REVIEWS BY MIKE SOS & MORGAN Y. EVANS
BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE
DICHOTOMY
SOLID STATE
Christian metal troupe Becoming the Archetype and producer Devin Townsend have made a monstrous modern metal album called Dichotomy. This 10-track affair packs gargantuan riffage, pummeling bass lines, grandiose keyboards, and gruff vocals into every track, but isn't afraid to wield an acoustic for some sweet classic metal interludes ("St. Anne's Lullaby", "How Great Thou Art") or go Pink Floyd with a female singer/piano combo ("Deep Heaven"). Teetering between the progressive and melodeath end of the spectrum, fans of In Flames and Strapping Young Lad will definitely want to get their hands on this one. ----Mike SOS
BIBLE OF THE DEVIL
FREEDOM METAL
CRUZ DEL SUR
Hey man, is that Freedom Metal, man? Well, turn it up, man! Yeah, that's the vibe the latest eight-track affair which Chicago's defenders of the faith, Bible of the Devil emits, right down to the gruff yet glittery Paul Stanley meets Paul D'ianno vocal caterwaul of Matt Hoffman . Tracks like "Womanize" maintain a classic metal feel by keeping the genre's traditional sounds and structures intact with unfettered authenticity while the terrifically-reworked twin guitar mayhem and galloping rhythms featured throughout reek with familiarity yet rock so hard you don't care that you've heard it all before from a Priest or Scorpions album from the mid '70s. Not shy in paying homage to their influences in the most respectful of ways, this album is a slamming affair that will have any classic metalhead and gray beard worth their salt scrambling through their closet for the old school denim jacket with the Maiden patch on the back. And so what if "Ol' Girl" apes Thin Lizzy down to the tee, the band does an admirable job of dramatizing what a modern-day Lynott may come up with, so relax a bit, chug a brew and sit tight and enjoy this time machine joyride Bible of the Devil have stepped up and supplied. ----Mike SOS
BIONIC
BLACK BLOOD
SIGNED BY FORCE
Canadian rock outfit Bionic deliver a galactic group of good times rock tonnage on their bombastic 10-track attack Black Blood. Bad to the bone rhythms ("Learn to Love the Government") and fuzzed-out jams ("Theme for a Young Lion") collide with a marching band ("Freedom Now, Baby") for the supercharged cruise through the desert in a muscle car vibe. Honkytonk piano, rowdy horns and badass guitar bends are tatooed all over this disc, subtlety exposing hard rock's gritty underbelly without a hint of restraint ("Econo Tusk", "Soft as Magarine"). Dripping with attitude reinforced with a smattering of soulful rock 'n roll, this disc melds the freewheeling natures of Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu and Clutch together for a raucous ride rocks fans will clamor for. ----Mike SOS
BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY
BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY
SELF-RELEASED
myspace.com/byanymeansnecessary
Texas metal quartet By Any Means Necessary lay down a furious thrash meets modern metal clobbering on their three-track eponymous endeavor. Imagine Chimaira going toe to toe with Exodus ("Discord of War") for an idea of what kind of beatdown to be prepare for. Throw in some some tasty Pantera-esque guitar runs and a powerful rhythm section's exuding brute force and allow the headbanging to begin. This disc delivers sharpened blows of metallic might with flashes of Bay Area glory and a nasty attitude hammering it home. ----Mike SOS
CAPRICORNS
RIVER, BEAR YOUR BONES
RISE ABOVE
UK instrumental metal menaces Capricorns inject an undercurrent of visceral volatility into their latest sludgy sojourn River, Bear Your Bones. Setting off a dastardly stoner rock feel that trades genre-typical flashes of excess for barrages of skull pounding passages that could easily be mistaken for pit stomping hardcore if not for the spacy interludes in between , this eight-track affair contorts without compromise, showcasing its metallic malleability with every doom-laden riff ("5") and dramatic shapeshifted rhythm hammered out ("1", "3"). Boasting former members of Iron Monkey and Orange Goblin in its ranks explains and bolsters the sheer heaviness this squad exudes while intertwining the wares of usual suspects such as Pelican, Isis, Neurosis, Baroness, and Mastodon, an arduous task that Capricorns takes on with a triumphant arsenal of prolific yet pounding avant-garde atmospheric metal chops. ----Mike SOS
CHIMAIRA
THE INFECTION
FERRET RECORDS
