Lamb Of God - Resolution review
| Band: | Lamb Of God |
| Album: | Resolution |
| Style: | Groove thrash metal |
| Release date: | January 24, 2012 |
| Guest review by: | Ace Frawley |
Disc I
01. Straight For The Sun
02. Desolation
03. Ghost Walking
04. Guilty
05. The Undertow
06. The Number Six
07. Barbarosa
08. Invictus
09. Cheated
10. Insurrection
11. Terminally Unique
12. To The End
13. Visitation
14. King Me
Disc II [Wrath - Tour 2009-2010] [Limited pre-order bonus]
01. The Passing
02. In Your Words
03. Set To Fail
04. Walk With Me In Hell
05. Hourglass
06. Now You've Got Something To Die For
07. Ruin
08. As The Palaces Burn
09. Blacken The Cursed Sun
10. Laid To Rest
11. Redneck
12. Black Label
13. Digital Sands [iTunes bonus]
14. Vigil [live] [iTunes bonus]
15. Bury Me Under The Sun [Japanese edition bonus]
Resolution is the seventh studio album by American band Lamb Of God. It contains 14 tracks and has a running time of around 56-minutes. It sees the band consolidate their position as one of the most popular American metal bands of the last decade. Their familiar sound is still there on this album but it also contains some unexpected moments that show their willingness to experiment and evolve.
The familiar sound that I mentioned - that's the multitude of low-tuned riffs and catchy hooks by the two guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton, as well as the well-placed and interesting guitar solos. It's the precise double-bass drumming by Chris Adler and driving bass guitar by John Campbell. And of course, there are the screaming vocals of Randy Blythe.
The unexpected moments - that's the slow, doom-like, Iommi-inspired, opening track "Straight for the Sun"; it's a real curve ball start to the album and it sounds great. There is also the cool acoustic strumming intro to "Ghost Walking" and the proggy change-up in the middle of the track "The Number Six". There are the clean vocals by Blythe on "Insurrection, and, finally, the strings on the closer "King Me". It shows a good degree of maturity and confidence that a band can try new things but still retain their signature sound.
Lamb Of God are such a well-known band today that it is only natural that by this stage of their career, some fans will start to drop away and lose interest. You know the type: "I only like their early stuff!". Fair enough, people's tastes often change over time, but this album is as good as anything they've done in the past and is sure to appeal to those hearing them for the first time. All in all, this is a good album. It works live, with tracks like "The Number Six", "The Undertow" and "Desolation" getting a very good response when I saw them in Sydney earlier this year. With enough to satisfy those who love the familiar Lamb Of God sound and those who are eager to hear them experiment and try something new, this album is a worthy investment.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Ace Frawley | 30.12.2012
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
5.0
5.0
|
Rating: 5.0 |
Remember when Lamb Of God were busy pioneering never-before-heard-of, genre-bending, boundary-pushing, avant-garde experimental transcendental music? Neither does anyone else. Resolution won't change the way you listen to the band's music either. Unless you continue to listen with the speakers off. Read more ›› |
Rating:
9.0
9.0
|
Rating: 9.0 |
After the somewhat experimental, uneven Sacrament and phoned-in blandness of Wrath, Lamb of God return with a vengeance on Resolution. Listening to this is like erasing the past 8 years and picking up right where the excellent Ashes Of The Wake left off. From the first dirty, southern guitar chords to Randy's shriek, I am back in high school again. The production is crystal clear, but not washed out. "Walk With Me In Hell," though a great song, sounded like it was recorded in a tin can, and Wrath in general was so compressed it felt like a SNES soundtrack. This is a return to the riff machine that made these guys top dogs to begin with. The guitar-work is fast, tight, and just plain fun. If you were one of the people who went racing for tabs after hearing "Laid To Rest" the first time, this is the album for you. There are too many moments to name, but the intro transition on "Ghost Walking," and the relentless "Terminally Unique" stick out in my mind at the moment. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 7
Visited by: 51 users
| Coolingsrock Posts: 228  |
You said everything that needs to be said. This may not be the Lamb of God we used to know cause they are growing just like their music. All in all, this is a better album then sacrament but weaker then Grace (in my opinion). Great review! Solid album.
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| Jaeryd Nihil's Maw Posts: 1062  |
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| Ace Frawley The Spaceman Posts: 1459  |
Written by Jaeryd on 01.01.2013 at 00:06 Thanks for that. As you could tell, I felt the site deserved a review of this album that was biased the other way, after BoxCar Willy hammered it in his official review. It took me a long time to get it published but eventually got it done. Just waiting now to see what BoxCar W says about it.
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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| Cynic Metalhead Ambrish Saxena Posts: 7550  |
Written by Ace Frawley on 01.01.2013 at 09:24 Don't try to make him the center of "attraction". Let 2013 start with an awesome moments.
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| Ace Frawley The Spaceman Posts: 1459 |
Written by Cynic Metalhead on 01.01.2013 at 10:00 Good point. BoxCar W, stay away from my review.
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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| Ace Frawley The Spaceman Posts: 1459 |
I feel like a fool - it was Troy Killjoy who wrote the official review of this album. No idea where I got BoxCar Willy from. Blonde moment!
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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| Scorpyin Posts: 22  |
 great album despite needless hate it gets.. this feels less bias to me, no talking about what you THINK, just simply what the music presents. good review. 
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