Archive for the New in the mail Category
The Becoming
Vol. 1
Solid State
55:56 - 13 Tracks
This is more or less an emo-hard rock type CD. As with most albums of this genre, they sound good, are good at what they do, and I’m just being nice because I don’t care too much for this, at least for radio play on the Mosh Pit. If I were to play this during the Mosh pit, it would be such a momentum breaker, I’m afraid I’d hear a lot of clicks of people changing the station. Again, not bad at what they do, just not for the Mosh Pit.
Blessed By A Broken Heart
Pedal To The Metal
Century Media
42:19 - 11 Tracks
This is almost as over the top as Dragonforce, however, with the keyboards and very electronic drum sound, they are a lot more “80’s”, but with some good thrash influences. It’s like a mix of 80’s hard rock, metal-emo core and yeah, some Dragonforce. There is definitely a lot of cheese flowing on this disc, which in Wisconsin can be a good thing!
Brother Von Doom
Relentless
Deathcote Records
36:59 - 10 Tracks
Brutal death metal stuff to start, then some cool thrashy melodic guitar parts to make it a nice well rounded brutal metal album! Catchy thrashy music with all out melodic death metal thrashy stuff in between. Did I just say the same thing in two sentences? I guess so, but how else can you describe it? You just have to listen for yourself.
Cradle of Filth
Godspeed on the Devils Thunder
Roadrunner
71:21 - 13 Tracks
They’ve really stepped it up on this new one, it’s darker, more “metal” and just an all out evil sounding CD. It’s based on Marquis de Sade, so you’ve got some good dark subject material, but the music backs it up. I gotta hand it to CoF, some of their albums there were a little to um, I dunno, euro-femetal sounding, this one hearkens back to their Dusk and Her Embrace era stuff.
The Duskfall
The Dying Wonders Of The World
Locomotive
41:41 - 9 Tracks
Some melodic death metal from Sweden… hey, if you’re going to be in this genre, you might as well be from Sweden! This CD was released last year sometime to the rest of the world, and since then (Aug 08) the band has decided to disband. While this is a cool release in a cool genre, there isn’t too much new going on here. It’s a bit like Hypocrisy and of course some of the older In Flames/Soilwork type of stuff.
Gojira
The Way Of All Flesh
Prosthetic Records
75:15 - 12 Tracks
There’s a lot of buzz about these guys lately… their last album was pretty groundbreaking for them, so they have a lot of hype to live up to on this followup. The 1st track is fairly melodic, yet still has a heavy feel to it. Next up and for a lot of the rest of the album, they have that more Sepultura influenced heavy, stop/start metal thing going on. Still some good melodic catchy hooks, along with some brutal parts mixed in, but a lot of slower melodic parts too. It’s very dynamic and you’ll need to probably take in the whole album to appreciate it the most.
Inhale Exhale
I Swear…
Solid State
44:23 - 11 Tracks
Sometimes the stuff from SolidState is really cool and brutal, other times, it’s like the first band on the review list this week (The Becoming)… this one kind of falls in the middle. It’s got some good brutal-core moments, then gets to some melodic borderline emo vocal chorus parts. Some songs go more emo (melodic singy chorus parts)… but then it gets to some cool chugga chugga breakdowney metal verses. Every song does seem to go back and forth between brutal and singy emo (it’s not like super whiney emo, just melodic singing type stuff).
In This Moment
The Dream
Century Media
42:55 - 11 Tracks
The last album from these guys seemed to be a good crossover hit… going from metal to the “solid rock” stations… this album seems to just stay over the more accessible “solid rock” genre. So, yeah, while still great and catchy, it’s more like a hard rock “No Doubt” than it is metal.
Jeff Loomis
Zero Order Phase
Century Media
54:02 - 10 Tracks
You may know Jeff as the main axeman for Nevermore, some may know him as “that dude from Wisconsin that’s in Nevermore”… either way, he’s a great guitar player and this is his solo album. He does have a certain style when playing with Nevermore, and that carries over to this solo album. Therefore, if you like the music of Nevermore, chances are you’ll like this. If you only like Nevermore for Warrell Dane, you won’t find it here, it’s all instrumental. Some great solos on this album of course, and the rest of the music is well put together.