The fifth and hotly anticipated stomper from Cleveland's wrecking ball Chimaira finds the band at the top of their game. Easily their best moment on disc to date, the record is just plain unforgiving. Less 'metal-core' than it's predecessor, at least in the Unearth school of things (though Chimaira was doing that first), The Infection is more of a hybrid of Pantera and Godflesh blended up in Chimaira's face ripping friction machine. Mark Hunter improvised his vocals often in the studio and instead of sounding hodge-podge, it really grabs you emotionally. "Impending Doom" is the most undeniable monster of a metal anthem I have yet to hear this year, and "Frozen In Time" trudges with an implacable forward momentum just upside of down-tempo. Chimaira also don't disappoint on first single "Secrets Of The Dead", which starts with atmospheric keys and ends in pure mayhem, 100% American metal style. There's also a very lengthy and cool instrumental at disc end to send your mind places. The band excel this time out more than ever at timing and just destroying it by maximizing tempo control for impact. I've had this for a few days and already fucking killed a speaker in my car stereo, and not because it was mixed badly! My fave track has to be "The Dissappearing Sun", however, where tight grooves and despair merge with a feeling of pride even in the face of onslaught. "This might be the last time you ever see me, but you can trust that I did my best", growls Hunter. Hopefully this won't be the last time we see these guys (and you'll have plenty of chances to catch them on the road this year), but somehow they even topped "Worthless" from their last record, which means they are definitely doing their best. ---- Morgan Y. Evans
DIMENSION ZERO
HE WHO SHALL NOT BLEED
CANDLELIGHT
Boasting an impressive pedigree (featuring members of Soilwork and In Flames) and a penchant for punishment, Swedish melodic death metal troupe Dimension Zero return with its fourth installment of brutality with He Who Shall Not Bleed. This 11-track effort merges blistering thrash with diabolical death 'n roll, relying heavily on a ferocious flurry of relentless riffs, pummeling rhythms, and vicious vocals on tracks like "Going Deep" and the furious title track while tracks like "Red Dead Heat" and the slightly more melodic "Hell Is Within" hammer the group's metallic points into your skull with boisterous blunt force. Despite its noticeable lack of tempo variation, the continuously frantic pace set here plays up Dimension Zero's strengths, allowing the listener to throw caution to the wind and headbang to heart's content with reckless abandon. ----Mike SOS
GOJIRA
THE WAY OF ALL FLESH
PROSTHETIC
The latest album from Gojira solidifies this French quartet's place amongst
metal's elite, as this avant-garde unit's extraordinary juxtaposition of crushing
and progressive elements is stretched past the point of reproach on the 12-track
The Way Of All Flesh. Fueled by an ecological mindset which sets the
lyrical tone of take care of Mother Earth or else, this squad doles out a harbinging
mix of epic death metal complete with dizzying time signature switches and waves
of doom metal monotony ("The Art of Dying") and industrial strength
grooves that simply brutalize ("Toxic Garbage Island", "Yama's
Messengers"), while challenging your ears with superlative blasts of sonic
excess ("Vacuity"). Providing a bevy of dazzling dynamic shifts and
a haunting black metal intensity throughout ("Wolf Down the Earth"),
Gojira has created a unique strand of metal music that gets better after every
listen.
----Mike SOS
GUILLOTINE
BLOOD MONEY
PULVERIZED
Sweden's Guillotine slay the world with their authentic brand of hostile thrash metal on the reunited unit's latest 12-track affair Blood Money. Melding blistering speed, groovy riffs, and disciplined rhythms, there's a whole lot of Kreator and Exodus in these guy's bag of tricks as tracks like "Insane Oppression" and "War" denote, yet there's also a Sacred Reich-esque vibe permeating from cuts like "Die/Live?" and some sweet apocalyptic lyrical content in "Our Darkest Day". And of course, being from Sweden, how can you play thrash and not borrow a bit from The Haunted ("Welcome to Dying")? A rousing slab of headbanging and tasty riffs abound, Guillotine bind a strong cross-section of elements that make great thrash metal together, developing a stirring offering for those who enjoy an insatiable need for speed wrought in wrath. ----Mike SOS
IRONWEED
INDIAN LADDER
SMALL STONE
Albany, NY quintet Ironweed take matters into their own hands on debut disc
Indian Ladder. Boasting ex-members of Greatdayforup, this band displays
sludgy stoner metal chops on cuts like "Thorn" and "Rid The Earth"
yet make a fair share of intriguing detours within the metal spectrum on tracks
like "Lifeless Coil" and "Penny for Your Prayers" to keep
your smoked skull active. Brimming over with dirty grooves, thick riffs, and
a solid vocal performance that cohesively ties it all together, Ironweed nicely
fills the gap left by Alabama Thunderpussy while throwing in choice chunks of
metallic goodness a la Down for that kick in the ass listening experience you've
been craving.
