Suicidal Angels – Sanctify the Darkness (Nuclear Blast Records)
Part of the initial charm of early Sepultura was how little English Max Cavalera could speak, thus causing his enunciation to be forced and for the lack of a better term, awkward. It feels...
Mnemic – Sons of the System (Nuclear Blast Records)
If you’re Mnemic and have all but tapped out the Euro industrial/cyborg style they’re often considered creators of, Sons of the System is the logical route. Whereas 2007’s Passenger toyed with big pop hooks, Sons of the System embraces them,...
The Kandidate – Until We Are Outnumbered (Napalm Records)
Fronted by ex-Hatesphere throatscraper Jakob Bredhal, one had to figure there was a certain degree of competency to The Kandidate’s Until We Are Outnumbered and there is, yes. But it’s not the jaw-dropping thrash pryo (i.e....
Orphaned Land – The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR (Century Media Records)
Following up the triumph that was 2004’s Mabool, Israel’s Orphaned Land have taken their good ‘ole time in releasing The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR. Granted, there must be about a thousand obstacles for a band...
Worm Ouroboros – Worm Ouroboros (Profound Lore)
Another left-of-center offering from Profound Lore, San Francisco’s Worm Ouroboros unveil a brand of soothing spa-treatment metal that is simply awe-inspiring. As soft and tender as this debut is, it’s also capable of striking...
Fear Factory – Mechanize (Candlelight Records)
It’s hard to believe Mechanize is going to see the light of day considering the ridiculous legal wrangling over the Fear Factory name that has taken place the last 10 months. All of this is irrelevant...
Marionette – Enemies (Listenable Records)
Once past the Gothenburg melodic death metal explosion of the late 90’s/early 00’s, the scene has failed to produce a newcomer worthy of its predecessors. The vaunted melo-death style is now so bastardized that...
Sybreed – The Pulse of Awakening (Listenable Records)
There’s little separating Sybreed from the Mnemics and Threat Signals out of the world. When you break it down, all three bands have the same thing in common: they have nauseatingly annoying clean singers. Whether it’s...
Impetuous Ritual – Relentless Execution Of Ceremonial Excrescence (Profound Lore)
How about this: “Like Portal, but not as awesome.” Or: “Portal’s long lost cousins, but not as awesome.” That might work.
It’s a tall order to touch Portal’s sheer awesomeness and their utterly warped and fucked-up Swarth album from...
Ihsahn – After (Candlelight Records)
Wasting little time after 2008’s immensely successful angL, former Emperor maniman Ihsahn returns with After. Continuing with the melodic, highly progressive model set forth on its predecessor, After sees Ihsahn add new layers of shape-shifting, out-of-the-box features... namely...