Lords
Fuck All Y’all Motherfuckers
Metal Blade
23:03 - 16 Tracks
This is a collection of quick short songs with just well, I dunno. A bit of punk, metal, grind, stoner metal… just a lot of different things happening in a short amount of time! And the song titles and lyrics seem to be done up in a fun way too. It’s worth a listen!
Psycroptic
Ob(Servant)
Nuclear Blast
49:49 - 9 Tracks
Ever since seeing these guys on Summer Slaughter, I’ve been anxiously waiting having this CD in my hands… It’s everything I thought it would be. Heavy, catchy, brutal, melodic in some parts, and just a great aural assault on the ears. It’s similar to a lot of different things, but not the same as anyone else. Great to hear something different in this day and age of music saturation!
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There are a lot of new releases this week, so some of the reviews will be pretty short!
Godhead
At The Edge of the World
Driven Music Group
79:26 - 18 Tracks
Well, as expected, this is more of a “solid rock” release. I guess this could be called the new “nu-metal”. Melodic choruses, just plain ol hard rock type stuff and really, just not mosh pit material.
Sonic Syndicate
Love and Other Disasters
Nuclear Blast
40:23 - 10 Tracks
This works for fans of Soilwork and bands like that, with a melodic yet brutal thrashy sound. However, there is a bit of metalcore - emoness built into some parts of song. It’s not all totally whiney emo, but musically you can almost see some kids doing karate moves and stuff.
Antagonist
Exist
Prosthetic
43:32 - 10 Tracks
This makes a good mix of some thrash stuff, but heavy catchy almost Pantera-ish metal. The vox are more on the scream/growl variety, there are some breakdowns, and they are very good brutal chugga chugga… but then throw in a little melodic part here and there to keep it “real” or something. Overall, it’s a good thrash/metal record, pretty dynamic and produced well.
Bleeding Through
Declaration
Trustkill
46:14 - 12 Tracks
Formerly pioneers of all that is metalcore, this album seems to kick it up a notch. It’s a bit darker, and a wall of sound thanks to production by Devin Townsend. It’s more brutal, deathy, a bit symphonic and makes you want to break things.
Trenches
The Tide Will Swallow Us All
SolidState
55:02 - 10 Tracks
At the most basic level, this is a metalcore band, but this album is anything but basic. I’d have to throw in experimental too. The vocals are fairly abrasive, the music is for the most part, metalcore, but also, a bit proggy, and as the CD progresses, not as heavy and/or metal.
Slank
Anthem For The Broken Hearted
MRI
31:12 - 10 Tracks
Well, I heard how great these guys were on the phone today, and they’ve sold a bozillion records worldwide, but not in the US because they haven’t had an English language album yet. Now they do, and well, while this might be a good CD, it’s not really even close to being metal. It’s almost ska! It’s just a plain ol rock album with some catchy music, but sorry, no metal here!
Wykked Wytch
Suffering EP
Perish
9:56 - 2 Tracks
This is a song from their most recent album and an “iTunes single,” the single is a cover of Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life” The other track is probably something I played when the album was more current. Fairly brutal black/death/thrash metal with female vox… sounding similar to Cradle of Filth. The cover is almost funny… music starts slow, with vocals being pretty much a caricature of itself, all “black metal” sounding over quiet music. However, it is neat to hear a heavier version of this huge “sellout” song. It was a catchy song, but I don’t know if it should really be covered.
Holy Moses
Agony of Death
SPV
69:30 - 12 Tracks
Female fronted heavy thrash band Holy Moses is back with their 11th album! You kind of have a bit of an Exodus/Overkill music sound here, but the vocals are more brutal, and it just has a darker feel than just standard old-school thrash. You could almost picture this being a more raw Arch Enemy album… of course for me it’s hard to compare to Arch Enemy… but this is catchy thrash with some almost brutal female vocals… so that’s how I can compare! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Mudvayne
“Do What You Do” Single
Epic
7:08 - 2 Tracks
It’s Mudvayne… what can you say, it’s not “old” Mudvayne, but more like, um, new emo Mudvayne… nothing really special or “cool” in these two tracks. These songs tend to be “safe” to me, no real limits being pushed like they used to do. Hey, I guess when you get older, you try harder to make things “perfect” This to me means, not really gonna get airplay on Metal Radio, but a lot of play on other stations!
