Southern metal monsters Lamb of God have done it again; they have produced yet another solid album that even rivals the quality of their previous landmark albums. A brilliant follow-up (and step-up) from Wrath, their sixth studio album Resolution is, so far, the best metal album of 2012, and it will be quite a challenge for other metal bands this year to show this baby up.
The album's opener, “Straight for the Sun,” is a complete throwback to the doom metal riffs of the early days of Black Sabbath, with vocalist Randy Blythe's inhuman screams immediately yanking listeners into the album by the scruff of their necks. Drummer Chris Adler's own fills help transition from that song to the next track, “Desolation.” This tune perfectly weaves guitarists Willie Adler and Mark Morton's signature chaotic lines and Blythe's maniac screams. The lyrics Blythe drills into listeners' eardrums would resonate with anyone. Lines such as “All that for nothing what a fucking waste of time" are laced with anger and discontent, and only serve to further the mood of the album overall. "All that for nothing what a fucking waste of time," Afterward we transition into the single from the album, “Ghost Walking.” The song itself has a distinct country-flavored acoustic guitar intro that transitions into their signature heavy riffs.
The next few songs boast even more of Blythe's blissfully gritty vocals and more iron-clad metal riffs that would blow anyone's face off. “The Undertow” hooks you in straight away and “The Number Six” proves to be the catchiest number off the album, with a chorus that's sure to get a crowd riled and rioting.
The next song, an instrumental entitled “Barbarosa,” strongly resembles the intro to the popular Guns N' Roses song “Civil War.” Its haunting aura and chilling guitar lines reflect on the technical brilliance of Morton and Adler. It effortlessly leads into the following track “Invictus,” a brilliantly heavy tie-in to the instrumental.
“Cheated” is another pummeling track, which is then followed by “Insurrection,” a song that showcase's their more melodic side, a side that is quite marvelous in contrast to their usual grit and grime. Every song following it is just a barrage of quality metal madness. The final track, however, is one of the most, if not the most, outstanding tracks off the album. “King Me” is a departure from Lamb of God’s typical formula of screaming vocals and raw, aggressive guitar lines. Blythe had opted for clean vocals for a good portion of the song, with the style reflecting on the chilling, apocalyptic lyrics. It is certainly one of Lamb of God’s strongest tracks on the album, if not ever.
Although it is a bit early to be claiming this, Resolution is one of the strongest metal albums of the year. Lamb of God definitely set the standard this year for their fellow metal bands. Metal Hammer asserts that the Southern boys “play[ed] their iron-plated balls off,” and is for sure one of 2012’s “stone cold classics.”
