Archive for the New in the mail Category
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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Level-C
Level-C
Locomotive
38:19 - 10 Tracks
This kind of reminds me of a Mudvayne style/speed of metal. If I had to classify, I would call it nu-metal of course. It does stay on the heavy side of other new “solid rock” type of bands, but doesn’t really offer anything new an exciting… however, it is catchy enough to give it a play or two on the Mosh Pit.
Archer
Doomsday Profits
Arrowhead
62:46 - 11 Tracks
Kind of a hard-rock edged metal band… meaning, no growls, blast beats, superfast double kick, etc. etc. You do have some pretty good catchy riffs, good solos, the vocals are alright, clean mid-range vocals with a little bit of an edge… no whiney or screamo-growls.
Alice Cooper
Along Came A Spider EP
SPV
14:38 - 4 Tracks
Well, it’s Alice Cooper… what can you say? This is a 4-song sampler from his new album…. So here’s my answer to “What can you say?” It’s Alice Cooper, sounds like Alice Cooper… straightforward Alice Cooper songs… he’s a genre all to himself. He’s not breaking any new ground, just using his formula. Thats about all I can say! haha.
The Burn & Cry
The Burn & Cry
BC Music
36:06 - 8 Tracks
This is similar to the first review this week… kind of nu-metal, but not like as bad as Ra or Shinedown or Seether or that… this is based more in metal… I can hear some hints of Acid Bath in here. A mix of clean vocals and some shout/scream stuff… nothing very abrasive or growly. Music is okay, hard-rock stoner-nu-metal mix… production is good n clean.
Krisiun
Southern Storm
Century Media
50:24 - 13 Tracks
Well, this is the big release for the week… heavy, brutal, fast, technical… just an all out death metal assault. Sweet guitar solos and riffs. This album is their seventh and possibly their best… just a wall of sound coming at you. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
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One Way Mirror
One Way Mirror
Metal Blade
47:57 - 11 Tracks
This is a fairly commercial sounding album for Metal Blade. The first line of their bio sheet mentions “rock driven metal” and that sums this up pretty good. The vocals are pretty much “solid rock” and the rest of it sounds a bit more like the more “accessible” Soilwork stuff. It’s compared to Mnemic too… go figure, it features members from Mnemic (singer), Soilwork (drummer) and Scarve (bass and drummer). Normally, this would be borderline for the Mosh Pit, but considering the members that make up this band, we’ll give it a shot on the Mosh Pit!
Bigelf
Cheat The Gallows
Custard
56:53 - 10 Tracks
These guys are kind of a retro psychedelic stoner metal band. They are more along the lines of sabbath, but a bit more poppy I guess. Some of the songs are down right rockin’ and catchy. If anything, it’s music to drink and smoke to! Some of the stuff is just Pink Floyd-like easy-rock… You might catch this on the Mosh Pit
Shadows Fall
Forevermore EP
Atlantic
21:51 - 5 Tracks
A new push by their label to keep their name out there… This is a release for the “single” of Forevermore as well as b-sides and out takes from their “Threads of Life” CD. A special for us radio stations… since we’ve always dug Shadows Fall, and they ARE still metal, contrary to what a lot of people say…. You’ll hear something from this on the Mosh Pit!
Helstar
Sins of the Past
Locomotive
62:54 - 13 Tracks
Classic sounding Metal from these veterans… back together after a whole bunch of years, they haven’t missed a beat. Songs are heavy, thrashy and yes, over the top vocally in parts too! Of course, the songs are catchy, and it’s a great throwback to old school metal, but of course, sounding modern too. You will hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Fight
Into the Pit Radio Promo
Metal God
27:57 - 6 Tracks
Another radio promo dealie, I assume to promote the full blown Fight CD/DVD everything remastered. It’s always great to revisit Fight… this just gives us an excuse to play more of this classic stuff!! This EP has a track or two from all of their releases (2 studio, 2 live/remix). You’ll hear some of it on the Mosh Pit!
A Breath Before Surfacing
Death Is Swallowed In Victory
Mediaskare
40:46 - 11 Tracks
Brutalcore!…. or is it? Who knows these days. It’s brutal, it does alternate between abrasive vocals and cookie monster, with just an all out metal assault for music. This is what is metal is about… oh yeah, and to make it “core?” Yeah, the occasional breakdown… but it’s no wussy breakdown, it’s full on! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Black Sabbath
The Rules of Hell
Rhino
4 CDs
This is a box set type thing of the “Heaven And Hell” era Black Sabbath…. There will definitely be something we can play from this bad boy.
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Austrian Death Machine
Total Brutal
Metal Blade
38:34 - 17 Tracks
This is some classic heavy thrash sounding stuff mixed with funny Arnold Schwarzenegger themes. It’s a sort of side/fun project of Tim Lambesis from As I Lay Dying. He plays everything on it (even the drums… and programmed when he couldn’t play something!). It’s totally fun, and still the music is performed very well. Guitar solos are performed by various different guitar dudes from different bands and even a dude that works at Metal Blade. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Gigan
The Order of The False Eye
Napalm Records
59:58 - 9 Tracks
It’s pretty intense and over the top if you were to call it “metalcore” but I guess it’s more along the lines of death/experimental metal. There’s a lot of stuff going on, it’s all pretty heavy, the vocals are great and abrasive, the rest of the music is death metal-ish, but with a lot of different noises from guitars along with blast beats. It’s something that’s not completely groundbreaking, yet I can’t think of who they sound like! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit.
