Hull -- 'Sole Lord' [review]

Hull - Sole Lord
The End Records (5/26/09)
Metal

Following in the footsteps of Crowbar, Mastodon and Down, with Sole Lord, Hull has crafted a heavy, foreboding slab of down-tuned metallic bliss. The entire album is sludgy, crushing and punishing.

From end to end, the band just grinds along at such a deliberate pace, drifting from the heavy-as-hell grind of metal to an almost ethereal nonchalance in a couple of spots. It could almost give you an anxiety attack waiting to hear what gear they'll shift into next.

Eyes Set to Kill -- 'The World Outside' [review]

Eyes Set to Kill - The World Outside
Break Silence Records (6/2/09)
Metalcore / Post-hardcore

Music reviewers have taken the idea of the sophomore album and turned it into a tired cliché over the past decade or so, as if a band’s follow-up album could make or break a promising career. How many acts have you read about, “avoiding the sophomore slump,” only to burn out and fade away?

The reality is that any album could make or break a band. The good ones continue to exceed from project to project. The great ones build up a strong enough fanbase so that, when the time comes to shift outside the comfort zone, a less than stellar release won’t completely destroy the goodwill that took years to stockpile.

Eyes Set to Kill exploded out of the gates in 2008 with Reach, a fun little album that saw the band melding rock, metal, hardcore and melody into a seething beast of emotion. And the biggest thing the album had going for it was the raw passion that each band member brought to the table. There was this slight air of inexperience hovering throughout the proceedings that brought an added sense of urgency to each song.

Now, just a year and a half (or thereabout) since that full-length debut, Eyes Set to Kill returns with a vengeance. One wouldn’t think so much could change in that short amount of time, but on The World Outside the band hits each peak, each emotional high, each beat with such precision that you’d think this was its fifth or sixth album. Bands this young aren’t supposed to sound this good, are they?

This time around, Eyes Set to Kill have utilized a more balanced use of the melodic female vocals balanced out with the harsher, screamed male vocals. The listener is almost taken aback as album opener “Heights” unfolds without singer Alexia Rodriguez’s familiar tones being front and center.

It would appear that the band front-loaded this album with the more aggressive material, as the aforementioned “Heights”, “Hourglass” and “Deadly Weapons” show the band still drawing inspiration from the likes of Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold, at least in some regards.

After that hard-hitting trio, the band flexes their genre-bending muscle, first with the haunting, piano-based “Interlude”, which bleeds into the title track. (The use of a piano interlude shows up again, later, on “The Hollow Pt. 1”.)

The beauty of the music that Eyes Set to Kill are beginning to craft is in the juxtaposition of the various elements continues to mature. Whether it’s the dual-vocal approach, the quieter piano moments sandwiched between stutter-stop riffing and thunderous groove, or when the parts pull into one mass attack (executed to perfection on “The Hollow”), the band never seems to get lost or overdo it with the individual elements.

And the most striking improvement over Reach is the lyrical content hidden on The World Outside. The band bares its collective soul, so to speak, on the album’s strongest tracks, to great effect. From the title-track’s homage to life on the stage (“The world outside; its changing me, changing me; to whom I’m afraid of / I can’t confide in anything”), to tales of broken love on “Wake Me Up” (“It’s not my fault that I dug a grave so deep / Lying at the bottom, and I’m looking up; She’s all I see”), to the crushing letter to an absent father on album closer “Come Home” ("There’s never an ounce that I breathe without thinking about who I could have been with you").

Eyes Set to Kill had a hit with Reach. So make it two-for-two with The World Outside, which is easily one of the year’s best...

Odium -- 'At The Bottom' [review]

Odium - At the Bottom
Year of the Sun Records (3/17/09)
Metal

Odium has taken the blueprint of melodic metal from Sweden’s In Flames and tempered the attack with a hint of Killswitch Engage to create a sort of Canadian leviathan. The result is At the Bottom, an album chock-full of ambition even if the band ultimately chooses emulation over innovation.

That’s not to say there isn’t a hell of a lot on this album to satiate metal-heads the world over. Every song is a brutal dose of metal, filled with melodic riffs with a little synth or keyboard popping up on the rare occasion.

