Mike SOS has another bunch of reviews for your reading pleasure.


FUCK THE FACTS
STIGMATA HIGH-FIVE
RELAPSE
Ridiculously punishing, Fuck the Facts play the kind of death metal infested grind that goes from zero to 100 in less than a second and maintains that maddening pace throughout. On this seven-track offering, this Canadian outfit toy with stop-start rhythm patterns, melodic solos, and a slew of non-metal noises like wind chimes within its heavy as Satan’s ball sack delivery of tracks like “The Wrecking”, all in the sake of detonating the largest bomb to produce the most explosive burst of devastation. And for the most part, this female-fronted act succeeds in ripping your ears to shreds and rendering your remaining senses useless for all except slaving to their form of menacing grind. If Arch Enemy, Napalm Death, and Candiria had a kid, not only would it be a complete terror on society, but it’d be named Fuck the Facts. www.relapse.com -Mike SOS

NEGATIVE REACTION
UNDER THE ANCIENT PENALTY
THIS DARK REIGN
NYC sludge supremacists Negative Reaction recreate the musical accompaniment of what it feels like to live in a dank NYC subway tunnel on the eight-track UNDER THE ANCIENT PENALTY. No strangers to the crusty side of hardcore or the brooding side of metal, this outfit are decked out with song titles like “Loathing”, “Pain”, and “Alone”, and for the most part, these emotions are emulated perfectly, right down to the hypnotizing rhythms and gargle with broken glass singing on tracks like “Sorrow”. Highly depressive and downright doom-laden, yet never boring, Negative Reaction keeps the atmosphere somewhere between a car crash and a wake across the span of this endeavor, truly capturing the feelings of utter despair like a blend of Crowbar and Sheer Terror. Leave your attention span at the door and tracks like “Suffer” to be your harbinger of all things doom. www.thisdarkreign.com -Mike SOS

THE DISTANCE
THE RISE, THE FALL, & EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
ABACUS
Connecticut-based “hardcore” outfit The Distance is fronted by erstwhile singer from Voice of Reason, so why the hell does this CD sound like a New Found Glory release? One word: heartbreak. Reassessing his priorities while recovering from a difficult breakup, Reason and The Distance went from passionate hardcore troupe to run of the mill, my girlfriend dumped me punkcore drivel. Shame really, as Reason’s voice still has some resonance, but the haircuts, pink CD layout, and hot girl on the cover of the disc won’t appeal to anyone over 18 with any attachment to hardcore at all. But, if you dig mall punkcore with a trail of broken hearts behind it, this offering is right up your alley. www.abacusrecordings.com -Mike SOS

BURY YOUR DEAD
BEAUTY AND THE BREAKDOWN
VICTORY
Hardcore by way of nu-metal, the much maligned Massachusetts crew Bury Your Dead continues to gain momentum, as spots on the Family Values trek and their new 11-track disc BEAUTY AND THE BREAKDOWN suggest. This time around, it’s all about the nursery rhymes, not Tom Cruise flicks as the song titles attached to these electronica-induced chugga-chugga industrially heavy cacophonies, as tracks like “House of Straw”, “Mirror, Mirror”, and “House of Brick” actually mimic the aggro assault and technical prowess of Korn, if the freaks on a leash decided to garnish more street cred and hardcore it up, that is. The band has declared itself numerous times as a fun unit that would rather be goofy that gritty, and their slick replication of Fear Factory’s battering coupled with the aesthetic to wreak havoc like the decadent the hair metal era has captured the attention span of the new crop of kids. Perhaps the kids are on to something? Or is it because this disc is one gigantic 34-minute breakdown broken down into 11 songs? You decide. www.victoryrecords.com -Mike SOS

TWIN METHOD
THE VOLUME OF SELF
CRASH
Putting a British spin on modern metal, the Logan Mader of Machine Head produced effort by the sextet Twin Method exhibits all of the nuances of Sevendust, Taproot, Linkin Park, and Lostprophets. Unveiling a keyboard driven downtuned assault packed with vocal melodies galore on tracks like the made for radio “Flawless”, these lads also tend to drone into the faceless techno metal slots a bit too often on tracks like “Pedegree”, diverting the strong points to expose a way done too much style that is five years behind the times. Despite the unoriginality, Twin Method’s screams are impressive, their riffs are tight, and they’ve nailed the sound of 2001 metal perfectly. www.crashmusicinc.com -Mike SOS

