Resolution Review

RESOLUTION
Lamb of God
2012
Epic, Roadrunner
Prod. by Josh Wilbur

Sometimes, it takes a reminder to realize that purely competent can sometimes feel pretty darn good. Lamb of God's most recent release is pretty much everything you could ask for from a metal album these days, and even if nothing is done spectacularly, it's all done well enough that it'll sell you on the whole ordeal quickly. The album is a high-octane release of strong guitar work, and the band behind them is tight enough that the experience is something of an aggressive treat.

That said, this album is almost entirely appealing to a niche. While an effort has been made to offer a couple moments with melodic vocals, it's largely a screaming affair one would associate with death metal, and the experience is an extremely technical and dour affair with a few moments of light material mixed in. While I usually am not a fan of screaming, this seemed neither especially good or especially grating, and I was able to ignore it within a few songs on the album. Those who are completely turned off by the direction metal has been on since about 1982 should almost definitely steer clear; however, even those who aren't major fans of the genre should find a song or two they'll enjoy.

The largest praise I can generate for the album is that it contains almost exclusively excellent guitar work. While little of it is actually memorable, every song is well performed, and it varies between more standard thrash metal fare, some intelligent, restrained solos, and some excellent acoustic material. The rhythm section performs admirably, too, though they are not the focus of the songs written here.

The songs themselves are certainly the weakest aspect of the album. They're all totally fine, but they're written to be technical showpieces and aggressive tracks rather than songs. Almost every song here will be excellent as part of a concert, but I could not name one I would ever choose to seek out before my personal favorite metal songs, which are all generally considered "classics" rather than more modern material. While I do describe these as technical showcases, however, I need to point out that they are definitely not progressive metal tracks; the technical ability here is a band-focused unity as opposed to the talent show contest experience one finds listening to a more traditional progressive rock band like Rush. As a result, I found something to enjoy with this album in its current mix, which allows for a great hit of bass drum on all of its tracks.

While I'm certainly no expert of the genre, I have always found myself intrigued, and Resolution has intrigued me to the point where I intend to seek out more Lamb of God material. For those unaccustomed to metal that don't actively hate screamed vocals, I suggest checking it out.

3/5

HIGHLIGHTS: "Straight For The Sun," "Desolation," "Barbarossa," "King Me"

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: "Guilty," "Cheated"

NEXT STOP: Kill ‘Em All, Metallica

AFTER THAT: Paranoid, Black Sabbath