Odium is at its best when the band is just tearing through songs, like the blistering "Population Zero" or album opener "Oblivion's Gates", where each song is just turgid with meaty riffs, thunderous double-bass and blast beats, and a nice mix of growling, demonic vocals with the melodic, clean reprieves. (The band does a nice job with this recipe on the slower-paced title-track, too.)

That’s pretty much the approach Odium takes with each song, sometimes going a little heavier (“Frailty” or the nearly seven-minute “Need to Exist”) or more melodic (“The Failure” or the syrupy album closer “The Abyss Stared Back”). In a rare misfire, the band seems to channel Chevelle on “Serenity’s End”, opting for almost completely clean vocals. At least tracks like “It Goes Cold” or “Lifting the Veil” have a built-in sense of urgency to them.

Canada is turning into a breeding ground for solid metal outfits (just look at label mates Cradle to Grave or Misguided Aggression); If Odium is able to break out and reach a wider audience, the band could really make a mark on the scene and probably grow a lot, too.

Misguided Aggression -- 'Hatchala' [review]

Misguided Aggression - Hatchala
Year of the Sun Records (3/17/09)
Metal

Misguided Aggression may just be the Great White North’s answer to Lamb of God. On Hatchala, the Ontario quintet serves up a slab of brutal, in-your-face, fist-pumping metal.

Eight tracks clocking in at just over 26 minutes might lead one to think that te band took a single-minded approach to the recording, offering up quick blasts of metal with little variation. Such is not the case. Instead, Misguided Aggression uses the chug-a-chug template and folds in elements of groove, clean vocal melodies, slight hints of hardcore (think Unearth) and prog-based breakdowns (earning the band comparisons to Meshuggah). (And you can blame the short running time on a couple of instrumental interludes, the opening title track and “The Palamnaeusus Fulvipes”, which acts like a coda for the preceding track more than a stand-alone song.)

There are crushing head-bangers (“Pigs in the Market” and “Our Kingdom Come”) and more expansive, complex opuses, too (the systematic dirge of “Mustard Gas & Roses” which features one of the most blood-curdling howls this listener has heard in some time, and “Flesh to Gold”).

But the track that truly stands out from the pack, and one that will probably ultimately be one of the best metal anthems of the year, is “Faces of Abomination”. The track utilizes the best of what Misguided Aggression has to offer: sick breakdowns, unbridled groove, thick riffs and glorious howls. The song marks the only time the band opts to throw in the slightest clean, melodic vocals (dropped way down in the mix), and also features this nice little trick of slowing the song down to an almost-standstill, adding to its urgent feel.

At 26 minutes, the whole trip is over far too soon, and you’ll soon find yourself reaching for the repeat button. Bands like this sometimes like to overstay their welcome, but Misguided Aggression should have no fear with exploring this metallic soundscape again and again. Highest recommendation to fans of straight-ahead metal.

Silverstein -- 'A Shipwreck in the Sand' [review]

Silverstein - A Shipwreck in the Sand
Victory Records (3/31/09)
Alternative rock / Metal

Behold Silverstein’s finest hour.

On their fourth full-length studio album, the band goes the concept route, turning in A Shipwreck in the Sand, 14 tracks split into four chapters (playing out like a double-LP for those old enough to remember actual records). The concept, as it were, is the destruction of a relationship, revolving around the couple’s house burning down. Their history, courtship and ultimate betrayal plays through the songs, the only curveball being the title track, which offers up the at first seemingly out-of-place tale of a ship captain whose loyal crew has been beaten down by the journey and eventually revolts. In hindsight, the allegory is fairly clear.

It’s not the story though, that makes this Silverstein’s best outing. Instead, it’s the overall musicianship the band has been able to cultivate over their career. While they could have easily been lumped in with the rest of the dual-vocalist screamo bands that popped up in the early part of the decade, Silverstein offered a little something more. The clear vocals were just melodic enough, and the groove in the guitar work just deep enough, that the band managed to stand out and craft a sound uniquely its own (when you hear a Silverstein song, you can immediately tell it's Silverstein).

On this album, everything that made the band unique—each element of its sound and approach to songwriting—seems to have been ratcheted up a notch or 10. Just listen to “American Dream” with its balladic opening that gives way to a hardcore dirge (the spark) that the band is more than willing to douse with enough melody (the fuel) to start, well, a house fire. That driving, hook-laden guitar work pops up in every song, but this time out the band looks to rely on a lot of solid bass work, too, to push the songs forward (check out “You‘re All I Have”).

