Unearth -- 'The Oncoming Storm' [classic review]

Unearth
"The Oncoming Storm"
(Metal Blade Records)


"It was the first time we ever really pre-produced before a record. We've never really had the chance to pick and choose what we liked before we recorded anything so it made the record turn out better. The album sounds a whole lot better because we had more money to do it. Anybody could really make a better album with more money to work with, but Adam gave us a great price on it and worked really hard to make it sound like it does. Everyone always asks "What's it like to work with Adam D.?" and honestly, it's great, he's one of my best friends and it was really cool. The thing is, we went and did all of the dirty work and everything, and Adam just made it sound like the greatest thing we could do. Everything turned out really cool."

-- Unearth guitarist Ken Susi on recording "The Oncoming Storm"

While Unearth's sound can comes across as epic and expansive, it's really pretty simple in terms of the song construction. Rather than crafting complicated structures and patterns (think Tool or, for a more metal feel, something like Meshuggah), the band opts to go for the throat quick. That's not to say the sound is simple, rather the manner in which the band makes its music. There's the solid riffs, the twin-guitar attacks, the machine-gun drumming and crushing groove of the bass. The band likes it's hardcore breakdowns and serves up plenty. Along the way, Trevor Phipps attacks the vocals with a callous abandon, but keeps from going too far over the "guttural" edge with his screams. Sure, he might not offer up the melodic breaks like Killswitch's Howard Jones, but there's always that subtle hint of melody just under the surface.

When Unearth serves up epic, it does so in style. Songs like "Zombie Autopilot" and "Bloodlust of the Human Condition" just tumble over and over again, expanding with each passing second. The band isn't shy with the anthemic riffs either. "Predetermined Sky" opens up a metallic surge of energy and, as an aside, the song almost perfectly encapsulates the band's dual personalities as it unfolds as a metal goliath but stumbles to a hardcore dirge by the close. In fact, the band pulls off the same feat on "Lie to Purify."

Along the way other elements of the genre are thrown in for good measure, whether it be some European flavor ("Failure"), speed metal ("False Idols") or something more American and completely destructive ("This Lying World").

Unlike other albums that instantly pulled me into a web, "The Oncoming Storm" doesn't unfold as a masterpiece, it simply is one. You can jump in at any point throughout the record and be hooked. And the group doesn't build from one song to the next, it simply offers up a barrage at any given moment. Even the piano interlude "Aries" has some sort of unique charm that manages to instantly intrigue.

While Unearth has undoubtedly paid its dues, the band still seemed to explode onto the metal scene out of nowhere. The group created a template that has been stolen and emulated time and time again, which is impressive given the group's relatively young age in the genre. Unearth has carved out a nice little niche for itself on the North American metal community and seems eager and willing to offer up more. I'm not sure how much influence going out on tours with bands that incorporate more melody into the metal proceedings could have affected the way the group chose to tackle it's next album. While it seems the band has a great work ethic and solid chops to back up any claims of greatness, one has to wonder how much Adam D's production added to what became "The Oncoming Storm." If he's on board will a follow-up simply be "Storm 2?" And if not, will someone else still be able to steer the band to another classic?

Rob Zombie -- 'Hellbilly Deluxe' [classic review]

Rob Zombie
"Hellbilly Deluxe"
(Geffen Records)


"After your first success you never know if it's going to be you last one. After having finally reached a wide audience you have no idea what that audience thinks, or what they expect - it's kinda weird."

-- Rob Zombie

"Hellbilly Deluxe" is the perfect encapsulation of everything that was right with White Zombie. The album is a full-on metal assault of chugging riffs, head-spinning beats and classic Zombie charm.

The album is full of rock/metal staples, hits and fan-favorites: the explosive opener "Superbeast" that is a huge hit during the live shows; the chug-a-chug rumble of "Demenoid Phenomenon" and "What Lurks on Channel X"; the hit singles "Living Dead Girl" and "Dragula."

Zombie had perfected the sound he was creating with White Zombie, a blend of sleazy rock and twisted metal, a hint of industrial noise, churning rhythms and some occasional sampling. The whole amalgam is spiced up with a cult-horror flavor, whether it be the lyrics or the samples (even some of the riffs start to sound like organ chords).

While the music Zombie is creating isn't exactly anything new, he is able to put his own subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) spin on it and make it truly his own. Long-time fans have more than enough to love here; new fans will be instantly hooked with the unique melodies and cult imagery.