ROJO DIABLO
DEVIL RED
SELF-RELEASED
Wisconsin-based Rojo Diablo’s DEVIL RED has a real fertile underground rock vibe creeping inside the 13-track collection. While much of the disc plods along with a burdensome (hopefully intended) doominess like a less-metallic Godsmack, when the band decides to kick up some dust and rock out, songs like “The Hard One” and “Jerrado” never quite hit the peaks that they should. Maybe the band needs some more time to mature, as their chops are pretty solid, displaying a Motorhead meets Badlands aura, and the vocals, while far from outstanding, provide the proper snarl necessary for this style. However, there’s a tightness missing from this mix that could truly elevate this outfit to the next level Rojo Diablo pulls off the basic stoner rock done with a lot of heart but ultimately falls a bit short. www.rojodiablo.com -Mike SOS

BIRDS OF PREY
WEIGHT OF THE WOUND
RELAPSE
Birds of Prey definitely get the award for stupidest song titles, as “Mangled by Mongoloids” and “Buttfucked with a Shotgun Barrel” are top contenders for the most crass and vile song names this side of grindcore. Thankfully, this outfit, which contains members of Alabama Thunderpussy, Municipal Waste, Burnt By the Sun, and Beaten Back to Pure, redeems itself and its buffoonery by writing some ballbusting, intense, self-professed “death and roll” that goes horribly right. Actually, they do a fine job of combining metalcore, southern rock, old school crossover punk, and stoner metal into a 10-track equivalent of sight gags and Benny Hill-esque humor done to an extreme metal beat. And despite being downright offensive on songs like “Murder of an Off Duty Cop”, the sludgy goodness of those riffs almost makes you forget how mind-numbingly moronic Birds of Prey are. Let’s hope these guys morph from joke band to monster side project, as they have the pedigree and musical talent to rival the likes of Down if they only allow the brains to at least come one-third closer to their impressive musical brawn. www.relapse.com -Mike SOS

LES AUS
HARANNA HANNE
OZONO KIDS
Hailing from Spain, the collective known as Les Aus throws some world beat into its hipster swirl, as sitars and guitars collide on tracks like “La Obaga Porta a Soril”. This punk-influenced unit turns in a rather colorful affair, complete with Moroccan folk musical backdrops adorning the spacey art rock of “El Guardia” and the acoustic hand clapping jamboree of “Fent Drecera”. Definitely falling into the something different category, HARANNA HANNE is a musical equivalent of a melting pot, incorporating many unique sounds into its sonic arsenal for people that enjoy left of center music to dig into. www.ozonokids.com -Mike SOS

KEITH CAPUTO
HEARTS BLOOD ON YOUR DAWN
KILL THE ARTIST
Life of Agony frontman Keith Caputo tones it down once again for another pensive, poignant solo offering with the 13-track HEARTS BLOOD ON YOUR DAWN. Deliberately more invasive and as intrinsically abrasive as a thunderous LOA riff, Caputo’s prolific musical hues are way more subdued than his other projects, yet still carry the imminent delivery that makes him one of the more engaging singers on the rock landscape. Songs like the floating “Livin’ the Blues” could pop up on Adult Alternative radio with its keyboard tinklings, while “Kill With God” meshes a busy bass line with tribal percussive crashings, coming closest to the LOA vibe musically. Lyrically, Caputo is at the top of his game, baring his soul with vivid imagery and clever wordplay on tracks like “I Wanna Fly” and “Monkey”. While not as overtly heavy as some fans may expect, the weight of Caputo’s words on tracks like “Lamb to the Slaughter”, coupled with the backing band’s spot-on heartfelt interpretations of cuts like “Mother”, allows HEARTS BLOOD ON YOUR DAWN to rival the heart string tuggings of other lead singers of band’s solo efforts like Mark Lanegan or Jonah Mantranga. www.keithcaputo.com -Mike SOS

