Arguably the first big metal album dropped yesterday (Jan. 24th), that album is Resolution by long time heavy hitter Lamb Of God. I'll start this by answering two questions for you.
Is it better than Wrath? Yes it is.
Is it their best album? No it's not.
Lamb Of God have a problem. They started out so strong, and put the bar so high for themselves, they can't seem to get over that bar again. They haven't made a bad album, they just haven't stunned people in a while like they used to. But all in all Resolution is great, and well worth your time. In a way it's a good thing, because most people know what they want out of a Lamb Of God album by now and this album will sate those appetites.
Now onto the album shall we?
Overall it's very well produced. Lot of high energy, fast paced songs are found here. Although one interesting thing is that the album starts with this Doom Metal feeling song. It's really slow but heavy riffing, with Randy screaming an incredibly long scream. It's the heaviest song these guys have done and a great way to start the album. It's broken up at the end by a fast drum beat that carries over to the beginning of the second track 'Desolation' which goes back to what they are famous for, high energy groove metal.
The first thing you'll notice is how present Randy's vocals are. He did a hell of a job vocally on this album, and they seemed to put it more towards the front in the mix to show off that fact. The downside to that is that on some songs it seems like the instruments just blend together behind Randy's vocals. But it's not terrible.
Yet another nice thing about this album is the atmosphere. From the doom metal opening, to the acoustic opening to 'Ghost Walking', to the really cool bass sections in 'The Number Six'. It's got a really good somewhat eerie atmosphere throughout the whole album that gives you this feeling like you're about to get into a fight or something. The seventh track Barbarosa is the only instrumental on the album and it's also the most atmospheric, a really cool break halfway through the album. It's all wrapped up in the end by 'King Me', which is one of the best songs on the album, combining orchestration, operatic female vocals, atop some slower more epic instrumentation by the band, which soon breaks into faster playing. And then brings back the orchestra and female vocals for the chorus.
The guitar work overall is great. I said it can get lost in the mix sometimes yes, but that's only when riffing, and not all the time. When it comes time to solo, the guitar is definitely up front. None of the solo's will floor you, but they are good solo's. The bass guitar also gets attention int he spotlight here or there, the biggest being the one I mentioned already in 'The Number Six' which is one of the highlights of the song in my opinion.
The drums are impressive as well, they're as technical as they've ever been on a Lamb Of God album, and are definitely a great backbone to every song on the album.
Overall the album is great, and I'll definitely spin it a few more times. If you can't manage to buy it, or need to hear it before buying, it's on Spotify right now. Check it out.
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