Energy
Invasions of the Mind
Bridge Nine
27:37 - 11 Tracks
Well, I’d have to call this emo-core. Some decent fast-ish music with some occasional abrasive vocals, but overall, emo emo emo singy singy… Ugh. Track length is short, so maybe I’ll play something so you can share in what I have to hear. I guess it’s that punk-ish emo type stuff. It’s just not all that great for the Mosh Pit!
Battlelore
The Last Alliance
Napalm
53:46 - 11 Tracks
“Epic Fantasy Metal” Clean female vocals mixed with the occasional death/black metal growl, along with symphonic, keyboard heavy dark metal. Some tracks kick it up a notch with heavy and catchiness, others turn it down a notch. I’d like to maybe play more tracks, but after track 4, they all have voiceovers!
Artas
The Healing
Napalm
51:00 - 13 Tracks
Some brutalcore? It’s thrashy, deathy, catchy… of course the Napalm records genre says “Modern Metal” I guess that could mean, “new wave of brutal metal core” They are from Austria, so maybe they know Austrain Death Machine? Actually it is almost similar to ADM, as it’s brutal, heavy, and catchy as I mentioned. Unfortunately there are voiceovers on this too, everything past track 5 is ruined.
Kampfar
Heimgang
Napalm
47:08 - 10 Tracks
Some pretty cool old school sounding Black metal “Pagan Black Metal” on the Napalm rap sheet. Some good melodic guitar work, heavy dark evil vocals, and just all out stuff that black metal should be!
Misery Index
Traitors
Relapse
11 Tracks
Heavy, brutal, grindy, and concise. The concise part is not normally what you get on Relapse records, a lot of their roster tends to mess around a lot, this gets you right to the point without fucking around. This is the kind of metal we need to have more of. :)
Marya Roxx
21?! The EP
RAM
14:25 - 4 Tracks
This is some hard rock type stuff with female vocals. Catchy guitars, decent songs, there are only 4 tracks on this EP, but I think I could manage to play something… it’s got an 80’s 90’s throwback sound, but still kinda modern!
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Amon Amarth
Twilight of the Thunder God
Twilight of the Thunder God
Metal Blade
43:28 - 10 Tracks
Well, it’s been a couple years since their last album, which was like, way super good. This one has all of the metal that the last one did, but throw in a lil more melody, a little moreblack metal, a little more everything actually. This album has it all and the production is top notch.
Hollow Corp.
Cloister of Radiance
Prosthetic
56:48 - 8 Tracks
Actually this is pretty similar to the Amon Amarth… similar as in like, genre… catchy, dark, but yet, not all depressing. Simliar vocal style, music, heaviness, etc.
Droidsattack
Fatal/error
Crustacean
43:59 - 8 Tracks
It’s always neat when I get a CD from a national promotions company from a local band. It shows someone is trying! This new album is pretty well put together, some great catchy stoner metal going on here. Definitely worthy of airplay, even if they weren’t from Madison!
Anathema
Hindsight
K Scope
52:42 - 10 Tracks
Back in the day, these guys had something metal happening, nowadays, I’m not sure what to call them. But well, this just does not fit into what one would call Metal. It’s a lot of pianos, singing, etc. Take Opeth’s Damnation CD and tone it down from there even. Meh.
Exotic Animal Petting Zoo
I Have Made My Bed In Darkness
Mediaskare
63:26 - 12 Tracks
I guess this could be considered “experimental” as it’s spacey in parts, but also just kicks into some pretty cool prog-ish metal. I guess they say it’s for fans of Mr. Bungle, BTBAM and Dillinger Escape Plan. It’s almost like old GOOD Incubus in parts too. It’s something different than everything else lately, so it might just get on the air!
Devil’s Slingshot
Clinophobia
Mascot
40:10 - 9 Tracks
Billy Sheehan (Bass), Tony MacAlpine (Guitar) and Virgil Donati (Drums) make up this instrumental trio… Great to have this kind of release after all these years without anything like it! These guys are no stranger to albums like this, as they all have done them before, usually with Derek Sherinian or their own projects, etc. It’s not completely metal, it’s more like hard rock, with some jazzy infusion stuff, but overall, it’s like one of those Steve Vai instrumental type things. You’ll hear some of this on the Mosh Pit!
