LAMB OF GOD

A couple of weeks ago, LAMB OF GOD screamer Randy Blythe came out and said he wants to be president. Why the fuck not? The State of the Union address would finally be entertaining. The White House Rose Garden could be dug up and replanted with high grade cannabis to help "ease diplomatic tensions" between foreign leaders. Hell, Phil Anselmo could be Vice Prez! I could see this actually working out. Or, Mr. Blythe could set his political aspirations aside on focus on what he does best; releasing concrete-solid metal albums like "Resolution".

LAMB OF GOD's newest release, "Resolution" sees the band once again grabbing their fans by the throat. Granted, they haven't taken too many steps outside of the box that "Ashes Of The Wake" built, but why should they? This is a band that wielded their weapon of choice long ago and has been able to consistently bash the shit out of everyone in sight with it ever since. Even the band's detractors have to give them some credit for that. What's more important is that their fans are going to enjoy the hell out of this album.

"Resolution" is exactly what you would expect from LAMB OF GOD; give or take a little depending on your attention to detail. For the most part, this is an album with few surprises. However, when they do extend their grasp, the end result is quite head-turning. Opener "Straight For The Sun" is a slow and sludgey monster that serves as a bulldozer, clearing the path for the rest of the album. "The Number Six" is arguably the biggest step in the progressive direction that LOG has ever taken. Sonically and structurally, this song is miles from the band's Southern-fried standard and sticks out as one of the album's best moments. Bonus points for bassist John Campbell for stepping out from behind the curtain with his brief, but badass walking bass solo. The multi-faceted and almost bi-polar "King Me" intertwines spacey psychedelia and epic melodies with LOG's familiar groove. One of the album's darkest offering, "Insurrection" is another tune that sees the band exploring new territory; particularly Blythe who brings a welcome, chilling element to the table on this song. "Terminally Unique" attempts to capture a similar vibe, but doesn't quite hit the bullseye. "Visitation", however, is able to straddle the fence and comes across as one of the disc's most complete tunes.

The majority of "Resolution" is LAMB OF GOD doing what LAMB OF GOD does best. Willie Adler and Mark Morton go ape-shit on riff-driven ragers like "Desolation" and "Guilty". "The Undertow" and "Ghost Walking" serve up more Southern groove than you can shake a dinged-up Flying-V at and drummer Chris Adler can take credit for fueling every one of these fires with his percussive mastery. Sure, these songs a nestled nicely in the comfort zone, especially "Ghost Walking", given its comparability to "Redneck", but it's not like the band is serving up turds here either.

As a whole, there is little about "Resolution" to bitch about. Each of these fourteen songs has something to offer and are all delivered with LOG's expected level of energy and skill. It was cool to hear the band take a few chances and the fact those risks paid off so well sweetened the deal that much more. Even the safest moments on this album only saw the band going to their own well, instead of just plopping out some generic, paint-by-numbers crap designed to please the masses. I won't call "Resolution" the apex of LAMB OF GOD's career, but it sure in the hell proves these boys still mean business.