Tracks
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Lamb of God was already a favorite metal act of mine, but this album brings new dimension to their work. I've been waiting a long damn time for Randy Blythe to actually *sing* a few notes, and my wish has been granted here. What I love about LoG is their blitzkrieg-riffing guitar style, and that their drummer is almost as inventive. There are a few places where (especially drum-wise) the boys lose points with me. But overall I find this to be an improvement on their previously high-noteworthiness as a band.
Some of my favorites...
"Still Echoes" - Overall this track wins points with me for its theme of social dissent. The general consensus seems to be that Blythe's lyrics seem anti-religious but actually they're symbolic of more political things. That could be the case here but I still see some chance that this song is anti-religious (which is certainly what I'm thinking when I listen to it.) The guitars could be more inventive. I hear a lot of sliding-around of chords when I'd rather be hearing LoG's usual dancing, dissonant riffs, or at least a little bit of riffage to spice-up the chords I'm hearing. The breakdown gets my attention more than the rest of the song.
"512" - Starting out a bit slower than I'm used to from this band, but in this case that's a good thing. They pick rhythms and time signatures that are compatible with one another (or rather, they pick one time signature and stick to it, even if they build on it somewhat dramatically. This seems to be a song about giving in to one's most violent basic instincts because it seems like a better option than repressing them, and then realizing that the social consequences have you in over your head. Like I said, this is a slow-rocker compared with a lot of the band's work, but it's still good for a headbang or two.
"Footprints" - The intro of this is irksome to me. Too much "TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT" on the drums - Adler can do better. And then he starts to "DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a" in the bridge and the sound of my eyes rolling could be heard from space. The guitars are a real fretboard party, though.
"Overlord" - This is a moment for which I've been waiting a long time. A slow, clean-tone riff with bluesy guitar-soloing is followed by Blythe actually singing, which he keeps-up for almost the whole song. This being a slow song doesn't stop the drums from being interesting though. Adler still does a fair amount of bass-drum galloping which keeps things interesting. This guitar solo sounds really genuine as well. And once it hits the faster, overdriven section, the guitars are so fervent that if I didn't know any better I'd think Mark and Willie were desperate to scratch an insatiable itch in their pickups. The two tempos work well together, which for me is a necessity.
"Delusion Pandemic" - Almost right away with the "DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a" again here. Really? Grrr... But at least he stops that quickly. The guitar is active enough to keep me happy, but could be more complex. I love the sentiment here, though. Especially the part that's spoken/shouted by (I think) Blythe. The message of personal responsibility is one that people need to hear right now. It's sad that humanity hasn't learned that lesson but at least there's somebody out there who feels passionately enough about it to speak it in such a widely-audible way.
Overall I give this album four out of five stars. I think I'm out of space or I'd write more.
Some of my favorites...
"Still Echoes" - Overall this track wins points with me for its theme of social dissent. The general consensus seems to be that Blythe's lyrics seem anti-religious but actually they're symbolic of more political things. That could be the case here but I still see some chance that this song is anti-religious (which is certainly what I'm thinking when I listen to it.) The guitars could be more inventive. I hear a lot of sliding-around of chords when I'd rather be hearing LoG's usual dancing, dissonant riffs, or at least a little bit of riffage to spice-up the chords I'm hearing. The breakdown gets my attention more than the rest of the song.
"512" - Starting out a bit slower than I'm used to from this band, but in this case that's a good thing. They pick rhythms and time signatures that are compatible with one another (or rather, they pick one time signature and stick to it, even if they build on it somewhat dramatically. This seems to be a song about giving in to one's most violent basic instincts because it seems like a better option than repressing them, and then realizing that the social consequences have you in over your head. Like I said, this is a slow-rocker compared with a lot of the band's work, but it's still good for a headbang or two.
"Footprints" - The intro of this is irksome to me. Too much "TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT" on the drums - Adler can do better. And then he starts to "DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a" in the bridge and the sound of my eyes rolling could be heard from space. The guitars are a real fretboard party, though.
"Overlord" - This is a moment for which I've been waiting a long time. A slow, clean-tone riff with bluesy guitar-soloing is followed by Blythe actually singing, which he keeps-up for almost the whole song. This being a slow song doesn't stop the drums from being interesting though. Adler still does a fair amount of bass-drum galloping which keeps things interesting. This guitar solo sounds really genuine as well. And once it hits the faster, overdriven section, the guitars are so fervent that if I didn't know any better I'd think Mark and Willie were desperate to scratch an insatiable itch in their pickups. The two tempos work well together, which for me is a necessity.
"Delusion Pandemic" - Almost right away with the "DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a-DIK-a" again here. Really? Grrr... But at least he stops that quickly. The guitar is active enough to keep me happy, but could be more complex. I love the sentiment here, though. Especially the part that's spoken/shouted by (I think) Blythe. The message of personal responsibility is one that people need to hear right now. It's sad that humanity hasn't learned that lesson but at least there's somebody out there who feels passionately enough about it to speak it in such a widely-audible way.
Overall I give this album four out of five stars. I think I'm out of space or I'd write more.