Whitechapel -- 'This Is Exile' [review]

Whitechapel - This Is Exile
Metal Blade Records (7/8/08)
Extreme metal

"Never underestimate immortality."
—"Eternal Refuge"

As much as you may want to shoehorn Whitechapel into the death metal genre, there's just too much going on with the band's sound to do so without regret.

On the surface, the band just tears through the 11 tracks on This Is Exile with abandon, and shoves in enough plodding riffs and double-bass drumming to fill a (sizable) graveyard. However, Phil Bozeman varies up his vocal delivery to such an extent—from growls to grunts to this really interesting stutter-chant (check out the closing moments of "Possession" and then again on "To All That Are Dead") or straight metal howls—and the band fully takes advantage of its triple-guitar attack to flesh out riffs (see "To All That Are Dead" again) and solos that, in the end, this music just has too many layers to be considered simply death metal.

Stick to Your Guns -- 'Comes From the Heart' [review]

Stick to Your Guns - Comes From the Heart
Century Media (5/13/08)
Hardcore / Metal

There's a time and place for everything. But sometimes, at some point, the "get in, kick ass, get out" approach becomes a cliché. And that was the obvious aim Stick to Your Guns was taking with Comes From the Heart (the album's ten tracks clock in at under a half-hour). So, let's consider that strike one.

Then there's the hardcore scene in general. Unless you're taking the brutal, old-school approach (take a listen to last year's Warriors album for a good example of this), or shifting toward the metal end of the spectrum (Hatebreed isn't reinventing the wheel every outing, but you can't dismiss any album that the band has released), you're pretty much stuck. Hell, Remembering Never was singing about beating a dead horse back in 2004. So for a band to try carrying that "core" movement, made famous by the likes of Atreyu or maybe From Autumn to Ashes (and I'm talking back around '01 or '02 here), it's unclear whether we're supposed to respect Stick to Your Guns for carrying the banner, or shake our heads for the group ... well, beating a dead horse. So there's strike two.

If it wasn't already clear, Stick to Your Guns has a fairly formulaic approach to its music. There are hardcore breakdowns, attacking riffs and this positive (albeit brutal) element to the music. The vocals oscillate between the typical hardcore howl and clean, sometimes melodic, singing.

But don't get me wrong; it's not all boring. "Tonight's Entertainment" is a nice little brutal slab of hardcore, while the drumming on "Driving Force" is pretty impressive, and there's some pretty good rhythm guitar work on there, too. And there are some nice solos sprinkled about the album, especially on "We Must Look Like Ants From Up There". And to throw listeners for a loop, there's "Interlude", which basically consists of sampling and acoustic work in a very laid-back, mellow vein. It's entirely out of place on the album, and doesn't really work, as a result; but it's a nice try nonetheless.

Comes From the Heart is a little too short, and not the most original album out there, but Stick to Your Guns doesn't do a terrible job producing this type of music. Not fantastic, and not horrendous, this album is just sort of there, and listeners will either love it or hate it.

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?

The Warriors -- 'Genuine Sense of Outrage' [review]

The Warriors - Genuine Sense of Outrage
Victory Records (8/7/07)
Hardcore


For any fans of the genre, The Warriors are offering up pure hardcore bliss. Genuine Sense of Outrage is stripped of the metal influence or death-metal-esque vocals littering today's so-called "hardcore" landscape. Think Hatebreed circa 1997 (Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire) or Remembering Never (Women and Children Die First). In fact, the only slim deviations from the typical hardcore sound comes in moments on "The Stone Grinds" with the slight melodic surges in guitar or the pseudo-rap on "Mankind Screams" and "Life Grows Cold". Everything else is blatant and in-your-face hardcore.

This is a turgid album, as the band does a hell of a job packing as much sick hardcore into each song as possible (13 tracks clocking in at just over half an hour). The infectious title track, with the mosh-pit breakdown chant of "this is a genuine sense of outrage" joins the breakneck drumming on "New Sun Rising", the out-of-leftfield mellower moments on "Silence is Bliss" and crisp, angry vocals that at times seem to channel Billy Graziadei of Biohazard. And unlike some other bands, The Warriors do a great job at varying up the songs and vocals enough to keep the tracks from blending together. Tracks like "Nothing Lasts" or "Odium Vice" are just as strong as opener "The Ruthless Sweep". To be honest, the first listen of this disc was done without a play list, and I assumed the band was getting ready to wrap up around "New Sun Rising" (the seventh track). Instead, it was only half done.

Everything has a sense of urgency; this album seems to have come out of nowhere and impresses completely. It'll be hard to ignore come year-end lists. But forget album-of-the-year shortlists. Songs like "Destroying Cenodoxus", "Nothing Lasts" and "Your Time Is Near" could easily fit on any best-of hardcore collection.

Genuine Sense of Outrage is The Warriors third album (though its first under the Victory label). The group's sound should appeal to a wide range of music fans -- there's just enough punk and metal influence in there, mixed with just the right amount of groove. And keep an ear open for a special vocal appearance from none other than Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister (a great performance, too).