Marty Friedman
Exhibit A Live In Europe
Mascot
61:27 - 16 Tracks
After hearing some of Marty’s other solo stuff, at first thought I figured this would be some new agey stuff with maybe some hard rock leanings…. nope! It’s got some metal shredding going on… well, not endless wanky noodley shreddy stuff… Friedman’s guitar playing is usually fairly melodic with of course lots of meedly meedly, but with rhythm. He’s got Ron Jarzombek playing another guitar on this live recording… the songs are structured all nice. I’d have to say this is definitely more “metal” than the Devil’s Slingshot! Of course there are some slower songs on here, but overall, it’s a catchy “instru-metal” disc.
Metallica
Death Magnetic
Warner Bros.
74:46 - 10 Tracks
The most reviewed album of like the last 5 years, and now it’s my turn? Well, I’ve had a few weeks to listen to this, and it’s grown on me quite a bit. The songs are catchy, have some great guitar work, and this is probably about as good as Metallica is going to get… relative to their heyday. The production/mixing on this album is horrible. Just about everything is maxed out to the point of distortion. How can this happen? The mix is a little weird too… I don’t really care for how the vocals seem to be their own entity instead of mixing in with the music. These guys could really use Andy Sneap, or I’d love to hear Devin Townsend turn this into a wall of sound. I’m sure they are going for the “raw” sound on purpose… it’s not nearly as bad as St. Anger, but still not as great as it can be… especially with technology in this day and age. Still… it’s good stuff and You’ll hear it on the Mosh Pit.
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Trivium
Shogun
Roadrunner
66:41 - 11 Tracks
Well, there was a lot of hype building into this album, about this being their make or break CD… The first track is pretty awesome and metal… but with that lil twinge of emo (clean but not whiney vocals) as Trivium will always have. I guess it’s not really emo, but moreso “clean” The rest of the album has a good mix of catchy hardrock/metal/metalcore anthems. I don’t know if this is a breakthrough record, but it is a good progression in the line of albums.
Evergrey
Torn
SPV
53:40 - 11 Tracks
I was just googling these guys the other week, wondering when if anything new was coming out… and sure as hell… there was, and a few days later, the CD showed up! Always one of the better prog/power metal bands, this new one follows the same formula… some great power metal with a little bit of an edge. Almost like some classic AOR/Heavier Queensryche sound happening here, songs are catchy, make you want to sing along, play air guitar, drums, bass, karaoke!
Son of Sam
Into The Night
Horror High
32:50 - 9 Tracks
Side project from Danzig and Samhain guitarist… it sounds pretty similar to both. A bit more metal, but a very similar style to Danzig. “Horror Rock” The music rocks pretty good, and manages to distract you from the whiney Danzig-ish vox.
Poisonblack
A Dead Heavy Day
Century Media
56:28 - 12 Tracks
They are considered a “gothic metal” band… I’d have to say they lean towards more traditional metal these days with some goth underlyings. There’s some heaviness happening… along with some catchy choruses but listening to a few tracks, it does tend to all run together… Still good stuff though!
This or the Apocalypse
Monuments
Lifeforce
43:25 - 10 Tracks
A pretty neat metal-brutal core album. The stopstart guitar stuff in the first track make it different than some other stuff out there, then it opens up into some brutal stuff mixing with an almost experimental mix of metal. They mix so many styles around, they actually seem to make their own here. It’s fairly chaotic, but somehow keeps it together. I’ve been impressed with stuff on Lifeforce Records lately.
Underoath
Lost in the Sound of Separation
Tooth & Nail
41:41 - 11 Tracks
Another album from the Floridians… they seem to stick to the “cool” metalcore genre. Huge aggressive breakdowns, some good abrasive vocals, but of course, they mix with some clean emo vocals here and there. Nothing really new here, but nothing awful.
Agraceful
The Great I Am
Sumerian
31:56 - 10 Tracks
This is brutal-metalcore stuff… but usually the brutal core doesn’t get emo in choruses, and this does. But the non-emo parts are pretty darn brutal! I guess I’m on the fence on this one, the brutal stuff is decent, although not groundbreaking, but then to go full on into the emo singy chorus just hits a nerve with me. It’s not bad, but it seems to be done already by lots of other bands.
Bison BC
Quiet Earth
Metal Blade
8 Tracks
One of those metal stoner bands… You know, like High on Fire, Mastodon… You almost can’t go wrong in this genre… The songs are catchy, fun to listen to and yes, sludgey at times. As I said, they’re in good company with their genre-mates, and bands like this have become fun to see at live shows!
