Of
this generation’s crop of Metal acts, Lamb
Of God are certainly one of the world’s biggest, and most popular. Massive
selling (well, as metal albums go) albums such as Ashes Of The Wake, Sacrament and Wrath have seen the Virginians rise to the top of the metal
hierarchy. On the form of their previous albums, it was very unlikely that this
would be a disappointment.
If
you are a fan of the band thus far then Resolution
is not going to throw you off on a loop at all, you know full well what to
expect as the band have followed a path of greatness yet with consistency and Resolution for the most part does follow
this trend, with the rawer sound of previous album Wrath used rather than the more polished production of Sacrament. It does show Lamb Of God flexing their creative
muscles to some extent however, with a couple of new tricks up their sleeves.
Very misleadingly for example, album opener ‘Straight For The Sun’ has a very
sludgey feel reminiscent of Crowbar. Otherwise
the album is very familiar groove orientated metal which most would be familiar
too, but with some extra elements involved: first released song ‘Ghost Walking’
starts off with a clean acoustic guitar line before the song truly reveals
itself, whilst album closer ‘King Me’, as you may have already heard, uses
orchestral parts to decent yet not overpowering effect.
These
particular examples however are not the album’s highlights, and mostly it is
when the band is doing “meat and potatoes” style Lamb Of God songs without any new surprises that the album actually
works best. ‘The Undertow’ for example
is a ferociously strong song with no new variations upon it whatsoever; it’s
just the band sounding their strongest. ‘Invictus’ similarly hits hard after
following the clean, almost melancholic instrumental ‘Barbaraosa’, whilst ‘Cheated’
is an almost punk-like ditty which tributes the Sex Pistols and sounds very
similar to Wrath’s ‘Contractor’. It
is in these moments where we see that the band members themselves are at the
best forms of their lives.
Much has been made of the improvement of Randy Blythe’s vocal performance here and with good reason. Whilst
before he has been powerful but limited in range, Resolution sees him as a much bigger part of the mix, with a wider
range of harsh screams and some clean singing in ‘Insurrection’ which comes off
rather well. It isn’t just the Randy
show however, as behind the drum-kit Chris
Adler is phenomenal, they may have replaced him with Squiddly Diddly (...cartoon octopus? Anyone?...).
There has been a tremendous amount of hype surrounding Resolution as a contender for album of
the year already, but sadly it does not quite live up to this. Still a great
effort from one of the most consistently hard-hitting bands on the planet, and
on repeated listens the album does improve. Doesn’t quite beat Sacrament or Wrath in places however, but this is still a terrific work and very
much worth getting. Whether it will be one of the year’s best is yet to be
seen.
Without a shadow of a doubt this is going to be one of the
year’s biggest rock releases; Enter
Shikari being a band that have achieved major crossover success and will be
embraced as much by rockers as they will be by trendy types and chart lovers.
Combining UK style hardcore and some metal elements with Dance rhythms and Drum
And Bass crunch, becoming one of the Countries most popular bands, and all the
best to them for it. I myself had never checked the band out before, but as I
have gradually got in to Dubstep and to an extent Drum And Bass, a band that
mixes it together with Hardcore and Metal should be right up my street right?
Sadly it seems
that A Flash Flood Of Colour is not
the best place to start, or their best effort or...actually simply this is not
a great album whatsoever. Too many things crop on occasion here that simply
irritate me and do not feel necessary, or feel misleading. A brief listen to some
earlier music from the band (especially from the debut) suggests that the band
do genuinely mix hardcore and electronica to decent effect; here on the other
hand they have not implemented them at all, instead it will be dance style
beat, followed by slightly metal riff, hardcore breakdown, back to a dance like
element. This is not implementing both styles together, this is merely playing
both in the same song; it would be like a smoothie company saying that their
product contains both strawberries and bananas, only to get it and find they
aren’t blended together but separate in a bag. The song ‘Arguing With
Thermometers’ is a good example of this and how disjointed and confused it
sounds rather than truly bringing the different styles together to full effect.
Despite this there
are parts of songs that sound really good at times, some of the dance and drum
and base parts are pretty catchy and work really well when they are not
interrupted by a ill placed breakdown; for example ‘Stalemate’ has no real hint
of hardcore whatsoever and is a considerably stronger song as a result. For me a
bigger problem however is the vocals. Rou
Reynolds is not the strongest clean singer by any stretch of the
imagination and never seems to have been, but definitely fits in with the UK
hardcore style, what is striking however is how weak his harsh vocals have become,
sounding mostly very strained and at times even unintentionally comedic; they
genuinely sound damaged rather than ferocious as perhaps expected. On the final
track ‘Constellations’ he even sounds like Mike
Skinner, if Skinner was
struggling with his ‘vocals’ as well that is.