WAR OF AGES
PRIDE OF THE WICKED
FACEDOWN
Erie, PA quintet War of Ages concocts an East Coast hardcore meets West Coast fashioncore sound on the 10-track PRIDE OF THE WICKED. Trading off metal guitar runs and barking hardcore yells, cuts like the title track and the late ‘80s thrash meets metalcore structuring of “Aftermath” should illicit quite a few pile-ons and other violent expenditures of energy. Killswitch meets Atreyu is what War of Ages conquer, with shades of VFW beatdown hardcore thrown in to keep it rooted in the real. www.facedownrecords.com -Mike SOS

GEISHA GIRKS
GEISHA GIRLS
NUMBER 3
Angular punk rock trio Geisha Girls sound like a weird mix of Devo, Flipper, and X, as their artsy approach on songs like “Traced Lines” blurs a lot of old school edges. This Orange County residing outfit are darker and slightly more dissonant than most, giving songs like “This is Novelty” and “Retaining Water” a retro sting that may urge you to stick that safety pin somewhere visible after all. This 10-track affair exudes the kind of robotic grooves that The Cars and Yeah Yeah Yeahs employ with touches of U.K. street punk sensibility, single-handedly bringing abrasive riffs like “Skinny Wrists” back from the archives. www.number3records.com -Mike SOS

MURDERED
…AND THE MAGGOTS SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH
TRIBUNAL
Providing a hybrid of seething metalcore that borrows from Darkest Hour as much as it does As I Lay Dying at their heaviest, Atlanta mob Murdered also implement elements of chugging hardcore, thrashy guitars, and a high pitched wail that could cite Swedish metal as a foundation point on songs like “The Shadow Rises” and “The Darkness Unveiled”. Rolling out the heavy artillery in the form of thunderous drums and turret-gun guitars, this band unequivocally displays that the dirty south isn’t all about krunk and bling after all. www.tribunalrecords.com -Mike SOS

TERRORIZER
DARKER DAYS AHEAD
CENTURY MEDIA
Unfortunately, this review is a posthumous one, as founding guitarist Jesse Pintado (Napalm Death, Terrorizer) passed away in early September, yet his legacy as a forefather of the grindcore scene lives thanks to his last studio recording, the 12-track DARKER DAYS AHEAD. Releasing a new album after a 17-year hiatus, the band is back (sort of, with two new to the fold) and crushing all in its path, taking a discernible death metal turn this time around on slabs of sonic bliss like “Victim of Greed” and the massively monstrous “Crematorium”. While fans of the first album will probably be disappointed in the direction the band has taken, the bottom line is that Terrorizer still had the chops to bludgeon all in its path. RIP Jesse. www.centurymedia.com -Mike SOS

DRAGONFORCE
INHUMAN RAMPAGE
ROADRUNNER
Ridiculous in concept and demonstrating flashes of unreal metallic shred execution, Dragonforce's overamplified, warp-speed version of Euro power metal is chased down and caught long enough on the eight-track INHUMAN RAMPAGE to showcase this UK sensation's blazing chops and deliberate over the top style. And while this band hurdles guitar and keyboard solos at the listener at a blistering pace, there's enough melody in between instrument clinics posing as songs such as "Storming the Burning Fields" and "Through the Fire and Flames" to illicit horned hand salutes across the globe. Just be warned, this one is cheesy, but in a high grade, spread it on your cracker kind of way. www.roadrunnerrecords.com -Mike SOS

GOJIRA
FROM MARS TO SIRIUS
LISTENABLE
The bruising French outfit known as Gojira (named by a derivation from Godzilla), play a brand of technically proficient death metal whose crushing smorgasbord of sound encompasses everything from blistering death metal to ambient industrial to suffocating doom metal. 12 tracks that run over an hour long may make some listeners wary, however this quartet keep the intensity consistently flowing and the changes jaw-dropping and staggeringly brilliant until the last note of “Global Warming”. To top it all off, this band take on heady issues like environmental misuse to their credit, truly meshing heavy topics with extreme music. If you ever wished an amalgamation of Fear Factory, Morbid Angel, Death, Sepultura, and Meshuggah was to be created, FROM MARS TO SIRIUS is the closest thing that makes that fantasy a reality. www.gojira-music.com -Mike SOS

