Lamb Of God are no longer one of those awesome new bands that your mates keep telling you to check out. They have become a staple of modern metal through their praised records and live shows. It is conceivable then that they could continue touring off their back catalogue of impressive material alone, but the Virginians didn’t make it this far by taking it easy. While Resolution sounds like LOG album there is a lot that’s new here and it’s obvious that releasing another Ashes was definitely not on the cards.
This is exactly what happens when a band turns itself to 11. Mark and Willie have outdone themselves. Their counterpointed riffs run together in unison and have added some soaring and melodic moments between the extreme-southern style of playing we have come to expect from them. Randy has complimented this by altering his vocals and introducing a few moments of clean singing, and the result is an amazing dissonance between Randy and the guitars. Grounding the frequent soaring is John’s solid bass work which often punches its own space to come through. A band with this much going on would easily fall apart with a lesser metronome, and Chris’s obtuse kick patterns are the glue holding the band to each beat. He has usually been the stand out performer on a team of virtuosos, and he has pulled it off again.
With 14 tracks of consistent restless extremity, you might find yourself wishing for a quiet moment at some point. There are a couple, but they are few and short. The only point where there is a break in pace is a predominantly acoustic number in the middle, Barbaraosa. Slowly and quietly creeping in after one of the loudest moments, it serves more as the eye of the storm than a token ‘see we have feelings too’ song many heavy bands wedge into records.
Lamb Of God have plotted a course, set the speed, and are ploughing ahead. They have again taken their sound and pushed it to evolve without changing direction, and if you were in their position why would you change? There is nothing left to prove.
BY OSCAR SCHIESSER
Best Track: The Number Six
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: MACHINE HEAD, DEVIL DRIVER
In A Word: Ferocious