And Silverstein's hardcore side is starting to drift toward Atreyu territory, without the obvious rock influence. The vocals, which occasionally had the potential to grate on listeners in past efforts, seem a lot more restrained (finally). And surprisingly, even when someone like Scott Wade (Comeback Kid) shows up for a guest spot (on “Born Dead“), it only accentuates the band’s vocal efforts, instead of overshadowing things.

They also plays around with an ethereal element on some of the songs (the interlude “Their Lips Sink Ships” or the opening portion of the title track), creating an almost dreamlike mood, to be destroyed by the explosive follow-ups (the grinding “I Knew I Couldn’t Trust You” or the blistering “I Am The Arsonist”).

Ultimately, what the band has done a fantastic job of here, is creating a series of moods, dragging the listener on a musical journey through the heartache, betrayal, vengeance and angst—weighty matters to be sure—that are tempered with a lighter mood in the music’s melody. That said, a fitting crescendo to this is album closer “The End”, an acoustic duet with female vocalist Lights, which weaves a tale of redemption and inevitability and apology, with a nice coda featuring a throwback to the earlier tale of the ship captain.

This is, hands down, Silverstein’s best effort yet, and easily a contender for album of the year.

Within The Ruins -- 'Creature' [review]

Within the Ruins - Creature
Victory Records (2/17/09)
Metal / Hardcore

Treading a razor-wire between metal, hardcore and death metal, Within the Ruins melds together a schizophrenic offering of tech-infused metal that relies on some elements from any genre within its reach. The result, while nothing terribly imaginative, manages to capture your attention.

The band has these moments, like on the galloping “Dig a Ditch”, where you’d almost expect them to break out into full-on, melodic, European-metal mode (which may have been a welcome change of pace), but for some reason it prefers to keep fully grounded into a metal/hardcore rut, so to speak. It seems the best thing the group has going for them, in terms of creative approach, is the imaginative dual-guitar attack that manages to incorporate just enough noodling before becoming overbearing (kind of like the anti-Norma Jean). Still, while incorporating multiple elements into each song could prevent them from dragging, the opposite seems to happen on occasion. Take opener “The Book of Books” or “Extinguish Them” as examples—the songs feel some three times longer than their four-minute runtimes would have you believe.

Ultimately, what we have here is a divisive release. Fans of hardcore will draw comparisons to some of their favorites on the scene; the same for metal-heads. Creatures sounds like a bunch of things thrown into a blender and then spilled about—at times devoid of direction, which is a real shame.

But Within the Ruins knocks one right out of the park with the instrumental “Jump Ship”, chock-full of melody and acoustic bliss. It would seem that incorporating more of that sentiment into its sound—more variety in the vocals (and no, the hardcore sing-along chants don’t count, though they do sound fantastic on “Tractor Pull”), and more grinding, groovy riffs instead of the machine-gunner approach would lead to a much fuller experience.

In the end, it appears the most divisive part of this release is that there are so many elements on here to love, but for some reason you can’t quite bring yourself to do it on account of the finished product coming out so chaotic. Ironically, song after song garners nothing more than a shrug, with nothing completely standing out and grabbing your attention, but once the album is over you find yourself giving it another spin. Did you enjoy it without realizing it, or are you just searching for something to latch on to? And that’s the most puzzling aspect of this Creature.

Filter -- 'Remixes for the Damned' [review]

Filter - Remixes for the Damned
Pulse Records (11/4/08)
Hard rock (Industrial rock) / Electronic

Hot on the heels of Anthems for the Damned, Richard Patrick has put together a Web-exclusive album of remixes offering what he calls a more industrial take on Filter’s first new album in five years.

Rather than sounding more industrial, however, most of the tracks have a "dance party remix" feel to them, if for no other real reason than the repetitive club beats and expanded tracks with little "edge."

Sure, there are moments, like the mid-way point of "I Keep the Flowers Around (Love's Labor's Lost)", which features a haunting, driving guitar playing over this expansive, spacey beat, but for the most part, these tracks feel ultimately forgettable.

But there are a few high points where the songs exceed their original counterparts. The mellower take on "Soldiers of Misfortune" (The Justin Eyerly Version), which focuses on a backing string section and acoustic guitar to accompany Patrick’s vocals, is a real gem. Stripping away the pop sheen gives the song an added dimension of complexity and seriousness that really works well with the subject matter.