Following "Hellbilly Deluxe," Zombie began to expand his sound. The "Sinister Urge" was still a strong outing, but taken as a whole the album had its share of hit-or-miss moments. (As it turns out, Zombie was experiencing a little burnout at this point and internal struggles with his band was making his music life "seem more like work" than usual.) With a new band in place, Zombie felt rejuvenated -- this year's "Educated Horses" takes the fundamental Zombie sound and tempers it with a classic rock feel.

Zombie is also spending more and more time making movies. With "House of 1,000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects" already under his belt, the modern-day auteur is working on a full-length animated feature and is rumored to take the helm of "Halloween 9."

Still, whenever the whim hits, Zombie is sure to offer up more spooky-metal for the masses.

Anthrax -- 'We've Come For You All' [classic review]

Anthrax
"We've Come For You All"
(Sanctuary Records)


"The reality is that when it is going to be 5 years, one or two months don't make any difference in that point because there is already five years. Our point was to make the best record that we can ever possibly make, to make it sound amazing, to make the best record that Anthrax has ever done and released and has state of mind and that's why it took a little bit longer."

-- Anthrax vocalist John Bush

You can really tell Anthrax took its time with this one.

All the heavy handed genre staples are stripped away, yet still there in a subtle manner. Instead, "We've Come..." offers up a heavy helping of metal, tempered with the rock-ish sound John Bush brought to the band.

"Safe Home" may have been the lead off single (and perhaps the "strongest" track on the album), but it was hardly indicative of what "We've Come..." offers. There's a depth of sick double-bass drumming and bass trade-offs throughout the disc (courtesy of drummer Charlie Benate and bassist Frank Bello), but an even sicker offering of riffs from newcomer Rob Caggiano. With Scott Ian anchoring the production, each song permeates a slick thrash rhythm but is tempered with a slower "metallic" approach. The metal isn't too extreme, but it's still a solid kick in the gut.

From the anthem "What Doesn't Die" (which spirals to a head at break-neck speed toward its finale) to the seething "Refuse to Be Denied" and chugging "Nobody Knows Anything," Anthrax is tight and spot-on. Bush growls and emotes his way through each song while the rest of the pack jams away as a tight unit. Even a surprise appearance by the late Dimebag Darrell is downplayed due to the overwhelming wave of metal Anthrax serves up. In the end, the band manages to put together one of 2003's best: a tight metal juggernaut with a host of influences, genres and talent on display.

"We've Come For You All" was the perfect album for the culmination of what Anthrax has become. It might not fill the void thrash fans might have wanted. But, much like Machine Head with "Through the Ashes of Empires," Anthrax saw a solid return to (its new) form with this release. The album is full, vibrant, aggressive to the core and features few weak moments. In short, it is everything fans who loved the Bush-era stuff wanted in an album.

If the band decides to not work with Bush again in the future, this album acts as a perfect bookend to the experiment: there was the explosive opening with "The Sound of White Noise" and the equally impressive "We've Come For You All." In between, there was some good and bad, but nothing can dim the effect of the new and older classics.

Rebel Meets Rebel -- Self-titled [review]

Rebel Meets Rebel
“Rebel Meets Rebel”
(Big Vin Records)

It not supposed to be a country album, not supposed to be a metal album. I guess, deep down it’s a little of both though, for the most part, it’s essentially Pantera being fronted by a honky-tonk rocker.

Well, to be fair, that’s might not quite be it either.

What it is, is a testament to the driving artistic nature of the late Dimebag Darrell.

The Rebel Meets Rebel album (recorded between 1999 and 2003) features Dimebag, brother Vinnie Paul on drums, bassist Rex Brown and David Allen Coe).

The second those oh-so-familiar riffs kick up on the opener “Nothin’ to Lose,” any fan will feel a smile creep across their face. And while Coe’s voice needs a little “getting used to,” it really starts to grow on you and by the time the disc starts over after a full listen, you forget why you had any issue to begin with.

This album isn’t breaking any new ground and isn’t setting any new trend. It’s simply showcasing a group of guys jamming together for fun and the mutual love of music. Longtime fans of Pantera or Dime will be happy with the usual riff-heavy fare, but there’s a couple of curveballs thrown in for good measure. There’s Dime trading riffs with a fiddler on the title-track; Dime doing his damnedest to actually make his guitar sound like a fiddle on “Nothin’ to Lose”; Dime sharing vocal duties on the title track; Dime tearing it up with an acoustic guitar on “N.Y.C. Streets.”

Everyone else more than pulls their weight on this album. Brown throws down some sick grooves on a multitude of songs, Vinnie is a lot more subdued behind the kit but still makes his presence felt and Coe not only keeps pace with the Cowboys from Hell, but comes up with some great lyrics along the way.