Intronaut
Prehistoricisms
Century Media
8 Tracks
A bit like Isis/Neurosis (if you know me, you know I’m not a fan), but a smidge better. Quite all over the map, heavy, interludey, melodic, etc. Hard to put a finger on it…
Burst
Lazarus Bird
Relapse
8 Tracks
A bit stoner metal, a little bit experimental, wikipedia calls them progressive metal. I guess they could be all of the above… I guess it’d mostly be like Kyuss if I had to compare… decent stuff!
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Hey…
I (Matt) won’t be on the air Monday night… I’ll be at the Packer Game!! Mike will be handing the show duties with his special album, and 2 other hours of awesome “picks!”
Due to this, I won’t do the full “new stuff this week” update, so here’s a quickie…
All That Remains (good stuff, heavy, yet melodic)
Metal Church (sounds great, not super heavy, but reminds me a lot of Iron Maiden)
Amon Amarth (it’s just a single, but it’s awesome… you gotta love Amon Amarth)
Better Left Unsead (pretty good metal-core, catchy and melodic)
Exmortus (Great death/trash/blackened metal…heavy AND catchy… guitars are sick!)
In other news… I have been going through pictures from recent shows… Most recently, I put up more bands from Summer Slaughter… Check out pix from The Faceless, Cryptopsy, Black Dahlia Murder and Vader! Just click on “Photos” above.
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Into Eternity
The Incurable Tragedy
Century Media
38:57 - 12 Tracks
It seems like these guys just put out an album, toured like 400 times on a bunch of different tours, and now here they are with a new album already! Apparently, they have a pseudo-studio in their RV/Bus and have been working on songs the whole time. Also, a lot of crappy stuff happened (friends/family dying, etc) to Tim Roth, the main force in this band over that same course of time which he transferred that into music and lyrics. This album has all of those catchy hooks, over the top screamy vocals mixed in with some super death metal growls… All of the elements that you expect from Into Eternity are here. The production is clean and songs are diverse, while still staying with that “Into Eternity” sound. Great stuff, you’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Iced Earth
The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Pt. 2)
SPV
59:15 - 15 Tracks
This album marks the return of Matt Barlow… and more in depth telling of “Something Wicked” I was hoping for a return to the heavier more concise metal stuff, but this album is more of one of those “epic masterpieces…” with all the symphonic/operatic stuff building up tracks. To me, it seems a little over produced with out much “raw-ness” to it that the older stuff had. I’m sure if I sat down with some lyric sheets and listened along this would be that masterpiece, but as a casual listener, you’d hear some good crunchy riffs every so often, but nothing that you haven’t already heard in other Iced Earth albums. I guess I’m a little biased when I write, I like the fast crunchy in-your-face Iced Earth stuff, and apparently that’s a thing of the past. Still a great album though…. Matt Barlow is the man!
Anima
The Daily Grind
Metal Blade
33:22 - 9 Tracks
Another metal-death-core band that draws the comparisons to Black Dahlia Murder… They appear to have the intense fast metal assault building up to a slower breakdown type thing in some songs, others have some melodic parts, not emo, but melodic catchy type stuff in the mix. Drumming is intense, vocals vary between screamy growls and death growls. I’d have to say it’s pretty brutal overall! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
All Shall Perish
Awaken The Dreamers
Nuclear Blast
35:55 - 12 Tracks
These guys put out an album that’s brutal, yet melodic and not so much “Core” I’d have to say it’s almost sounding like something from Sweden! Borrowing a word from their bio sheet which rings true… Diverse. Brutal, melodic, chunky, catchy, all sorts of cool metal things going on in this album. You’ll hear it on the Mosh Pit!
Stormlord
Mare Nostrum
Locomotive
46:55 - 9 Tracks
“Extreme Epic Metal” I’d say mix some Dream Theater or other prog-metal with black metal! These songs do have that “epic” sound to it, meaning a classical/symphonic feel. However, there are not screamy power metal vocals, it’s pretty much all black metal vocals. The songs stay pretty heavy and catchy too! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Hackneyed
Death Prevails
Nuclear Blast
31:00 - 9 Tracks
Gimmick? No bands don’t need gimmicks… These guys are good on their own, okay, I’ll tell you what some may call a gimmick… 14-18 year olds from Bavaria! This is some good quality death metal. Brutal, catchy heavy and even melodic!. It’s fast, but nothing really too complicated… which is great, some stuff these days is just getting TOO over the top, these guys keep it to the basics. How kids this young can make stuff this cool is beyond me!