This toned-down approach also works well on the stripped versions of "Only You" and "Lie After Lie", too, which aren't remixes as much as acoustic versions of the songs. Nonetheless, the simplistic approach works so well that you can't help but wonder if an acoustic album of Filter material is in the works.

For a different take on "Soldiers of Misfortune", the "Turning Blood into Oil" mix has a steady drum beat, which gives the song a militaristic feel, but during the choruses a haunting synth riff kicks in, adding an ethereal element to the track.

That particular tone is present on "Cold (Desert Sky)" as well. Once again, with the pop sheen stripped off, the song takes on a new dimension (though the programmed backing could have been toned down a little). The best part of the song is where the female backing vocals, which are hardly noticeable on the studio version, spring to the forefront this time around.

The multiple takes of "The Take" aren't too bad, either. The "Rumsfeld Torture Party" version is more frantic and high-energy, while the "Declanator" mix is a little more low-key but somehow manages to be more urgent as a result.

There are two versions of "What's Next", and both probably could have benefited from being combined into one track. And the third version of "Soldiers of Misfortune" (the "10 hits of X in Baghdad" mix) comes across as overkill. The version is a far cry from the other takes on the collection (much more aggressive and club-sounding) and adds nothing to the song or the album.

The weakest moments on the collection come about when the tracks just sort of meander with no direction. "Kill The Day (Gonzo in the Club)" or the aforementioned reworking of "Soldiers" could have been any song mixed for clubbing purposes, with layered, never-ending beats looping to no clear purpose.

This was supposed to be a return to Filter's industrial roots, but much like the proper studio version of Anthems for the Damned, nothing on this set touches the intensity of "Hey Man Nice Shot" or the Crystal Method collaboration "(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do".

In the end, Remixes for the Damned offers up a mixed bag of new takes on the songs. Ironically it's the quieter moments that really shine on here, but one wouldn't normally think "quiet" when thinking of industrial remixes. Of course, being a download exclusive, you're able to download your choice of tracks as opposed to the entire set, so feel free to create the best album you can.

Dog Fashion Disco -- 'Beating a Dead Horse to Death ... Again' [review]

Dog Fashion Disco - Beating a Dead Horse to Death... Again
Rotten Records (10/28/08)
Metal

Dog Fashion Disco was a band a little too eclectic for its own good. The group managed to form quite the devoted fanbase over its eight-year existence, but there was always the feeling that, given the right direction, they could have easily hit the big time.

Never is that point more apparent than on their new, posthumous release, Beating a Dead Horse to Death... Again, which somehow manages to be the band's best album. The collection of rarities and other tracks of interest shows the band in a light its proper albums never seemed to convey. Take the re-recorded Day of the Dead EP, whose four tracks open this set. Each song is a steamroller of heavy, foreboding metal, that manages to invoke comparisons to Ministry combined with any keyboard-heavy horror-metal outfit. Even the slower, more melancholic “Gardenia”, with its piano accompaniment, has a noticeable metallic edge just under the surface. And the reason these songs are so strong is because they weren't cluttered up by tempo-shifts and multiple genre change-ups.

Then there’s the flipside of what DFD could do: “Devil’s Wife” and “Barely Breathing”, recorded after the band called it quits. The two tracks were part of a pre-Polkadot Cadaver demo, which shows the band had the ability to record more commercial material when it set out to do so. The punk-influenced tracks could have easily found a home on modern-rock radio and are pretty catchy to boot.

The gem of the set is “Satan’s March”, a song recorded for the movie Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, which the band helped score. Also included on the set is a Melvins cover, “Anaconda”, which has a nice little DFD edge to it.

A set of live studio tracks are prototypical DFD material—that interesting blend of hardcore, metal, jazz and lounge fusion that fans grew to love over the years. Of particular note is the schizophrenic “Worm in a Dog’s Heart” and “9-5 at the Morgue”, both of which really capture the unique energy DFD could infuse into its music.

Rounding out the set are two “joke tracks” the band sent to its label rep during the recording sessions for the Adultery album to show off “a the new direction” the band wanted to take. “Turning Gay” sounds like a South Park outtake, and no words can really do justice to “Hank Steel the Real Queer Cowboy”.