STARKWEATHER
CROATOAN
CANDLELIGHT
The seminal metal group Starkweather’s comeback CROATAN is an eight-track release that transcends the typical metalcore moniker placed on the band by integrating doom, death, prog, and sludge metal into its caustic concoction. This Philadelphia-based creature has been summoned out of an over a decade long slumber, and by the sounds of tracks like the lumbering “Slither” and the hauntingly colossal “Machine Rhythm Confessional”, Starkweather’s has awakened angry and lusting for blood. Thankfully, this underground metal sensation blows the dust off with relative ease, letting loose a juggernaut of an album whose massive depth and unquestionably menacing aura found on tracks like “Vespertilian” makes for an unsettlingly mystifying listening experience that fans of everything from Mastodon to Zao should absolutely make time for. www.candlelightrecordsusa.com -Mike SOS

THE BRONX
THE BRONX
ISLAND
Los Angeles quartet The Bronx have ascended from the underground, making a gritty, uncompromisingly raw punk album on a major label in the process. How the hell did they pull it off? By being real, not bucking to trends, and writing great songs, that's how. Tracks like "Around the Horn", "White Guilt" and "Dirty Leaves" are short, catchy, and above all, honest tunes that radiate the old school punk aesthetic without the frills and bullshit you can buy at the mall. If you dig dangerous rock 'n roll a la QOTSA meets AC/DC at a Stooges gig, then this one is a surefire winner. www.islandrecords.com -Mike SOS

MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT
THE TIES THAT BIND
TRANSLATION LOSS
With the shortest track on THE TIES THAT BIND clocking in at a sprawling 7:03, it's a safe assumption that Mouth of the Architect wants you undivided attention throughout the duration of this six-track offering. And this outfit richly deserves it. With skillful building techniques in place and an undercurrent of evil within its atmospheric layers of hypnotic groove, you won't even care that the vocals on "Carry On" start eight minutes in, because by that time, you're already engulfed and fully engaged. Yes, Isis and Neurosis fans, there's another band vying for the crown. www.translationloss.com -Mike SOS

THE MOTION
ATTACK
NOMAD
The Motion are an innocuous meat and potatoes melodic punk band with a little more harshness than Yellowcard but not quite as tough as Anti-Flag. Spirited, sloppy, and savvy songwriting found on tracks like "We've Got the Game on Lockdown" nails the vibe of a featured song from a teenage movie soundtrack, while "Red Wagon vs. Blue Blazer" displays some serious bite. But, The Motion needs to continue moving forward, as they need some more seasoning before they can take a gander at the pop-punk big leagues. www.nomadrecs.com -Mike SOS

SICK ON THE BUS
GO TO HELL
SOS
Sick on the Bus is a real deal punk rock band that's old, ugly, British, and angry. Do you really need anything else? "Get yourself a credit card and buy yourself a life", singer Biff declares on "You're Fucked Again", as this Motorhead meets Discharge stomper is just one of the anthems you'll be out drunk and raging to on this 12-track cannonball blast of an album. www.sosrecords.us -Mike SOS

VARIOUS ARTISTS
GO-KART VS. THE CORPORATE GIANT 4
GO-KART
Go-Kart Records' fourth installment of their compilation series unleashes a smattering of some of the best the label has to offer, from the globally-conscience driven punk of Rifu to the ska-punk flavor of World Inferno Friendship Society to the atmospheric metal of Ira And, it's a steal, boasting 22 tracks at the amazing low price of $3.98. Surely if you're reading this reviews, there's bound to be something on this disc for you, so cough up the $4, keep the change, and rock out already you cheapskate! www.gokartrecords.com -Mike SOS

THE OVERDOGS
PAWNSHOP MASTERPIECE
ZERO YOUTH
With bellies full of beer and heads ridden with angst, The Overdogs return with their fifth release laden with punk rock chords colliding with tactless lyrics that adorn songs like "Porn", "I Don't Give a Shit", and "Ugly People". Crass, rude, and snotty punk rock is served by this Missouri trio, who aren't breaking down barriers or doing anything particularly new, but seem like they're having a hell of a time being a drunk punk crew on tracks like "Conundrum" and "Bucket of Sweat". www.zeroyouthrecords.com -Mike SOS

NARZISS
SOLANG DAS HERZ SCHLAGT
ALVERAN
Narziss is a German metalcore quintet that sings in their native tongue throughout the course of the group's 11-track endeavor. Not that you're able to tell though, as this As I Lay Dying meets Heaven Shall Burn influenced outfit are bludgeoning, brutal, and guttural when need be on tracks like "Das Tier", almost making the lyrics a bit of an afterthought. Emblazoned with a nice array of tempo changes and metallic gallops nestled in songs like "Veloren", Narziss is just another example of why German metal is so revered for its perfunctory precision and outright heaviness. Anyone down to learn another language and bang your head? www.alveranrecords.com -Mike SOS