Hell N’ Diesel
Passion For Power
Locomotive
44:05 - 11 Tracks
Good ol fun hard rock! While not normally what we play on the Mosh Pit, this CD just has some great catchy throwback old school vibe to it. Just about all of the songs are catchy, have an energy which really makes you want to see them live and drink a whole bunch of PBR. I think the songs, while not brutal are heavy enough, yet melodic and fun to listen to. We played a track a couple of weeks ago as part of “Mike’s Picks” and we’ll probably play some more here and there.
Lääz Rockit
Left For Dead
Massacre Records
49:31 - 10 Tracks
What’s better than new bands coming out these day with the throwback to old school thrash? An old school thrash band getting back together to make a new album! I’m not too familiar with their old stuff, as they were closing things down about the same time I was just starting to get into metal. Well this is well produced, melodic and classic thrash. Definitely worthy of Mosh Pit Airplay.
Left To Vanish
Versus The Throne
Lifeforce Records
42:57 - 11 Tracks
This is fairly melodic brutal-core with some very abrasive vocals… think Jeff Walker from Heartwork with more sandpaper for vocals! haha. It seems more metal than core… but for some reason, I sense breakdowns, not quite the full on “yeah, boiiii here comes the breakdown” it just gets a bit slower and more brutal in parts….however, there are no emo singy parts… it stays true to heavy and brutal with hints of catchy metalness here and there. You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Neuraxis
The Thin Line Between
Prosthetic Records
47:46 - 10 Tracks
I don’t know really how to describe these guys, I’m like adjectived out. How many times can I say something is thrasy, catchy, brutal and just all out metal? Now I guess I could just say it’s Neuraxised! Hah. Well, there are some prog elements, but mostly just brutal and thrashy. Albums like this are what the Mosh Pit is all about.
Psyke Project
Apnea
Lifeforce Records
56:06 - 10 Tracks
I guess I’d have to say this is brutal-metal core. Vocals are abrasive, the music seems fairly melodic and not quite as brutal and death-metally. Parts get melodic… I almost want to call this the grunge of brutal-core. I don’t know that’s just how it hits me. The there’s some underlying music going on that seems to be like emo-grungy, but it’s still heavy. It’s not bad and if there’s time, you may hear it on the Mosh Pit!
Raunchy
Wasteland Discotheque
Lifeforce Records
54:10 - 12 Tracks
These guys have the whole Soilwork/In Flames thing going on. We’ve liked their albums in the past, they were on Nuclear Blast. This is their first on Lifeforce. It’s got the catchiness, metalness and melodicness and a bunch of other good “nesses.” You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
Rosenguard
Requiem For The Innocent
Music Gallery Intl.
47:14 - 8 Tracks
From Chicago, these guys have the melodic/prog black metal thing going on. It’s an interesting mix of these genres and seems to work pretty good. The songs are complex, thrashy, and the vocals are harsh… the clean vocals accent and give it a great dynamic. You’ll hear something from these guys on the Mosh Pit!
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Circle II Circle
Delusions of Grandeur
Locomotive
45:02 - 10 Tracks
The fourth album from the former frontman of Savatage, Zak Stevens. This is a solid metal/power metal/thrash release. Songs are fairly heavy, vocals are as great as Zak always performs. The songs have great roots in classic metal, with a modern-ish sound. And of course, the word I like to use when I usually like a CD? Catchy. You’ll hear this on the ‘pit!
Soulfly
Conquer
Roadrunner
57:20 - 11 Tracks
It hasn’t been that long since the Cavalera Conspiracy CD hit the streets, now Max is back with Soulfly! As always it’s a straightforward Soulfly album. Fast, heavy, catchy with a good groove. There isn’t too much f’in around on this one either. Marc Rizzo’s guitar work is once again, pretty awesome, and with this formula Max has, it’s great to hear him sticking to the recipe… You’ll her lots of this on the Mosh Pit!
Equilibrium
Sagas
Nuclear Blast
79:14 - 13 Tracks
I guess this could be classified as Folk-Black Metal. They definitely have the majestic epic battlefield sound going on, then it will whip into a black metal frenzy. This mix of genres works pretty well if you can put up with the “hollywood epic metal” type stuff that gives them the folk vibe. Mike and I listened to this CD on the way down to see Liquid Tension Experiment and I don’t think we skipped any tracks… You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!
The Rotted
Get Dead or Die Trying
Metal Blade
11 Tracks
These guys are from the UK… not too many extreme bands out of that land… at least lately. It’s pretty much just extreme heavy/thrash/death metal. You may know them by their former name… Gorerotted. The name change is primarily for a change in lyrical direction and, well, they grew up a bit? Anyways, it’s extreme, heavy, in your face, abrasive and something that will calm you down after a long day…(at least listening to super heavy aggressive stuff relaxes me!) You will be hearing this on the Mosh Pit.
Lacrimas Profundere
Songs for the Last View
Napalm Records
12 Tracks
Goth/Hard Rock… Reminds me of that boring era that Moonspell had in the mid-90’s. I mean, I’m not slagging on this band, this is just what it reminds me of. It’s that classic “gothy” rock sound, with the type-o negative/crash test dummy vocals. While I don’t think anyone else in town will play this, I’m not sure how much of “mosh pit” material this is.
Hero Destroyed
Hero Destroyed
Relapse
7 Tracks
I was just going to say it’s a bit chaotic, but then it hit a part of the first song which everything just clicked. This is pretty normal, straight ahead thrash-ish/metal with a little hardcore thrown in. It’s not too bad… You’ll probably hear this on the Mosh Pit.
Dear Life
Framework
Uprising
36:12 - 10 Tracks
These guys are mostly hardcore/metalcore-ish… Vocals stay abrasive with some catchy riffs throughout. Production has a nice clean punchy sound too.
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