This is a great collection of material that can appeal to diehards and non-fans alike. Even without the joke songs that you could take or leave, there are still 12 solid tracks that might not entirely represent the true DFD experience, but it's a nice representation of the best of what the band could accomplish. The only glaring omission would be more from the Dominion score (“Satan’s March” offers a nice taste, but only clocks in at 3:40). DFD was a band whose eccentricities made it stand out from the crowd, but on the other hand truly kept it from hitting the big time. Beating a Dead Horse... is a nice look back at one of the underground’s finest outfits.

In Flames -- 'A Sense of Purpose' [review]

In Flames - A Sense of Purpose
Koch Records (4/1/08)
Metal

Sure, the die-hard In Flames fans and metal elite will continue to bitch and moan that the band is creating the same album time and again (at least since the release of Reroute to Remain). The fact of the matter is that no band even comes close to In Flames when it comes to powerful, melodic death metal.

On A Sense of Purpose In Flames manages to ratchet up the melodies to amazing degrees, from Anders Friden’s vocal work (much less strained than previous outings) to the striking guitar play from Bjorn Gelotte and Jesper Stromblad.

And unlike, say, Soundtrack to Your Escape, which sounded very repetitive over time, A Sense of Purpose is constantly shifting direction. There’s the electronic bliss of “Sleepless Again” (chock-full of impressive solos), the urgent riffing on “I’m the Highway” (with some frantic drum work from Daniel Svensson and nice, intricate guitar back-and-forths mid-way through the song), and the one-two punch of “Sober and Irrelevant” (showcasing maniacal guitar riffs aplenty) and “Condemned” (featuring some of the best metal drumming of the year).

Even when they really slows things down (on the eight-minute plus “The Chosen Pessimist”), it’s like some sort of controlled explosion that showcases a very different side of the band. And the irresistible catchiness of “Disconnected” immediately gets under your skin and aches for repeated listens.

Working within the confines of melodic metal, the band takes more than enough chances and manages to craft such hook-laden tracks that it's almost impossible to resist. If there’s one thing you can count on with In Flames, it’s consistency. What you don’t expect is an out-of-left-field contender for album of the year. The band finally has a handle on its “new direction” and the results are astonishing.

Mötley Crüe -- 'Saints of Los Angeles' [review]

Mötley Crüe - Saints of Los Angeles
Eleven Seven Music (6/24/08)
Hard rock

It might have taken upwards of 19 years to do, but the original members of Mötley Crüe finally got together and crafted the album no one thought they had left in them—a proper follow-up to Dr. Feelgood.

Some are talking about the autobiographical nature of the album; the "concept" nature of proceedings. But truthfully, this is the album fans were waiting for back in '91 or '92. And that's not to say this is a retro album, or that it sounds out-of-place in today's musical landscape. It's quite the contrary. Crüe bassist and mastermind Nikki Sixx has always continued to grow and develop over the years, from his work with the Brides of Destruction to the Sixx A.M. project, and has strived to remain relevant over the years. If anything, it was that, coupled with the fact singer Vince Neil and drummer Tommy Lee stayed busy through the years, too, that made the band able to slip back into a comfortable situation. Mick Mars might have had his own problems (health, etc.), but it's not like the Crüe was lying dormant, either.

One Way Mirror -- 'One Way Mirror' [review]

One Way Mirror - One Way Mirror
Metal Blade Records (7/22/08)
Hard rock / Metal / Industrial rock

Side projects and super-groups are nothing new. It's usually just a bunch of friends drawn together by the desire to create a certain type of music that might not necessarily fit into what the individual members do in their respective bands. In this case, One Way Mirror looks to combine metal and rock into a fiery concoction, turgid with melody and anything else into which the band seems willing to sink its teeth.

A super-group of sorts, featuring members of Soilwork (drummer Dirk Verbeuren), Lyzanxia (guitarists David and Frank Potvin), Scarve (Loic Colin on bass) and Mnemic (frontman Guillaume), the band tackles this rock-metal goliath blending the best of both genres, leaning toward the heavier end of the spectrum.

Of course, it's not an entirely new approach, and throughout this self-titled album, One Way Mirror draws similarities to the likes of Atreyu or older Powerman 5000 (without the funk) and a bunch of turn-of-the-millennium one-hit wonders more than a few times while also throwing in hefty doses of industrial influence, heavy (as hell) metal and other melodic nuances for good measure.

