Six -- 'Between the Warning and the War' [review]

Six - Between the Warning and the War
1605 Records (10/23/07)
Rock / Metal

How best to describe Six's latest offering, Between the Warning and the War? Basically it's a metal band taking all the elements of the hardcore genre and spewing it forth without falling into the worst subtlety of the genre—the simple nature of the song structure.

Pulling a heavy amount of inspiration from the legendary Suicidal Tendencies, along with elements of hardcore and punk, Six pulls everything together in a blistering metallic shell and each song seethes out of the speakers, full of fury and rage.

With guest appearances from Tony Campos (Static-X) and Mike Clark (Suicidal Tendencies), Six attacks the listener with a barrage of punishing grooves ("A Guide to Living Alone" and "The Beautiful Things"), thick riffs ("Broken Girl", with its insanely catchy melody, and "Had Enough", which features some great machine-gun blast beats) and punishing intensity ("Forgiveness" and "Warning"). The couple of curve balls, where the band most emulates Suicidal, come in the form of "Perfect Life" (a more mellow approach that still loses none of the band's intensity) and "Throwing the World Away".

Byzantine -- 'Oblivion Beckons' [review]

Byzantine - Oblivion Beckons
Prosthetic Records (01/22/08)
Metal

In a bittersweet turn of events, up-and-coming potential metal legends Byzantine greeted 2008 with probably the best album of their short career, and then abruptly broke up before the thing even hit the shelves.

North America's response to European prog-metal masters Opeth, the band just seemed to be gaining momentum. With Oblivion Beckons, every aspect of Byzantine's sound has been ratcheted up a notch (or ten)—the riffs are thicker and more complex, the drumming more frenetic, the bass meatier and the vocals either grittier, more horrific or melodically haunting.

Opening with "Absolute Horizon", the band just tears into fifth gear from the get-go. Starting off with some Morse code, the beeps build like a sense of paranoia before a couple of guitar chords break the hypnotic tone. And then a guttural howl from OJ Ojeda explodes the track into a metallic juggernaut, with machine-gun drumming and breakneck riffs.

Cavalera Conspiracy -- 'Inflikted' [review]

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted
Roadrunner Records (03/24/08)
Metal

While it may have seemed inevitable, no one was quite sure how long the world would have to wait before Max and Iggor Cavalera, the brothers behind the founding of Sepultura, would reunite. Max had left the band to form Soulfly in 1996, while Iggor left the group more recently, in 2006.

A blistering combination of Arise-era Sepultura and Nailbomb, Cavalera Conspiracy merges thrash metal with a punk ethos, to great result. Iggor, a vastly underrated metal drummer, is a force to be reckoned with on Inflikted, incorporating a mix of thrash and straight-up metal drumming with tribal beats and elements (listen to "Black Art" for the best example of Iggor's method of attack). And after sounding a little stunted on the past couple of Soulfly albums, Max seems rejuvenated, with more explosive riffs and intense vocals.

Kingdom of Sorrow -- 'Kingdom of Sorrow' [review]

Kingdom of Sorrow - Kingdom of Sorrow
Relapse Records (02/19/08)
Metal

After a far-too-lengthy delay, Kingdom of Sorrow has finally been unleashed upon the world. And man, was it worth the wait.

The brainchild of Jamie Jasta (Hatebreed) and Kirk Windstein (Crowbar, Down), the project languished for years as the duo sorted out a variety of record label issues. But the little that did find its way to the fan base over the past year or so has done well to whet its metallic appetite.

Each track spills forth like a avalanche of sludgy, thick sonic turmoil. Jasta's guttural wails merge perfectly with Windstein's more mournful howls. Sure, it sounds like a merger between Hatebreed and Crowbar (as many reviewers have pointed out in a negative fashion), but what did you expect? Hell, one of the earlier titles for the project was Crowbreed. But what's wrong with a combination of those sounds?

Kate Voegele -- 'Don't Look Away' [review]

Kate Voegele - Don't Look Away
MySpace Records (01/22/08)
Pop / Rock / Folk

One online reviewer called Kate Voegele’s release a little Sheryl Crow but a lot more Michele Branch. It's a perfect way to sum up Don't Look Away.

There seems to be a cycle to the singer/songwriter genre—it comes in waves. There's nothing for a few years, then a bunch all at once, then another lull. And like with all things, there's a handful of truly talented singers, and more than a few misses that caught a break riding the latest wave. Hindsight being what it is, in a couple of years we'll be left with the good ones (that's called staying power) and the rest will fall by the wayside (into oblivion).

Getting back to Voegele: Much like the aforementioned Branch, she's a young talent with a respectable amount of ability to back up the pretty voice (she not only plays guitar, but also wrote all of her songs). And as a younger singer, rather than focusing her music toward a teen fan base, Voegele's style drifts more toward an adult-contemporary mindset. (Think Mandy Moore's more mature, recent offerings as opposed to her earlier career.)

Don't Look Away shoots out of the gate with melody and catchy hooks, and never seems to let up. With a voice that betrays her 22 years, Voegele commands attention from the album opener (the demanding "Chicago") and carries the rest of the album with authority through to the end (check out the vocal freestyling at the end of the piano ballad "Kindly Unspoken").

And it's near impossible to shuttle Voegele into one style. Sure, it's basically pop-rock, but there are other elements in there, too. Voegele works some soul ("Devil in Me" and "Kindly Unspoken"), hints of country ("I Won‘t Disagree"), and a little bit of folk ("Wish You Were") into her vocal delivery.

An impressive debut for this singer/songwriter, Don't Look Away shines as bright as her contemporaries in this latest wave (like Sara Bareilles). Easy and enjoyable to listen to, there's a little bit of something for everyone on this album. Everything is catchy enough to keep you wanting more, and the music is actually good enough that it doesn't get old or boring at all throughout the entire set. This is one of the best singer/songwriter albums to be released this year (so far).