sound", and described the album in general as "a thoroughly satisfying listen and an innovative, real, heavy and scary metal album".