There are plenty of killer guitar solos (check out the ending of "ReDream" or "Danger Calling"), and the band isn't afraid to let the bass work take center stage (opener "Destination Device" or "Sockracer"). One Way Mirror is happy to attempt to recast itself as an industrial beast, even if only for a few moments (check out the aforementioned opener or “Keeping Me Away”), though that usually means using distorted singing techniques more than anything else.

One Way Mirror also isn't afraid to infuse plenty of melody into the tracks, creating some truly catchy tunes in the process. The aforementioned "ReDream" is instantly infectious, and could probably find a home on plenty of modern-rock radio stations. The same goes for "21st Century", though it's refreshing to see a band take that approach without turning its back on what got it to the dance, so to speak—with plenty of screams, double-bass drumming and chunky riffs splattered throughout this album to keep metalheads happy.

In fact, the only misfire on the disc would have to be the questionable cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax". If ever there was a song that was not screaming for a do-over, it would be this one. And you can't even enjoy it from a "wow, that was unique" standpoint since Powerman 5000 did the same thing several years earlier. They try their damnedest, but the entire track falls way short.

Of course, one out of eleven ain't too bad—the other ten tracks are raucous affairs that are sure to satisfy plenty of metal and rock lovers out there. One Way Mirror isn't trying anything new, but you don't always have to reinvent the wheel to make a good album.

Austrian Death Machine -- 'Total Brutal' [review]

Austrian Death Machine - Total Brutal
Metal Blade Records (7/22/08)
Metal / Hardcore

"Joke" bands are a tough sell. They're usually a side project, a creative outlet for accomplished musicians. And they're nearly impossible to review. There's no way to be overly critical because, after all, it's just a joke (Don't you get the joke?). But in the same vein, you can't completely embrace the band and take it seriously because, well, it's a joke.

Austrian Death Machine is a metal band fronted by the Governator himself, Ahhnold (an homage to California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger); the band is actually the brainchild of As I Lay Dying founder and frontman Tim Lambesis (who, I presume, is pretty much the sole member of the band, though the album features plenty of guest appearances).

Total Brutal is your standard metal/hardcore hybrid album, with the joke being each song channels the brutality of Schwarzenegger's movies. All of the songs are based off movie roles—"If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It" (Predator), "Who Is Your Daddy, And What Does He Do?" (Kindergarten Cop), "You Have Just Been Erased" (Eraser) and "Come With Me If You Want to Live" (The Terminator), to name but a few—with a handful of skits thrown in to keep the joke rolling.

The thing is, while most of these songs are almost forgettable, some of them are actually pretty good. The band is at its best when the inspiration for a song is a springboard into a more elaborate idea. You can't help but chant along with the Terminator-inspired "I Am a Cybernetic Organism, Living Tissue Over Endoskeleton", and the guitar work on "Who Is Your Daddy..." is truly inspired. And you could probably take "Here Is Subzero, Now Plain Zero" off the disc and fit it onto any metal album, to be taken seriously. On the flip side, how can you not smile when head-banging along with "It's Not a Tumor"?

Basically, Lambesis is one hell of a musician, and has put together a brutal little album that is weighed down by the running joke. Total Brutal is worth a listen, but I can't imagine it finding a permanent home in anyone's rotation years from now. I get the joke, but I'm just not sure how long it will stay funny.

(hed) p.e. -- 'The DIY Guys' [review CD/DVD]

(hed)p.e. - The DIY Guys [CD/DVD]
Suburban Noize Records (7/8/08)
Punk / Metal / Hip-hop

It's nice to know the constraints that sometimes come with being signed to a major label never seemed to destroy the spirit that (hed)p.e. brought to its music.

On The DIY Guys, the group offers up a smattering of hits, new songs (in a live settling) and unreleased material, tearing through every song with abandon, and melding metal, hip-hop and punk in a way very few bands would even think of attempting.

The live songs, recorded at the Key Club in Hollywood, do a good job of translating what the band has to offer on stage. It's pretty raw, both in presentation (nothing appears to have been tweaked after the fact in the studio) and in product (the band has a sick energy on stage that it's had a difficult time capturing in the studio at times).

