Lamb of God
Resolution

"There are metal bands and then there is Lamb of God" - that's how the record label begins their FOUR PAGES LONG INFORMATION SHEET FILLED WITH NOTHING BUT SHAMELESS OVERUSEAGE OF SUPERLATIVES! And what it is that they are trying to say with those words I have no idea at all! What do people mean when they say such things? It doesn't mean anything! At all! And speaking of things that doesn't mean anything at all - here is the sixth album of American Lamb of God, a band that for me has meant absoluteley nothing at all during the nine years I've known them.

Since I first got to know Lamb Of God in 2003, they've grown massively and that might be one reason for the label to push so hard for them in the "information sheet". However, they've forgot to mention all the vital information and most of the four pages is only about whom they've played with and where they've been on the charts but to impress this reviewer you need some more substance than that and after nine years of acquaintance with this band I've since long established that this is not a band for me, not even after witnessing the band live a few times, though that's where I think this band do themselves best. With this sixth album I thought that this would be my last chance for the band to impress me and turn my uninterestness around, so is 'Resolution' an album that takes that last straw?

To begin with, I better make it clear that I don't dislike Lamb Of God, I simply nothing them. I don't feel anything and I've never done. All albums and live shows I've lend my ears to them hasn't done anything for me - their music is plainly bland to me. In my world Lamb Of God could almost be made of glass, their music is so anonymous and forgetable that it's close to my definition of a ghost. That's why I feel at least a little bit of joy when I hear 'Resolution' because it actually feels as if they've gained some authority and identity on this album. The music is just as shouty and dull as before but still - something has happened. The guitars actually reach beyond the speakers and a few of the songs actually feels a tad interesting.

Partly, I think the production has improved since the previous albums - the sound is more distinctive and sharp than I've heard by this band before. Also, I think the mixing is better as the sound hammers out more powerful and approachable than before. The melodies seems better, I think the song writing is massively improved and more fundamental in their structure and it feels like the music is going somewhere and not just standing ground inanimate. And beside all this I think it feels as if the structure of the music has become deeper and more advanced without going overly complicated and into something messy and confusing puddle of sounds where they get stuck. So - all good so far, the problem is that I still don't find the music especially exciting.

Randy Blythe shouts his throat soar so much that it seems to be imploding sometimes and Willie Adler and Mark Mortong hammer their guitars in such a way that it sometimes sound pretty musical, though it mostly just sound like they're trying to recreate the sound of typewriters being typed on. The rhythm section is also pretty dull and it mainly sounds like they're doing the same sounds over and over and over again and again. The best track on this album is without a shadow of doubt the concluding King Me, where the band adds some keyboards and choirs to the song. Very uncharacteristic for this band, I know, but it sounds very good! Grand and almost beautiful. Beside this song, I find Insurrection, The Number Six and Terminally Unique as the best songs on this album but except for these I fink the album gets too repetitive all over the album.

I'm not impressed by the success and progression Lamb Of God has made in the world. I don't think it's particularly impressing that they've played with Metallica and Slipknot and everything else they say in the pointless information sheet. When they mention they were stopped from playing two shows in Los Angeles I don't think it's something cool or good in any kind of way. And I'm not flattered from listening to this album. I don't think Lamb Of God keeps this album together good enough, but in some of the fourteen songs on this hour long album I feel I find something in Lamb Of God that I've never heard before, something where the band comes to their full potential and make songs that engage and interest me for real. And that is enough for me to continue giving Lamb Of God the chance to once and for all make that completely finished and concluded album. Sadly, this is not the album that does so.