----Mike SOS
LECHEROUS NOCTURNE
THE AGE OF MIRACLES HAS PASSED
UNIQUE LEADER
South Carolina quintet Lecherous Nocturne bust out from the gates of the netherworld with a devastating eight-track excursion in tow titled The Age Of Miracles Has Passed. This blistering and brutal unit (featuring members of Nile and Monstrosity) rip and tear with a dastardly death meet black metal amalgamation on cuts like the pulverizing "We Are As Dust" and the exasperating slow crawl of the title track. Providing a compact (this disc only runs 28 minutes long) yet complete aural bludgeoning, this release brims over with an uncompromising array of surprisingly memorable moments bordering on catchy ("Requiem for the Insects") in between its chaotic abrasiveness, swiftly catapulting this act to the top of the extreme metal fold. ----Mike SOS
LEPROUS
TALL POPPY SYNDROME
SENSORY RECORDS/LASER'S EDGE
I was expecting this interesting record to be black metal, what with these Norwegians serving as Ihsahn from Emperor's backup band for his upcoming solo shows and Leprous' Einar Solberg playing with Emperor the last few years. While there is a lot of screaming on this album and dark themes, it is much more prog than anything else. Loss and defeat are themes but there is a feeling of the group's striving. It is alienation versus dark exultation, searing metal and a weird technical playfulness. "Passing" has ominous dirge elements but gives way to a 70's proggy creep and crawl with odd cadences and a definite brainy feel, if your brain was hell-bent on a darker sort of fusion, that is. The record is full of accents and shifting riffs that will grab attention, with layered soloing and freakish or haunting keys and sound effect elements. Some parts vocally almost sound like Queen, very bombastic and over the top. At times some of the stuff Leprous does vocally comes off as kind of weird, but in a cool way like Nevermore where you come away from it admiring the band for daring to be themselves. The variety of textured screams and shouts on this record is pretty impressive. Tall Poppy Syndrome has absolutely brilliant passages throughout that will probably appeal to fans of everything from Rush and Porcupine Tree to heavier bands. As awesome as the guitars get, this band also has a secret weapon in bassist Halvor Strand. Listen closely to his playing and how it fluidly bleeds in and around the other members while supporting the overall songs. Even when the band members intentionally overplay, they make it work rather than become tiring. The title track is almost all instrumental albeit with some Kings X worthy near-Beatles background vocals before a very cool spoken word laments that throughout history we've all been suckered into filing down our unique qualities. Leprous are very promising in their quest to follow their art and are definitely worth letting take over your head-space for awhile. ----Morgan Y. Evans
NASHVILLE PUSSY
FROM HELL TO TEXAS
SPV
Sticking to the cowpunk attitude meets raw rock'n'roll formula they've been championing for over a decade, Nashville Pussy returns with another batch of road ready boogie friendly whiskey-soaked hellbound tunes on the 12-track From Hell To Texas. Never ones to shy from subtleties, songs like the fiery "I'm So High" and "Drunk Driving Man" are self-explanatory accounts direct from the hard living rock lifestyle, while tracks like "Pray for the Devil" showcase Ruyter Suys' formidable Gibbons meets Perry guitar chops and "Why Why Why" and "Late Great USA" display this tandem's ability to pump out contagious hand-clapped and cowbell friendly hooks that get the whole crowd moving. Bursting at the seams with songs about drugs, drinking, drinking, and drugs, Nashville Pussy continues its chug on its raucous rock route, huffed up on whatever they can get their paws on, not afraid to share a taste of its non-stop country-fried rock attack. ----Mike SOS
NOISM
+-
CRUCIAL BLAST
Noism consists of guitar and drum machine unleashing sonic batterings of cybergrind at dangerous BPM's. Armed with a disturbingly cold and robotic rampage, this 12-track affair reaps 20+ minutes of aural menacing complete with electronically manipulated drum poundings incessantly jackhammering into your cerebrum while blistering guitars fade in and out of the barrage of percussive insanity. This album will drive you mad if you allow its chaotic cadence to envelope your ears long enough, as Noism's representation of mechanized madness is truly devoid of any sense of stability. ----Mike SOS
OMNIUM GATHERUM
THE REDSHIFT
CANDLELIGHT
Finnish sextet Omnium Gatherum, fresh off their last release Stuck Here
On Snake's Way, return with another 11-track endeavor entitled The
Redshift. This melodic death metal unit's latest batch of tunes demonstrates
this act's versatile composition skills, as this album branches out from the
usual melodeath malaise long enough to dabble in goth metal, progressive, and
doom for a more revealing glimpse at a band who,despite making headway, still
seem to be searching for their niche. While tracks like "Shadowkey"
sound a bit rote and par for the In Flames meets Dark Tranquility course, tracks
like the mid-tempo mauling brought on by "Shapes and Shades" give
off Machine Head-esque power, instrumental "Song for December" provides
a welcomes somber break in the action and "No Breaking Point" and
"Greeneyes" cleverly intertwine the wares of Moonspell and Katatonia
for an intriguing dip into the gloom and doom realm. Ominum Gatherum's well-versed
metal approach keeps listeners engrossed throughout yet a bit more fine-tuning
may sharpen this squad's output for the next time around.