A couple of high points to look for: new tracks "War on the Middle Class" and "Niteclub in Bali" (recorded live) are fantastic little punk gems; "Ordo ab Chao" with its hints of reggae blended into the stereotypical (hed)p.e. attack; the extremity of "Bloodfire" that just oozes urgency; and the live version of "The Truth" (from 2005's Only in Amerika), one of the band's best songs that sounds 10 times better when coupled with the live energy of the club.

While it's supposed to be a CD/DVD combo, the DVD portion of the package is more of an added bonus. Featuring a mockumentary of life on the road (the vignettes look staged for the most part) that also features a handful of live tracks and a couple of music videos (for "Suffa", "Get Ready" and "Represent"), the disc is what it is, but is definitely not the meat and potatoes of the set.

That (hed)p.e. has been able to keep the intensity after over a decade of releasing albums, and survived despite a few missteps, The DIY Guys is a welcome little surprise. Nothing on here is groundbreaking, and a lot of it is raw (which is good, for the most part), so while this is a perfectly serviceable addition to the band's catalogue, it might not be the best album to win over new fans.

Terror -- 'The Damned, The Shamed' [review]

Terror - The Damned, The Shamed
Century Media (6/10/08)
Hardcore / Metalcore

There's nothing new or particularly inventive about Terror's latest skull-crushing offering, The Damned, The Shamed, and really, you wouldn't want it any other way. The band offers up a thunderous dose of straight-ahead hardcore mayhem, with thirteen tracks clocking in at just over a half-hour of old-school, anger-fueled brutality, full of the trademark hardcore staples which may not break any new ground, but will combine for one hell of an album.

Chunky rhythm, riffs galore, down-tuned guitars, breakdowns, the familiar growled vocals... you name it, the band does it with the aggression and volume turned up to 10.

And they're is able to connect all of the pieces phenomenally. Check out the intense groove on "Betrayer"—hands-down the best Terror has to offer this time out. The band even throws in a slower bridge that just makes the song seem to expand well beyond its two-and-a-half minutes.

Also of note: "What I Despise" (frantic drumming galore and some inspired riffing), "Rise of the Poisoned Youth" (with some terrific bass work) and "March to Redemption" (great lyrics and vocals, and probably the best guitar work on the entire album). There really aren't any weak points on this album, although the first half starts to blend together a little. The band seemed willing to switch it up more frequently on the latter half of the disc (check out the opening to "Lost Our Minds" or the distortion on "Still Believe?") . Of course, track after track of roughly two-minute songs can’t really get too boring.

If you love hardcore, this album is for you. It's a no-frills blow to the face that most newer bands of the genre seem to lack.

With Dead Hands Rising -- 'Expect Hell' [review]

With Dead Hands Rising - Expect Hell
Mediaskare Records (04/29/08)
Metal

When a band chooses to call its album Expect Hell, what would you expect?

How about the firm slap in the face that is “The Possession.” Indeed, the intense brutality of With Dead Hands Rising’s music married with absolutely horrifying vocals plays out exactly how you’d expect the soundtrack on your journey to hell would sound.

But the band is far from a one-trick pony. There’s this really subtle melody haunting “Beckoning the Glass Cased” that almost goes unnoticed, but once you do, you just shake your head at the brilliance of it all. The same could be said for “Ultima,” where the band keeps sneaking in these moments of melody among the madness of the metal.

The band sounds tight as hell, tearing through each track with a vengeance, drums and bass shake the listener to the core like a depth charge with a dueling guitar attack taking out anything left moving. It can do the up-tempo speed stuff, and slow everything down to a grinding dirge (just listen to the crushing bridges in “A Lurid Account of Murder”).

And the band does a great job of putting together really epic-sounding material, too. Of particular note is “Distress Patterns” and “Tourniquet Girl.” Both songs are simply relentless in their assault, but there’s plenty of tempo-shifting and incorporating of melodic rhythm that, even though each clocks in at just under five- and just over four-minutes respectively, they feel much fuller just from the broad scope of the music. (There's some really good blasts beats toward the end of "Tourniquet Girl" that you can't resist headbanging to.) Fantastic stuff all around.

There’s little dead space on here. In fact, the lowest point of the album is the instrumental “Hammer of the Gods,” and even then the only real problem with the track is that it clocks in at under a minute in length. The band can do sick instrumentals when it wants (the slower, melodic “Momentary Alphabetic Convergence” is proof of that, and the group even works a piano into the mix!).