Speaking of
comedic, for me the biggest downer of the album and a genuine irritation is the
frequent inclusion of what must be ‘in-jokes’ to the band. During ‘Sssnakepit’
for example they are heard talking about Louis Armstrong, before finishing the
song with what is simply a stupid finish of silly voices followed by
laughing...you can have fun in the studio by any means I’m not that tight, but
the inclusion of this is simply pointless and not inclusive. Similarly during ‘Gandhi
Mate, Gandhi’ the song is interrupted by them telling each other to calm down
and remember Gandhi...Why? Completely unnecessary.
It isn’t entirely
bad however, there are some pretty decent moments here and there; ‘Search Party’
for example could be a great club floor-filler, and the drum and base parts in ‘Pack
Of Thieves’ are particularly strong. But it is never great for long before
something seems ill placed, needless or even just annoying. The political side
of the band as well comes across as far too preachy at times. Rise Against is a
perfect example of how a song can contain a political urgency and meaning, yet
is not overpowered by it constantly if need be; here whenever politics comes up
it is essentially shouting in your face to listen, like someone rudely yelling
at you until you listen.
Despite this fans
will undoubtedly snap this up and enjoy it, and they will become even bigger
news this year. For essentially a newbie to this band however, A Flash Flood Of Colour is too often
stumbling and for much of it simply annoying.
Happy new year everyone. It's officially that time of the year where we make (and possibly break already) resolutions, we look back over the previous year and then look forward to what the new year has to offer (or sit there tearing your hair out at the thought of dissertation writing for the next few months if you are like me). Part of this of course is looking forward to what great, or poor music we have to look forward to in the new year. That's where this entralling (HA!) post comes in.
2011 was a great year for heavy music (check out my countdown of the year by the way!), but a quick look at just some of the expected releases from bands this year shows that this year may just top it, and that's not to mention what new bands will take the world by storm this year. So here is my top albums to look for this year, mostly from established bands, and the odd new curiosity ahead. Away we go...
Lamb Of God
There has been considerable hype already around
the new Lamb Of God album; which is due for release on 23 January, and with
good reason; Lamb Of God. Fucking. rule. One of the truly great bands of this generation,
the follow up to the blistering Wrath is expected to be a highlight for the
year. The press have had the album and it has been seemingly unanimous praise
for the band and a possible career best, and a contender for album of 2012 in
the first month.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Alice In Chains
Perhaps against the odds and certainly against the
expectations of many, Alice In Chains returned in 2009 after their hiatus and
the death of iconic front-man Layne Staley with a new singer, William DuVall;
and my album of that year, Black Gives Way To Blue. A mesmerizingly powerful
effort of some of the bands most memorable and crushing riffs as well as the
most heartbreaking ballads of their career. Reports suggest that a new album is
on the way in 2012 but otherwise there is little information.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Behemoth
With main-man Nergal winning his battle against Leukaemia
last year, the metal world must have let out a collective roar of ecstasy when
news emerged of Behemoth activity, with a headline spot at Bloodstock and a new
album on the way. 2010’s Evangelion brought Behemoth to the masses and
anticipation for a new album has surely never been greater. The latest effort
for these blackened death-metallers will undoubtedly be one of the year’s most
important releases, purely because it sees one of modern metal’s most popular,
controversial and powerful personalities, Nergal.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Cannibal Corpse
The world’s biggest death metal bands are also expected to
return with their 12th studio album in 2012. With death metal (and
Cannibal Corpse themselves for that matter) perhaps more popular than ever, and
with the recent output of CC with 2006’s Kill and 2009’s Evisceration Plague
being some of the bands best in years, excitement for this is very high indeed.
This (and their headline tour in March)
will have you windmilling until your neck snaps.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Gojira
One of the modern era’s most truly cutting edge and
brilliant of bands, Frances’ Gojira are expected to have their latest full
album out this year. Following 2008’s spectacular The Way Of All Flesh and
support slots with some band called Metallica in the following year, Gojira are
on a tremendous rise and should soon be rightly cited as one of the modern era’s
truly great and important bands.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Metallica
Speaking of Metallica, a new album from the biggest metal
band on the planet is expected. Arguably
the band have not had a decent release for a long, long time; 2008’s
Death Magnetic was ok but otherwise you will need to go back as far as 1991’s
The Black Album for the last great release; and after the catastrophic response
to the Lou Reed collaboration Lulu, a new album will be held under great
scrutiny. But they simply have to release a great album once again soon, and
with The Black Album anniversary shows under the way, including a massive
headline slot at this year’s Download festival; Metallica may just pull it off.