----Mike SOS
PAPSMEAR
MUSIC TO KILL BY
METAL WAR
Just by perusing the booklet defunct Las Vegas thrash band Papsmear accompanies
their retrospective Music To Kill By with, you can tell these guys
were at the forefront of their scene, as homemade flyers touting shared bills
with the likes of COC, Pestilence, and Hirax can attest to. Armed with a feral
thrash metal attack that always appeared to be on the brink of falling apart,
this band who really never made it out of Vegas combines blistering speed, sneering
vocals, whammy bar antics, and lyrical discourse taken straight from the playbook
to comprise their style. This multi-faceted collection boasts live recordings,
demos, and a DVD of the good old days when beer was cheap, girls were easy,
and posers were soundly disposed of or at the very least according to the live
shows heard here, resoundly heckled and harassed from the lead singer's microphone.
Diehard thrash maniacs will need this, but there's way better stuff, both reissued
and current, out there to check out before you have to dig into this one.
----Mike SOS
PRO-PAIN
NO END IN SIGHT
REGAIN
Sixteen years on the job and still going strong chugging out memorable heavy tuneage, Pro-Pain follows up their recent string of solid offerings with No End In Sight. This 11-track endeavor finds Gary Meskil and crew pumping the usual meat and potatoes hardcore metal might with the blue collar work ethic that warrants this band's hard nosed reputation ("Halo", "Let The Blood Run Through the Streets"), yet there's some discernible switches happening throughout No End In Sight that really stand out given their tried and true formula. The increased implementation of melody, especially vocally (and clean-sung at that), is a pretty stark diversion for this veteran act, as it gives off a modern hardcore approach to cuts like "All Rise" and "Hour of the Time" while allowing this troupe to include another choice layer to its already menacing arsenal. Add in a sterling guest guitar spot by Cannibal Corpse's Rob Barrett ("Pheonix Rising") and bagpipes for a stomping pub rock feel ("Go It Alone") to the band's stalwart hardcore metal delivery for more hints of deviation to the steamroller sound championed since Pro-Pain's inception and you can mark this disc as yet another durable release from an always reliable unit with some unexpected aural surprises making perfect fits into their punishing paradigm. ----Mike SOS
RABID RABBIT
RABID RABBIT
INTERLOPER
Two bassists, minimal vocals, and swirls of dense psychedelic avant garde metal
arrive via Chicago's Rabid Rabbit on the crew's latest jaunt, an elitist-friendly
vinyl-only eponymous seven-track affair. Sounding like a cross between Sonic
Youth, Melvins, and Giant Squid, this foursome fearlessly hammers out a cavalcade
of over your head noise rock mired in sludge metal low-end rhythms ("First
Blood") and free-form jazz structure while the atmospheric fretwork allows
aerial acrobatics in tracks like "Ephederine" to shine. Thirsty ears
looking for a challenge will warm up to the earthy tones and unorthodox style,
but for those not seeking adventure, this may render a bit too sharp of a turn
to get into.