Nightwish
The Sound of Nightwish Reborn
Roadrunner
58:48 - 9 Tracks
Thisis a coolection of Demos and B-sides from Dark Passion Play (their album from 2007) It appears as though this is a release to promote their tour which started last week. Overall there isn’t much “metal” on here. Unless there’s overwhelming requests for this, I think it might be a pass.
Toxic Holocaust
An Overdose of Death
Relapse
13 Tracks
A blackened-thrash album here… Did I just term a new genre? Probably not, but it is generally thrash, but with some more abrasive vocals. Actually all vocals and instruments are performed by one guy! Joel Grind didn’t want to deal with the full time band thing, so just hires session folks for tours and stuff. The music is classic thrash sounding with a little bit of an edge, it’s quality stuff, and you will hear it on the Mosh Pit!
The Showdown
Back Breaker
SolidState
11 Tracks
Some melodic thrashy-core type stuff here, actually sounds kind of Shadows Fall-ish. There are some good chugga chugga guitars, a good mix of metal, thrash, and “core.” It’s a good solid metal album and you’ll probably hear something from it on the Mosh Pit!
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Slipknot
All Hope Is Gone
Roadrunner
57:41 - 12 Tracks
What can you say about Slipknot that hasn’t already been said? (I’ve noticed these guys get a lot of hate on the message boards) Well, I’ll try… this new CD is definitely Slipknot, but when you have some slower songs where there’s lots of singing (no shouting/growling) and stuff, you can’t help but draw the StoneSour comparisons…. but you still have all of those elements that make it Slipknot…. Over the top drumming, all that stuff in the background… On this album, there seems to be a “maturing” I guess… some better songwriting, catchier songs… For example, this track is still kind of heavy, but yet you want to break out your lighter and sing along on “Dead Memories” Then there’s “Gehenna” which sounds like a slower Alice In Chains track. I do have to say the title track is the best one on here though… heaviest, most like what everyone knows as “Slipknot” Of course you’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
The Classic Struggle
Bring Back The Glory
Metal Blade
36:36 - 10 Tracks
At first listen, I thought I was listening to Lamb of God on brutal steroids, it pretty much holds true for most of the CD. Take Lamb of God and turn up the brutal and intensity a notch or four and you have The Classic Struggle. It’s got some catchy hooks, brutal drumming and overall clean brutal-core ish sound… I guess you could say they are like Lamb of God meets Black Dahlia Murder It’s just a great mix of good classic thrashy American metal with some brutality. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Vehement
6 Song Promo
Vehement
23:15 - 6 Tracks
This is kind of some classic sounding death-y metal. Speaking of Lamb of God in the above review… this EP is produced by Willie Adler… The producing part seems good, it’s brutal, dark, almost black metal… but the engineering is a bit muddy. There’s a lot of potential here!
Communic
Payment of Existence
Locomotive
62:52 - 8 Tracks
Their last album was pretty much a clone of Nevermore…. while still similar, they seem to have a bit more of their own sound on this album. They have the euro-metal thrashy sound, however, their songs are a bit more thrashy, darker and longer than the typical Sonata Arctica, and bands like that. Overall though, if you like Nevermore… you’ll like Communic… and without a new Nevermore album for a while, the timing of this release is just right!
Serenity
Fallen Sanctuary
50:04 - 10 Tracks
“Symphonic Melodic Metal” Napalm records nailed their genre description again, now if only they’d send out promo cds that don’t have voiceovers on everything past track 3… oh wait, this one is past track 4… but how can one play this on the radio if they have voiceovers!? Anyways… this is the normal proggy melodic metal with the “symphony hits” here and there… there’s even an occasional growl! It’s not too shabby for this genre.
Falconer
Among Beggars and Thieves
Metal Blade
11 Tracks (download)
Similar to the Serenity, but not quite so symphonic, and a bit more catchy and concise…. but it is more folky. Yes, Folky! It gets into the folk metal a bit, but walks the fine line of staying metal… prog metal yes, but the heavier side of the prog metal-ness. Some of the musical interludes really make me hungry for a turkey leg and some sasparilla! You’ll hear some of this on the Mosh Pit
Metallica
“The Day That Never Came”
Warner Bros.