I GOT SHOT IN THE FACE
HOW AM I NOT MYSELF
COUNT IT
California sextet I Got Shot in the Face play a more cerebral version of Bury Your Dead style hardcore, throwing dollops of fun into its mix of caustic metal, riotous thrashings, and unorthodox switches on cuts like “Who Drowns a Lifeguard”. Manipulating technology as well as they can turn out a brutal breakdown a la Killwhitneydead, this Los Angeles-based collective squeals, chugs, and blisters its way into your head, extracting mammoth hunks of extreme musical entities and tying them together into clusters of chaos. If you like it unusual and vicious, these guys will not disappoint. www.countitrecords.com -Mike SOS

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE
THE LOCUST YEARS
CRUZ DEL SUR
Easily one of the most exhilarating bands to come down the pipe in a very long time, the San Francisco based quintet Hammers of Misfortune once again showcase why they are so rightfully critically acclaimed on THE LOCUST YEARS. This eight-track offering is a majestic metallic masterpiece from end to end, complete with sweeping melodies, lush atmospheric elements, and a hearty helping of progressive metal that ranges from hypnotic folksy-ness of “Election Day” to driving NWOBHM-influenced “Chastity Ride”. By throwing in some piano, female vocals, and other grandiose nuances, THE LOCUST YEARS truly embarks on a fantastic voyage that strays into a Pink Floyd-like domain without losing its teeth or turning soft on cuts like “Widow’s Wall”. Mighty, bold, operatic and hair-raising, this disc is truly one of the most comprehensive albums heard in quite some time and is surely worth your time if you pine for a truly epic metal experience. www.cruzdelsurmusic.com -Mike SOS

JUCIFER
IF THINE ENEMY HUNGER
RELAPSE
Heavy and dreamy rock music comes courtesy of Jucifer, a nomadic two-piece act that once called Athens, GA home. Now residing in a Winnebago and taking their doomy chanteuse sideshow act on the road in support of IF THINE ENEMY HUNGER, this dynamic duo round up the entire Am Rep back catalog and throw a alternative metal spin on it that sounds like Courtney Love fronting Sleep. Containing 15 tracks that run from bleak dirges like “Centralia”, unrelenting grrrl rock such as “Hennin Hardine”, angst-ridden simplicity in “Pontius of Palia”, and puffy clouded grunge like “The Plastic Museum”, there’s no way to categorize Jucifer except by stating the obvious. This unit is edgy, jadedly angelic, and above all, lays down a captivating listening experience to anyone that yearns for a collision of styles from everything from Mazzy Star to Queens of the Stone Age to Melvins. www.relapse.com -Mike SOS

VERISMO
CITY OF KINGS
SELF-RELEASED
Brooklyn metal trio Verismo’s latest 10-track offering reveals a band whose stoner rock vibes and thrash metal licks work in conjunction to righteously kick you in the ass. Fat grooves like the one found on “Field Report” are commonplace when shuffling through this CD, as this unit really cranks out the COC meets Life of Agony aura while implementing its unique spin on NYC metal of past acts such as Circus of Power, Blitzspeer, and Warrior Soul. Spanning the metal realm for influences that range from Clutch to Scorpions, Verismo ceremoniously unfurls heavy hooks and galloping guitar runs like a crossover band a la Leeway on tracks like “Enemy”, while the super-tight rhythm section’s uncanny knack for consistently driving it home keeps CITY OF KINGS sturdy on cuts like “The Lorax” and “Moment of Clarity”. A veritable potpourri of great songs and a great overall sound is what CITY OF KINGS offers, so if you’re looking for a band that can groove, thrash, and leave a melody humming in your head, look to Verismo. www.verismetal.com -Mike SOS

