An eminently listenable heavy metal album from the Richmond titans.
So far, the 21st century has been a period of diminishing returns in the metal world – but one band from the New Wave of American Heavy Metal has really stood out: Lamb of God. But while the Richmond, Virginia titans’ previous long-player, 2009’s Wrath, was as relentlessly bone-crushingly heavy as we’d come to expect, the scintillating invention and inspired riffs they’d become famous for across three major label releases wasn’t as pronounced. They still had ‘it’, but ‘it’ had been diluted somewhat.
Like its predecessor, Resolution finds its makers flicking the autopilot switch every so often; but as with any veteran band, expecting album after album of a dozen outstanding smashes is simply asking for too much. And with 14 tracks on this, their seventh studio album, expectations set for a truly singular experience were always going to be slightly disappointed. The thunderous, low-slung sludge of opener Straight for the Sun does little to dash hopes though, and the deliciously cascading riffs of Desolation comprise the backbone of a furious call-to-arms. So far, so Lamb of God – and while there’s some concern that Ghost Walking is rather too similar to Redneck, from 2006’s Sacrament LP (the opening riff appears to be carbon-copy), its weighty grooves, intricate riffs and Randy Blythe’s unwavering screams and growls kick in and settle any nerves. Woof. Business as usual.
Lees de rest van deze review op BBC CD recensies (Engels)
Bron: BBC Music