7:55 - 1 Track (download)
Well, it’s the new Metallica song everyone’s been waiting for… “is it gonna suck? is it gonna be like St. Anger?” Well, it doesn’t suck and it’s way way better than St. Anger. Is it awesome? I don’t think so. First off, the label released a track that is completely distorted… sounding like they had it cranked up like super loud and recorded it clipped and blech. Overall, the song sounds like they are trying to re-make “One” Starts off all melodic and builds and builds, and ends with about 2-3 minutes of some pretty decent thrashin’ instrumental stuff. Why waste all that in one song though? They seem like they are trying too hard to be their old selves (big long metal songs) They seem to be making it long for the sake of being long, just like they did on St. Anger. Lars needs drum lessons too…. these guys were pioneers and Lars is still doin the same crap… at he ditched the soup cans…. I put this somewhere in the Load category… decent!!
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Rychus Syn
Rebirth
Photon
34:58 - 10 Tracks
Pretty decent hard rock/thrash stuff. The vocals are screamy metal type, production is clean, good guitar tone, kind of a throwback to some old Death Angel stuff in my mind. Not super thrashy, just plain ol good time metal. You’ll probably hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Motörhead
Motörizer
SPV
39:02 - 11 Tracks
How better to describe this new Motorhead album, other than saying… This sounds like a Motorhead album! They aren’t breaking new ground, they aren’t moving too far away from the formula that is Motor + head = Lemmy. You can actually understand the lyrics and they are fun! Great playing by all on this and great production too. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Hatebreed
Live Dominance Sampler
Koch
12:51 - 4 Tracks
A live sampler from their DVD which comes out in Sept. Hatebreed puts on a great live show, it’s great that it’s now bottled up on a DVD for people to watch at home to relive their great time at a show. I know, it’s not the same, but what can you do. These four tracks sound great and capture how well they perform their stuff live.
Dragonforce
Ultra Beatdown
Roadrunner
58:18 - 8 Tracks
It’s been a couple years since their last album… this seems to pick up right where they left off. There’s a TON of stuff going on, so many guitar riffs, melodies, keyboard stuff, and everything is just over the top… per usual from Dragonforce. Listening to the whole CD at once could give you a headache as there’s just so much happening, your head might explode due to overload. But maybe that’s what some people like. I used to be WAY way into all this, I’m not a huge fan, but I do like and appreciate the over-the-top-ness of this… oh and the cheese too! You will hear this on the Mosh Pit
Overcast
Reborn To Kill Again
Metal Blade
57:20 - 13 Tracks
This band is most known for providing Killswitch Engage with their Bass player and Shadows Fall with their singer. Well, I guess they needed to relive the past and reform their former band and make a new album! I know I worded that last sentence like I was complaining, and I didn’t mean to. This is a great sounding modern post-metalcore album! The songs play well, the vocals are just right, songs are a bit catchy and have a great amount of punchy heaviness to them. You will hear this on the Mosh Pit.
Walls of Jericho
The American Dream
Trustkill
36:02 - 12 Tracks
Well, these guys (and gal) are just tearing it up on this CD. Great and heavy metal-core, with (as with a lot of older metalcore bands of past) a lot more metal and less core. The breakdowns are still here and very heavy! Best metal “core” Cd since the last Hatebreed album! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
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Early Graves
We: The Guillotine
Ironclad / Metal Blade
39:40 - 11 Tracks
This is kind of a grind/groove metal type of thing. Growly/screamy vocals with a classic thrashy/ meat and potatoes metal music background… This band is made up pretty much of the band Apiary, which disbanded not too long ago. There’s some Entombed sound with some Slayer, and a little bit of Carcass (according to their bio)… and since I’m so horrible at writing these reviews, that does make sense. I hear so much stuff, I often can’t just pick out bands that other bands sound like… I guess that’s why bios get sent out with cds! Anyways, this is something you will hear on the Mosh Pit!