LOS NATAS
EL HOMBRE MONTANA
SMALL STONE
Stoner rock en espanol? Yup, courtesy of Argentina’s Los Natas, a trio whose latest 11-track Billy Anderson produced endeavor puts the pedal to the metal on cuts like the hammering groove on “Amanecer Blanco” without sacrificing the band’s typical spaciousness embedded in “Sigue, Sigue” and cranks out some hard-edged, smoke-friendly jams that sound like an amalgamation of Kyuss, Monster Magnet, and Nebula. In Spanish, of course. One listen of the sprawling seven-minute epic “El Ciervo” should hook you into this act’s hypnotically hazy hard rock, but even if you’re still not convinced, the band’s spacier elements found on “De las Cenizas, El hombre” should rope you in. Bring some good supply, an English-Spanish dictionary, and block out an hour to fully enjoy this one. www.smallstone.com -Mike SOS

IRON MAIDEN
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
SANCUTARY
Iconic metal gods Iron Maiden return with A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, the group’s 14th studio album. Maiden may be grizzled and getting on in years, but none of that showed up on this 10-track tour de force. Instead, the fans are treated to the tried and true formula of majestic guitars, epic songwriting, and Bruce Dickinson’s signature wail roaring with the regal metallic firepower this band single-handedly damn near invented. “These Colours Don’t Run” employs the trademark Maiden time signatures and choir vocal mid-section with grace and precision, while “The Pilgrim” sounds like something from the POWERSLAVE era with its galloping guitars and swashbuckling sway firmly in tow. These songs are long (the shortest tracks in at 4:17, the longest at 9:24) yet aren’t weighed down, thanks to capturing the raw sounds of a live Maiden performance by recording live in the studio as opposed to previous offerings, a nuance that assists the overall flow and keeps the intensity meter on full-tilt throughout. Dispersing a bit more complex feel, tracks like “The Longest Day” combine the unit’s pomp and circumstance with a way darker atmosphere, while “For the Greater Good of God” juxtaposes that same ominous aura with some of Maiden’s staple devices (booming bass, virtuoso guitar work, dynamic time shifts) taking precedence and stealing the show. See what happens when you throw eggs at Maiden, Sharon? You get another classic album in the form of A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH that satisfies old fans, stuns new fans, and clamors for many more years of “Up the Irons” chants globally. www.ironmaiden.com -Mike SOS

THEBLEEDINGALARM
BEAUTY IN DESTRUCTION
IMMORTAL
Screamo punk rockers thebleedingalarm (no capital letters, please) provide a safeguard between Silverstein, Vendetta Red, and The Used on their 11-track BEAUTY IN DESTRUCTION. This quintet which hails from Canada showcase its pristine chops that can sometimes be a bit rough around the edges a la Story of the Year on cuts like "Extinguish Ignite", yet overall this act seems a bit too sterile to truly make waves in a vast sea of similar sounding groups. www.immortalrecords.com -Mike SOS

IRONHEAD
LIVIN' LIKE WE WANNA DIE
DEAD CITY
New Jersey raucous rockers Ironhead do the Motorhead/ AC/DC two-step across their 13-track offering LIVIN' LIKE WE WANNA DIE. This power trio whip out the no-frills, broken beer bottle rock 'n roll with an equal amount of flare and fire, as tracks like "Crying Shame", "Out Drinkin' Again", and "She's So Evil" cross-pollinate '80s sleaze, '70s muscle, and the rock decadence that spans all the eras. www.deadcityrecords.com -Mike SOS

PLANET OF 9
ALIENATION
PLANET 9
Wisconsin's Planet of 9 replicates the sounds of '90s metal quite well across their 21-track ALIENATION. Combining elements of Taproot, NIN, Tool, Deftones, and Static-X, this quintet's genre-hopping style screams radio-friendly rock from the opening strains of "So Desperate". Manipulating technology as well as they beat some nu-metallic riffs into your head, tracks like "Theory of Things" and "Drown" offer some of the band's shining moments. Chances are if you dig your local rock radio station's playlist, there's something here courtesy of Planet of 9, who demonstrate the versatility to go from Staind to Linkin Park without skipping a beat or losing listeners. www.planetof9.com -Mike SOS

THEATRE OF TRAGEDY
STORM
CANDLELIGHT
Norway's Theatre of Tragedy play the kind of ethereal form of metal featuring male and female vocals a la Lacuna Coil on the veteran act's latest release STORM. Meshing a pop-rock sensibility into its gothic metal swirl, songs like "Silence" break out like Coldplay on steroids, while "Begin and End" rivals anything done by Katatonia in the past few rounds. Cohesive songwriting and strong dynamics shifts further propel STORM as an album for people that want a heavier Evanescence vibe, as this sextet seems poised to breakthrough the underground and to Hot Topic shelves everywhere. www.candlelightrecordsusa.com -Mike SOS