Of particular note is the album closer, “N.Y.C. Streets.” As the story goes, Coe told Dime (and I’m paraphrasing here) that the true test for musicians is to just jam together, make up a song on the spot and see what comes out. The duo went up to Dime’s room and recorded a song on a four-track there and then, completely spur of the moment. Apart from a couple of added guitar tracks Dime added later, “N.Y.C. Streets” was what was recorded that night.

Fans of Dime, Pantera and/or Damageplan will eat it up. Metal fans could find a lot to enjoy. Country fans a little less. But the album is really a gift to the fans and an effort to keep Dime’s memory alive. It works — very well — on both fronts. Would this disc have seen release so soon (if ever) had the tragedy not come to pass? Who can say? But it is here and is a testament to all involved.

Byzantine -- 'And They Shall Take Up Serpents' [classic review]

Byzantine
"And They Shall Take Up Serpents "
(Prosthetic Records)


"We are late 80's early 90's Heavy Metal. I think we are a throwback band. Seriously, our influences are predominantly from that time i.e. Carcass, Forbidden, and Testament. We love to have melody juxtaposed with abrasive rhythms, without sounding too fancy or glossed over. Some people have said we are 'tech-metal' and some have said 'hardcore' but I don't hear that at all."

-- Byzantine guitarist/vocalist Chris "OJ" Ojeda

The beauty of "And They Shall Take Up Serpents" is that each track is chock-full of tempo-shifts and epic guitar interplay. And the lead vocals act almost as a homage to older work by Phil Anselmo -- there's an abrasive, aggressive full-on metal delivery but with the ability to shift into soaring melody at the drop of a hat within the same song.

The tight, yet expansive sound comes from the fact that this is simply a three-piece. With Rohrbough handling the bass and part of the rhythm and lead guitars, Ojeda the other rhythm and leads in addition to piano tracking and vocals and Wolfe handling the percussion but also delving into some acoustic guitar interludes, Byzantine offers up a tight-knit collection of fast-paced mayhem, albeit organized mayhem

From the Ministry-influenced machine gun opening of "Justica," Byzantine immediately sets out to prove there's no screwing around on "... Serpents." It's almost impossible to imagine all this sound coming from a three-piece: the blistering trade-off drumming and bass fills; the breakneck dual guitar riffing -- and that's all in the first minute of the album. Once OJ kicks in with the scratchy vocals and the final piece of the puzzle falls into place, one need only wait for the album to unfold minute by masterful minute.

On the title track, the band seamlessly pulls influence from various corners of the genre: the death metal drumming and bass work, the thrash guitar riffing and early-90s, in-your-face, metal vocals. The crunch of "Ancestry of the Antichrist" is tempered with various tempo changes and even a Soulfly-worthy acoustic breakdown of sorts -- when the vocals eventually kick back in during the later half of the song, the band's groove-laiden soul is on full display -- with everything pulled together by one sole, simple, repetitive riff. The Byzantine assault comes on full bore on "Temporary Temples," the high-speed tempo never letting up as solo after solo is strung together to form a wall of sound.

Indeed, there's a little nuance in every song that pushes each just that little but further to create something special: the sick groove of "Five Faces of Madness," the desperation vocals on "Red Neck War," the down-tuned crunch on "The Rat Eaters" and the explosive vocals and expansive nature the band's best song, "Jeremiad."

The band is able to take pieces from the broad metal spectrum, crush it all together with a liberal helping of groove and excess and bleed the mix until it coagulates around a solid core of talent. I've tried to sample a hefty range of new metal acts to hit the scene in the past couple of years, but none seem to come close to presenting such an epic, progressive sound. Shadows Fall come close but don't seem to have as expansive a well to pull from; Trivium's sound feels more crisp; Mastodon is more muddy.

"And They Shall Take Up Serpents" seemed to be a fairly overlooked release in 2005. It's fresh, exciting and no matter how much you listen to the album, it never seems to get boring.

Lacuna Coil -- 'Karmacode' [review]

Lacuna Coil
"Karmacode"
(Century Media Records)


Fans of Italy's Lacuna Coil have waited almost four years to see what the band was going to come up with when it came to topping 2002's "Comalies."

And here's your cliched question: Was "Karmacode" worth the wait?

Upon first release, "Comalies" wasn't the big hit it was to become. Apart from diehard fans, the album stalled on the shelf until Evanescence exploded onto the scene. People were suddenly interested in any hard rock/metal act out there and latched onto Lacuna Coil in the process making the band the best selling act in Century Media history.