Another huge surprise release on the metal scene this year. A must-listen for fans of brutal metal at its finest.

Warbringer -- 'War Without End' [review]

Warbringer - War Without End
Century Media Records (02/05/08)
Metal

It’s 1985, and you, being the metal head that you are, pull out your box of tapes from the back of the closet, album after album of speed and thrash strewn before you . Look, it’s Slayer’s Hell Awaits. Hey, Megadeth’s Killing is My Business … and Exodus’ Bonded by Blood. There’s probably a copy of Anthrax’s Spreading the Disease and Overkill’s Feel the Fire in there, too. And no doubt a worn copy of Metallic’s Kill ’Em All (most probably a copy off a friend).

If any of those albums were in your collection, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see War bringer’s debut War Without End in there, too. Well, except for the fact the album was released in 2008.

But enough with the analogy. If you’re a fan of any of the abovementioned bands; If you’ve owned any of those albums or heard a song off of any of them, then you know what Warbringer sounds like.

Solos galore, crushing riffs that just tumble over one another and drumming that bears down on the listener like a freight train. And don’t forget those snarled vocals that are so pissed-off there’s no need for the singer to scream.

Warbringer seems more than willing to wear its influences on its sleeve, so much so that chunks of the album (moments in the songs) sound like they were lifted right out of 1985. It’s likely not thievery, more of an homage, but it stills hinders the band in that nothing on the album sounds particularly inspired or new.

Sure, “Hell on Earth” is a terror, the riffs on “Shoot to Kill” are inspired, and “At the Crack of Doom” just crushes, so the band is sure to earn plenty of new fans. But any die-hard fan out there would rather pick up any of the (at least) 20 classics that were released in the mid-’80s instead. And that’s a shame, because Warbringer has crafted one punished metal album in War Without End. A definite two thumbs up for this debut, so dig out your suitcase from ’85, put on your tight jeans and denim jacket, and prepare to bang your head. This album is great as a one-off. One just has to wonder what the group could possibly offer for an encore.

The Ghost Inside -- 'Fury and the Fallen Ones' [review]

The Ghost Inside - Fury and the Fallen Ones
Mediaskare Records (4/15/08)
Metal / Hardcore

The Ghost Inside is another one of those bands not necessarily doing anything new or inventive. On Fury and the Fallen Ones, its debut album, the band offers up this juggernaut of metal with a hardcore soul. There are the breakdowns and growled vocals, but everything else is expansive enough (more rhythm guitar and melody and so on) to make it more than hardcore.

And while it's nothing new, The Ghost Inside presents the set in such a powerful package, where every song just seems to have this edge and rawness, that you just can't help but nod along to every song.

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.

Firewind -- 'The Premonition' [review]

Firewind - The Premonition
Century Media (4/8/08)
Metal

Just when you thought power metal was dead and gone...

Led by guitarist Gus G. (Nightrage, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil)—who is slowly proving himself a worthy addition to the shortlist of guitar gods—Firewind offers up a heaping helping of power metal in all its epic glory.

Hailing from Greece, the band's method of attack focuses around the driving force of Gus G.'s guitar work, offering up classic power metal with a European twist (there's plenty of keyboard work to accompany the solos). The band offers a nice change of pace in a scene where the lines between subgenres—death metal, industrial and hardcore, most notably—are becoming increasingly blurred, it sticks to its guns and shines as a result. While a bulk of the attention goes to U.S.-based outfits for the most part, at least stateside, there's this huge metal scene in Europe with exceptional bands cranking out album after album of killer material. Add Firewind to that list... and probably place the group somewhere near the top.

Filter -- 'Anthems for the Damned' [review]

Filter - Anthems for the Damned
Pulse Recording (5/13/08)
Rock / Alternative / Metal

It's been five years since The Amalgamut, and Richard Patrick, the force behind Filter, returns with Anthems for the Damned, where he showcases the two faces of the band—the abrasive, industrial-tinged goliath alongside the pop-minded, melodic juggernaut—in unison for an overall well-balanced sound.

Five years is a lengthy absence these days. So much so that, on first listen, "Soldiers of Misfortune" could be mistaken for Chevelle, a band with two notable releases in the same timeframe. But those trademark plodding bass lines and Patrick's unholy wail put an end to any perceived charade.