Tiamat
Amanethes
Nuclear Blast
62:10 - 14 Tracks
These guys have been below my radar for a while, they put out an album, either I didn’t get it, or just kind of dismissed it… this time, in their first album in 5 years, it’s very well put together. It’s mostly pretty goth/viking/folk metal. Well, not so much folk, I guess I just add that because of the keyboards here and there. I’d have to compare them a little bit to Moonspell. To me, this album has a dark feel to it. I dunno, just the guitars and music feels dark to me… some tracks are heavy, others are not. You’ll hear something on the Mosh Pit!
Shai Hulud
Misanthropy Pure
Metal Blade
41:57 - 11 Tracks
These guys have been around a lot longer than Metalcore has, and they are, or have been pretty much a stereotypical metalcore band. WIth metalcore kind of not being what it used to be, like it was for a couple years, they have to evolve. As with the band/review above, this is Shai Hulud’s first studio album in 5 years. They have a pretty good metal and core thing going on. Vocals seem to stay abrasive, yet the music stays complex and melodic with the occasional breakdown. You’ll hear some of this on the Mosh Pit.
Axxis
Doom of Destiny
Locomotive
46:19 - 11 Tracks
A pretty solid power metal band from Germany. They’ve been around for 20 years, and have some of the symphonic/femetal vocal parts mixed in with some over the top power metal vocals. The music is fairly good solid metal. It doesn’t wank around too much, stays on target. The only wanking seems to be with vocals and it fits pretty good. You’ll probably hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Iced Earth
“I Walk Among You” EP
SPV
17:03 - 3 Tracks
The first official release to radio with the new Iced Earth stuff with Matthew Barlow back in the fold. I’m one of those bandwagon jumpers that think Mr. Barlow is THE voice of Iced Earth. No disrespect to Ripper Owens, but Barlow and Iced Earth are like chocolate and peanut butter. And, what better bonus to just this one song on this EP? Re-recorded versions of “Setian Massacre” and “The Clouding” with Barlow. New Iced Earth with Barlow? Yah, you’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Conquest
End of Days
Dark Star
49:47 - 11 Tracks
Pretty straightforward metal going on here. Production is pretty good, songs are kind of catchy, and true to metal! They’re from St. Louis, so a fairly “local” area metal band. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Soul Embraced
Dead Alive
SolidState
13 Tracks
Another band that hasn’t had a CD in 5 years… These guys have reformed and having pioneered the Christian death metal/metal core genre, they’re back without missing a beat! The sound is more of a blackened metal, catchy songs, brutal sounding, and overall, just what you want to hear in Christian music… oh, whatever, it’s great music no matter what the lyrics are about.
MyChildren MyBride
Unbreakable
Solid State
10 Tracks
This is some good brutal-metalcore. Some nice huge meaty breakdowns, along with some great melodic riffing, and all in all good songs to headbang too. The songs are pretty catchy, choruses make you want to break stuff. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