It’s fucking Metallica after all.
How They Sounded Last Time: (Ignoring Lulu as technically it is a Lou Reed and Metallica collaboration, on top of that it is poor)
Dyscarnate
Not the biggest bands in all
fairness, and one perhaps easily missed by others, but the new Dyscarnate album
is supposed to be a monstrous effort. The follow up to 2010’s perhaps little
known but nonetheless excellent Enduring The Massacre; 2012 should be a big
year for the young death metallers wit the release of the difficult second
album. However going by the press on the album thus far, as well as the released
new song ‘A Drone In The Hive’ (http://snd.sc/wSCD5b),
this should be a terrific and brutal slice for the new year.
How They Sounded Last Time:
KISS
NEW KISS ALBUM!! YES! YES YES YES!!...Erm sorry about that,
but that’s how much I bloody love KISS and how much news of a brand new album
excites me. 2009’s Sonic Boom was a true return to form after a long period of
precious few albums (which were not that great to be honest) and it blew
expectations out of the water. New album, Monster is in the works and should be
out this year at some point and will hopefully see the bands presence in the UK
again. You’ll know if it does, you’ll hear me cheering miles and miles away.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Primal Rock Rebellion
A definite curiosity package this one, and a very unexpected
collaboration. Featuring Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden and Mikee Goodman of
SikTh, this seems an unlikely pairing, but the announcement on the Second of
January with a song free to download certainly pricked the ears. The album
should see release on 27th February on Spinefarm Records, and should
be a very interesting release.
Just to start off, I am a big Killswitch fan boy. The band
that got put me on the downhill road towards being a metal fan, they were the
first metal band that I truly loved and became a fan of, so a new album from
these guys would be great news for me anyway. Following last year’s heart
string tugging release from KsE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz’ alternate project
Times Of Grace, 2012 should see the band refreshed and in fine form, and I for
one cannot wait.
[At time of writing it has emerged that front man Howard
Jones has departed the band for unknown reasons. Gutted, but Killswitch Engage
should still make a triumphant return, hopefully this year.]
How They Sounded Last Time:
Meshuggah
Tech death metal overlords announced this very day (4th
January if I don’t post this immediately) that a new album will see the light
of day on 27th March, assumedly to a hearty chorus of burly cheering
and roaring from across the globe. Recent years have seen a huge amount of ‘Shuggah
influenced bands in the new Djent scene; this year Meshuggah should show the
kids how it’s done.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Tool
Tool releases seemingly come around as quickly as Hayley’s
Comet, hell, evolutionary cycles in nature work quicker than Tool do in the
studio. Thankfully Tool have yet to release an album any less than brilliant in
their history and have a reputation as one of the world’s most popular metal
bands and one of the most astounding visually, so at least the waits are worth
it. Six long years since the release of their last album Vicarious, 2012 HAS to
be the year Tool return, and it again should be nothing less than brilliant.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Converge
One of the most vicious, dangerous sounding and universally
praised bands currently, Converge are expected to release the follow up to the
brutal Axe To Fall album this year. There is no doubt that this will be a great
album, they have failed to make anything less thus far after all. Axe To Fall
is a tough act to follow, but if anyone can do it, it’s Converge.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Black Sabbath
The original lineup of the band that created metal and perfected
metal in the first place? The first of this line up since 1979? Who ISN’T
excited by this? It should be great as well; Iommi and Butler proved they are on
fine form with 2009’s Heaven And Hell album The Devil You Know (R.I.P Dio)
whilst Ozzy Osbourne seemed rejuvenated with his underrated 2010 release
Scream. This will be a massive release
and, Rick Rubin aside, a great one. See you at Download.
How They Sounded Last Time:
Testament
Not many bands can pull out their best album more than
twenty years after their debut, but Testament seemed to pull it off with ease.
2008’s The Formation Of Damnation was a truly epic piece of work, a genuine
classic encompassing the bands heritage and ability to push forward in to the
future, being both of this day and yet classic and vintage; and the band are
more than capable of matching it and even topping it. Do not miss this album,
without a doubt this can be considered to become one of the year’s best albums
without a note of music even being heard.
How They Sounded Last Time:
These are my top picks for the new year, with these releases expected, it should be a cracking year. Of course there are plenty of others as well as these so let me know if you think I have missed a genuine contender. Night all....Fuck forgot about Van Halen....
Of
this generation’s crop of Metal acts, Lamb
Of God are certainly one of the world’s biggest, and most popular. Massive
selling (well, as metal albums go) albums such as Ashes Of The Wake, Sacrament and Wrath have seen the Virginians rise to the top of the metal
hierarchy. On the form of their previous albums, it was very unlikely that this
would be a disappointment.