But that's where the comparisons to Evanescence end. Lacuna Coil has been together for 10 years at this point. The band's sound, to some extent, is etched in stone. You have the growling male backing vocals, the beautiful female lead, the dueling guitar solos, thunderous drumming and groovy bass-play. Mixed together and infused with a worldly attitude (some synth for Euro-metal flavor and some native groove) and you have Lacuna Coil.

The band had to be feeling the pressure to follow-up its most successful album to date. Would it have the guts to try some new things or simply trot out "Comalies Part 2?"

Lacuna Coil pretty much picks up where it left off with "Comalies." There was talk of the band adding a more "American" feel to the album, which essentially boils down to the group keeping an eye on making songs more "radio-friendly" (the songs didn't really get any shorter or simpler). There's a handful of interesting hooks sprinkled throughout the album, most notably Cristina Scabbia's awesome melodies in "Our Truth." The band adds a few moments of string-orchestration on a few songs (a welcome change-of-pace from the gritty guitar interplay) and even tries its hand at a cover (Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence"). And, overall, the disc has a far more upbeat "sound" than the band's previous efforts (which had an almost goth feel to them at times). Ultimately, there's enough new elements (in very small doses) to make this a solid follow-up.

But it's not all good. For some reason, upon first listen most of the songs come across, for lack of a better term, two-dimensional. "Fragile" and "To the Edge," the first two songs, feel like they go on for ages and seem completely and unnecessarily repetitive. However, after a few listens the songs grow on you and actually start to sound a little better. The biggest problem with "Karmacode" is that there doesn't really seem to be any breakout hits on the album, it sort of just feels "there." "Comalies was a huge commercial success and the band had a four year lull in recording, so you'd imagine there might be something more to offer.

As bad as those negatives sound, the truth of the matter is that Lacuna Coil really isn't the big "one-hit," explosive band one might think, given the hype. The truth is, the band is perfect at making these subtle albums that continue to grow on the listener with each repeated visit. Nothing may jump out at you, but you'll start to find it impossible to turn the album off. While I think the band could have done more, the truth is that Lacuna Coil made a great Lacuna Coil album. "Karmacode" will start off as a blimp and end up being one of the best albums of the year.

Atreyu -- 'A Death Grip on Yesterday' [review]

Atreyu
"A Death Grip on Yesterday"
(Victory Records)


Atreyu seems to have finally settled into a sound. The band burst on to the scene with the harsh, death-metal-esque hardcore EP "Fractures in the Facade of Porcelain Beauty" in 2002. The group's first full-length, "Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses" was more of a straight-forward hardcore affair. The band moved in an more metal direction for 2004's "The Curse," with most critics hailing the band for incorporated a retro-80s feel to its music. The hardcore has been toned down on each subsequent release.

"The Curse" is what made Atreyu a hit, which is what makes "A Death Grip on Yesterday" such an interesting album. Now that the band finally has a set sound, it feels free to explore the parameters and experiment to some degree. Such undertaking could be successful or an utter failure. This new release falls into both columns.

Atreyu has found a comfortable sound and it shows. Tracks life "Ex's and Oh's" and "We Stand Up" explode out of the gate. The album is full of the hardcore growls and soaring sung vocals. There's plenty of driving guitar riffs and frantic drumming. In short, there's plenty for fans to love. And there even a few surprises, most notably the pseudo-ballad "The Theft," a slow-tempo, melodic rocker that will catch most fans completely off guard (the surprise is it's probably the best song on the album).

That said, there's far less hooks when the album kicks off. The one-two punch on "The Curse" of "Bleeding Mascara" and "Wrong Side of the Bed" set a pretty high president, and sadly there's nothing quite like these two tracks on "Death Grip..." (in the hook dept.). The album does pick up after "Our Sick Story," but at 33 minutes in length, there's little time to mess around. There are also times where the album starts to almost sound like Atreyu is treading water trying to figure out exactly which direction it wants to go in. The logical progression for the band would be the same one that Avenged Sevenfold took (eliminating the hardcore vocals altogether), though I hope it's more like the From Autumn to Ashes route (keeping the hardcore stuff in there to a limited degree). There's some creative stuff on this release, but it's not the explosion "the Curse" seemed to promise.

Atreyu is one of the better bands on the metal circuit at the moment. The group is an exciting, young band full of potential, and it's fun to see the band and its sound grow and develop. "A Death Grip on Yesterday" isn't the worst album of the year, it fact, it'll probably end up being one of the best. If "The Curse" wasn't so good, it'd would be easier to give this album a higher grade, but it's clear Atreyu is capable of much more. Rate this as a slighter-higher than average release from an above-average band. Go grab a copy, you won't be sorry, you just won't be blown away.