In a year already full of notable metal releases, The Warriors shock us all and put out one of the strongest, most powerful hardcore album of the decade. Fans of the genre, or metal in general, will love this album. Everyone else could learn a thing or two...

Hatebreed -- 'Perserverance' [classic review]

Hatebreed
"Perseverance"
(Universal)


Fans' usual fears when a band makes the move from an independent label to the big leagues ... especially a band with as loyal a following as Hatebreed. Such fears would prove to be completely unfounded. Sure, the band grew beyond the hardcore label, but hardcore can be a one-dimensional genre for the most part and implementing a metal style to its sound only helped bring Hatebreed to a place the band was surely headed in the long run.

Hatebreed took the core of the hardcore sound its had grown comfortable in and turned everything up to 10. The songs grew from one- to two-minute tastes into complete metal anthems. With notorious (at least in New England circles) producer Zeuss at the controls, the band was able to craft these slick, riff-heavy soundtracks of brutality. Every song has a nice little hook, crazy double-bass drum kicks, bass lines that strangle anything in their paths and riffs that tear through the speakers. Live, it's impossible to not jump into the pit when any of the album's tracks explode: "Proven," "You're Never Alone," "We Still Fight," the title-track, along with my personal favorites, "A Call for Blood" and "I Will Be Heard."

Almost every track has the requisite group sung chorus for added (anthem) effect. Kerry King even graces the band with an appearance.

Could I break down each and every track for the reader? Sure, each has a unique element to love. Is it necessary? Not at all. In short, this is a total package of no-nonsense, pedal-to-floor, heart-stopping metal.

Various Artists -- 'Punisher' soundtrack [review]

Various Artists
"The Punisher"
Wind-Up records


Soundtracks are usually a hit-or-miss proposition. Usually the collection is too diverse and thus listeners buy them for one or two tracks and end up skipping the rest. A strong collection can do a good job of using established bands to lure in people and get them to check out the lesser-known bands. There's also the lure of obscure tracks or collaborations (for example, last year's "Freddy Vs. Jason" featuring a previously unavailable song from Slipknot along with an anticipated new track from Killswitch Engage featuring a new lead singer). When the collection falls flat, the few high points are overcome by tracks that feel too out-of-place (for example, last year's "Underworld" with anticipated Page Hamilton and Wes Borland tracks, but little else to offer).

Featuring a whopping 19 tracks, "The Punisher" soundtrack features five standouts and a slew of supporting players.

Leading off the collection is the first taste of the new Drowning Pool lineup featuring ex-Built-XL frontman Jason "Gong" Jones on vocals. While the band's previous efforts sounded angry, "Step Up" is a straight-up rock/metal track. And it sounds mean. Not angry, mean. The band feels retrofitted, like a throw back to early 90s metal (early Pantera or Skid Row), complete with guitar solos. Jones' vocals at times have a hint of Drowning Pool\'s prior lead singer to them, but also sound like a mix of John Bush (from Anthrax) and Max Cavelera (ex-Sepultura, Soulfly).

One of the more interesting tracks off the soundtrack is the anticipated collaboration of Damageplan and Jerry Cantrell. The song, "Ashes to Ashes," was recorded last Thanksgiving while Damageplan were still finishing off its debut album. The song has a old school Alice in Chains (Cantrell's former band) feel to it, and features Cantrell and Damageplan vocalist Patrick Lachman trading off singing duties between verses and choruses. This song is definitely one of the album's high-points.

Edgewater's debut single, "Eyes Wired Shut," is another standout track. The band's melodic rock is reminiscent of mellow Staind mixed with a more pop-centric rock sensibility (think Three Doors Down or The Calling). The guitars are driving during the verses and catchy during the chorus and the band seems destined for heavy rotation on commercial rock radio.

The soundtrack also features an almost-reunion of Evanescence bandmates Amy Lee and Ben Moody, albeit on different tracks.

Moody teams up with Jason Miller and Drowning Pool frontman Jones for "The End Has Come," a slow-burning rock track that has a definite Evanescence feel to it (especially the band's earlier work), complete with ethereal guitar during the opening and verses, and driving riffs during the chorus.

Lee teams up with Seether on the re-recorded "Broken" (off Seether's 2002 release "Disclaimer"). While the song kicks off like the original, Lee joins in on the chorus and takes over the second verse alone. Lee adds a pleasant dimension to Seether\'s sound without taking the track over and making it sound like an Evanescence tune.

Rounding out the rest of the soundtrack is an astounding collection of tracks from well-known -- Nickelback, Hatebreed, Puddle of Mud, Queens of the Stone Age, Trapt -- and more obscure -- Strata, Submersed, Seven Wiser, Atomship -- bands. And the collection runs the gamut from heavier tracks (Drowning Pool, Hatebreed, Chevelle) to more mellow rock offerings (Seether w/ Lee, Smile Empty Soul, Mark Collie's acoustic closing track). In all, it seems there's something for all your rock needs.