Trigger The Bloodshed
Purgation
Metal Blade
37:01 - 17 Tracks
This is some pretty intense brutal death metal. Drum-machinesque drumming, brutal and abrasive screamy vocals bounce back and forth. Fast guitars of course, it’s all almost a bit too much in the drumming department, as they seem to overpower a bit. However, there hasn’t been just an all out classic death metal release lately, so it’s always nice to have one of these… They do have just a pinch of the “core” in their brutality, but not much.
Straight Line Stitch
When Skies Wash Ashore
Koch
38:42 - 10 Tracks
A video for a song from this album has been on Headbangers Ball for a while, they got on a big tour with I can’t even remember right now… Female fronted, The CD has some great metal elements, some brutal breakdowns, great screaming from Alexis Brown, but then it goes to emo clean singing which takes a way a lot of the “metal” in my book. I guess it could be compared to some older Kittie… where there were more clean vox. There are a couple tracks that will work on the Mosh Pit!
Prey For Sleep
A Bitter Beginning
PFS
25:36 - 10 Tracks
A “local” unsigned band from Austin, TX (usually any of these unsigned bands are marketed by one of the normal national marketing companies that we deal with every week) These guys do sound just as good as any signed band of this genre out there. They have the melodic death/brutal-thrash core thing going on. The vocals are abrasive, but don’t have much of a dynamic, it’s the same kind of style throughout… not that there’s anything wrong with it, I just wanted to point it out…. maybe with a long long listen of these guys it might grate on you after a bit. The CD is only 25 minutes, so it’s not a problem!
The Acacia Strain
Continent
Prosthetic
40:26 - 11 Tracks
New release from these metal-brutalcore-ers… It’s got every normal element of a brutal-core release. Some fast metal parts, abrasive vocals, brutal breakdowns, some good hardcore vocal barking in parts too. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit
Pyramaze
Immortal
Locomotive
45:27 - 10 Tracks
Well, you may know some recent history of this band… they were the ones that got Matt Barlow (formerly, but now currently of Iced Earth) to come out of metal retirement to record an album with them. Well, I’ve always liked Pyramaze’s music… a prog-power metal mixed with some like, you know, real metal, not too cheesy. Barlow fits right in here, it’s nice to hear him over something other than Jon Schaffer’s chugga chugga Iced Earth rhythm guitar. He’s got a great dynamic to his vocals on this album as well. There’s a couple of slower ones on here, but that’s cool too. You will hear this on the Mosh Pit!
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Chrome Division
Booze, Broads & Beelzebub
Nuclear Blast
50:05 - 13 Tracks
Kind of stoner metal with an edge… this is a side project of Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir… he’s the rhythm guitarist. Name dropping aside, this is good fun hard-rockin’ music with a bit of a metal edge. It’s a great follow up to their first album from 2006. Songs are catchy, production is solid and it’s a throwback to some sabbath-y sounds, but with modern metal influences. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
The Human Abstract
Midheaven
Hopeless
43:50 - 10 Tracks
This is a big on the emo-prog side… at first listen, it’s a little like a lighter Protest the Hero or BTBAM. Not too much in the way of abrasive vocals though. The music gets pretty crazy and sick in parts… out there, experimental, proggy, dark. Each song and the whole album are very dynamic. Going from soft to heavy… but it’s mostly *not* heavy. You’ll hear some of this on the Mosh Pit.
Norma Jean
The Anti-Mother
SolidState
44:40 - 10 Tracks
Another one of these metal-core type bands. We got to see some of their set at Warped Tour… compared to most of the other crap playing, they were pretty good. They definitely aren’t breaking any new ground. Just another screamo-core type band. The new stuff is about the same as the old stuff… some neat dynamics, some catchiness, and some cool heavy stuff too.
HeXeN
State Of Insurgency
Old School Metal
56:03 - 13 Tracks
Well, their record label name says it all… It’s a bit of an old-school thrash sound, but with a pinch of black metal speed thrown in. I’d have to say while it’s a throwback to old school thrash, it does have plenty of new modern stuff going on. Production is solid, it is heavier and “thicker” than old school stuff and just has a good feel to it. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit
Illdisposed
The Prestige
Locomotive
40:35 - 12 Tracks
From Denmark, these guys have been around for a while.. 1993! A fairly straightforward death metal band, they are more of a groove oriented (rather than all out blackened death metal), kind of like Grave or Cannibal Corpse I guess… Great production, freight train beats and guitar… but sometimes gets a little bit melodic and thrashy yet it does stay brutal! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit.
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