----Mike SOS
SCALE THE SUMMIT
CARVING DESERT CANYONS
PROSTHETIC
Scale the Summit's captivating alliance of guitar wizardry with adventurous musical compositions sounds like a cross between the forward-thinking The Fucking Champs and the cathartic charge of Pelican on their second effort Carving Desert Canyons. This invigorating unit's jostling eight-track excursion is an instrumental metal fan's dream come true, as this technically proficient quartet put on a veritable musician's clinic to disc ("Glacial Planet") while skillfully investing the listener emotionally without assistance from any vocals ("City in the Sky"). Rousing and rocking, Scale the Summit lack of stuffiness is what helps them excel so well in getting their point across, as this band doesn't just blow your face off with flurries of flawless runs and fills but writes heartfelt and hearty progressive rock jams bursting with the aforementioned for a multi-faceted assault not just restricted to the progressive sect. ----Mike SOS
SUGAR RED DRIVE
SUGAR RED DRIVE
SELF-RELEASED
Poughkeepsie, New York modern rock mavens Sugar Red Drive have fused a wealth of familiar sounds together assuring a readiness for rock radio dominance on the quartet's eponymous 11-track debut. Huge hooks, driving guitars, and a solid vocal performance bolster hard rockers like "Comin' Down" and tender moments like "Millers Child", instantly cramming these guys in between Three Days Grace, Theory of a Deadman, and Hinder in the battle to knock Nickelback off the top of the mountain. Providing a durable batch of tunes that are easy to hum along to ("Grace") or rock out to ("One More Time"), Sugar Red Drive display an uncanny acumen for making rock music aimed for hockey arenas and sports highlight reels. ----Mike SOS
THYRFING
HELS VITE
REGAIN
Swedish Viking metal veterans Thyrfing have undergone some lineup changes (most notably vocally) since their last offering in 2005, yet this quintet seems to have gained strength from the shakeup and have decisively become darker in the process. Hels Vite is the troupe's icy seven-track statement, a releases which comes complete with a proper balance of menacing guitars, gargantuan drums, tortured growls, and keyboard flourishes driving cuts like "Griftefrid" straight down into the depths of Hell, while "Isolation" works under a deliberate pace while emitting dramatic blackened vibes accentuated with acoustic guitar interludes and battleground horns that you'd expect from any corpsepainted crew a cut above the median. If you're a fan of bombastic black metal with an evil streak a mile wide, Hels Vite provides all the nuances necessary to get your demonic kicks. ----Mike SOS
WE INSIST!
OH! THINGS ARE SO CORRUPTIBLE
EXILE ON MAINSTREAM
Freewheeling French troupe We Insist! throw convention to the wind on their latest release Oh! Things Are So Corruptible, weaving a durable alternative metal safety net channeling Faith No More, Primus, Clutch and System of A Down while embedded impressions of quirky rock and a predominant level of jazz (propelled by a call and response between the patented twin saxophone presence) assert importance. This 12-track offering sweeps through speakers with determined density, at times displaying the frantic power of a renegade juggernaut on the lam ("Time is Lazy", "The Sailor") while demonstrating a love for the dark and cinematic ("Early Recollections", "Half Awake") . Capturing an unorthodox amalgamation of rhythmic swerves, psychedelic grooves and whiskey-soaked jangle , this oddball sextet's bottomless bag of intriguing musical textures amped with an intoxicating intensity bestow tracks like "Imperial Catechism" a hearty stomp and "The Great Disorder" an icy chill. This disc's herky-jerky nature and off the grid train of thought is not for everyone, but for those who crave more creativity in their rock music, this one delivers. ----Mike SOS
WETNURSE
INVISIBLE CITY
SEVENTH RULE
Malleable NYC metal unit Wetnurse whip up another furious flurry of forward thinking metal on the quintet's latest effort Invisible City. This extreme eight-track excursion eagerly runs up and down the aisles in the heavy metal supermarket, grabbing everything in sight, chucking it into a brooding battleship-like shopping cart for their diabolical devourment. Channeling the vocal gymnastics of Candiria, the efficient instrumental elegance of Baroness, the dynamic dissonance of Dillinger Escape Plan, and the disenchanted discourse of Today is the Day, this squad squarely bridges the gap between modern metal waters on cuts like the mesmerizing "Conversations With the Moon" and the demonically-charged "Show Your Spell Miss Hell". Best absorbed via uninterrupted listen, Wetnurse's sweeping stylistic shifts seamlessly meld into each other to form an elaborate tapestry of crushing avant garde metal whose vivacious musicianship raises the bar on what the amalgamation of adventurous and battering should sound like. ----Mike SOS
XYSTUS
EQUILIBRIO
SENSORY
Dutch metal project Xystus surpasses typical rock opera expectations on the troupe's latest grandiose expose entitled Equilibrio. This brazen theatrical affair boasts a cast and crew over 130 members strong, including a massive choir reserved for religious celebrations and a show-stealing full scale orchestra to properly carry mainman's Bas Dolmans' epic vision to life. Highlighted by the immense vocal talents of Simone Simons (Epica) and George Oosthock (Orphan) as major characters, this sweepingly majestic presentation's ace in the hole can be found via the symphonic might and bold pomp the orchestra doles out, cutting through the competent power metal backdrop at just the right times to stir up drama, create tension, and enrich the entire production with its captivating sparkle and shine. This is one not to miss if you enjoy progressive metal at its most bombastic as well as a piece of work which screams to be experienced with all accoutrements intact. ----Mike SOS