Lamb of God is widely considered to be one of the founders of the so-called "New Wave of American Heavy Metal" movement, which married the groove metal of the 1990s (Pantera, Prong) with punk and hardcore. Yes, Pantera basically got the genre started, but Lamb of God is the band that picked up the baton and kept running after Pantera's acrimonious split. Now, with the release of their seventh album (if you count the album they released while still calling themselves Burn the Priest), 'Resolution,' the band continues on its well-trod path of aggressively brutal Southern metal swagger, but also goes down some very interesting, albeit brief side roads.
Right from the start, 'Resolution' is a slightly different beast than previous albums. Opening track "Straight for the Sun" is a slow, doomy wheelbarrow of sludge that would sound right at home on an album by Crowbar or Saint Vitus. Vocalist Randy Blythe makes himself right at home here, screaming and growling like a damned soul plunging to Hell. This is great way to start the album, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the band uses this song to open their concerts with for the next couple years.
The song is pretty short though, serving more as an intro for the next song, "Desolation." Now this is vintage Lamb of God. It's all there in spades: the brutal groovy riffing of guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, Blythe's razorblade-gargling vocals, and the juggernaut rhythm section of bassist John Campbell and drummer extraordinaire Chris Adler, who never fails to amaze. He proves once again that all the high profile accolades he's received in recent years were well deserved. Not to go off topic here, but I cannot wait to hear his contributions to the new Testament album, due later this year.
The vast majority of 'Resolution' is textbook Lamb of God, from the hardcore-infused "Cheated" to the lunatic thrash attack of "Guilty" to the brutal monolith "The Undertow," which I consider one of the best Lamb of God songs ever. The band does make a point to stray from the script several times throughout course of the album though. Besides the aforementioned album opener, "The Number Six" features some spoken word vocals over top of absolutely stellar bass soloing by Campbell. The instrumental "Barbaraosa" is a quiet, mostly acoustic interlude, yet it still sounds insidiously ominous. "Insurrection" features some clean vocals in a style I didn't know Blythe was capable of. I wish they'd do more of this.
The final track, "King Me," has more spoken word vocals along with some spacey female moaning and even orchestration. It's quite psychedelic in places, until the band returns to its brutal groove, that is. It admittedly sounds very schizophrenic, but it works magnificently and is the best track on the album. Lamb of God can sometimes achieve a towering, epic majesty with their music. Check out the title tracks on the albums 'Ashes of the Wake' and 'Wrath' for examples. They've done it again here with "King Me." Some might cry sellout here, but I think it's one of the best songs the band's ever recorded.
Except for a few left turns, Lamb of God have not strayed from their signature sound too much, but with an album this damn good, few will complain. It is interesting to note that the band's lineup has remained intact since 1998. It’s a truly exceptional feat, and it shows in the cohesiveness of their music here.
Comments