UNEXPECT
IN A FLESH AQUARIUM
THE END
Prepare for a sonically twisted experience courtesy of the crazy Canucks from Unexpect. Challenging, explosive, operatic, and dangerous (and that's just track one), this seven-piece collective pull off the unthinkable task of comprising a Broadway show on massive amounts of narcotics that is not only cohesive, but jawdroppingly amazing. Taking parts from Cradle of Filth, the circus, and System of a Down, setting on stun and letting the action unfold, IN A FLESH AQUARIUM is a dazzling, defiant, and befuddling tapestry of tunes that you need to hear again and again to both understand fully and believe that there is a band capable of creating this kind of aural insanity. To call them avant-garde is an insult, as this disc is something every high and mighty music fan needs to hear, as it not only breaks the rules, but redefines them as well. www.theendrecords.com -Mike SOS

BLACK FICTION
GHOST RIDE
HOWELLS TRANSMITTER
Unorthodox lo-fi jangle that sounds like a pool party at the The Mama's and The Papa's house with Dinosaur Jr. playing on the deck, San Francisco crew Black Fiction are big on building atmosphere judging by GHOST RIDE. This 11-track techno folk offering is loaded with hushed vocals, manufactured beats, and chill bass grooves, but also surprises with intriguing instrumentation like banjos and xylophones on tracks like "Carry Him Away". Digging deep to the roots of blues and folk and bringing its melody lines along for its hazy hayride to the unknown, this dreamy endeavor is as ambitious a listen you'll get from psychedelic folk rock unit. www.howellstransmitter.com -Mike SOS

ATOMIC NUMBER 76
2006 EP
SELF-RELEASED
Remember when bands used to jam out like their careers depended on it? Atomic Number 76 sure as hell does, and this rebellious NYC-based rock 'n roll trio go full throttle on their latest five-song sojourn. Sounding like Black Label Society rewound 25 years or an updated version of Cream with many more barroom brawls under their belts, tracks like "Panspermia" glisten with glam rock glitz and '70s arena rock-sized balls, while "Voice Activated" summons the ghost of Ozzy-era Sabbath's vocals with tasty guitar licks and a monolithically relentless rhythm section that pounds out the groove. Tune into Atomic Number 76's trippy hard rock and feel your foundations shake from the inside. www.atomicnumber76.com -Mike SOS

VOIVOD
KAOTRZ
THE END
Decimated by the tragic loss of founding guitarist Piggy, Voivod's latest offering comes with an immediate sadness. This loss to the metal world is immeasurable, as Piggy's technique and style is unique and has influenced and been lauded by metal's elite players from Metallica on down. Before his untimely demise, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, Piggy tracked parts (and apparently more for more albums to follow) and left them on his computer for the band to work with. The first result is the 10-track KATORZ, an album that finds slamming grooves and punk-y metallic nuances to be prevalent here, which are unusual traits to find on a Voivod release. Yet, the band's trademark unorthodox style and the proto-metal edginess somehow rears its head throughout the direct rock of "The Getaway" and "No Angels" long enough to brand it quintessential Voivod. And the rest of the band outdo themselves and pay homage to their comrade in grand style, as Jason Newsted, Away, and Snake stepped up to craft a masterful array of musical hues to Piggy's colorful fretwork, complete with piledriving grooves like "After All", fist-pumping dynamics found on "The X-Stream", and the archetypical Voivod treatment given to tracks like "Red My Mind". GATORZ is another shining moment to add to this group's undeniable legacy, truly giving Piggy the posthumous tribute he richly deserves. www.theendrecords.com -Mike SOS

CRISTALIX
CRISTALIX
SELF-RELEASED
Queens, NY's modern metal unit Cristalix unleashes six new tracks that sound straight off the Ozzfest second stage. Meshing All That Remains, Slipknot, and Linkin Park on cuts like "One Winged Angel", this sextet brings the crushing grooves and ambient atmospheres alike on "Inevitable" and displays its metalcore tenacity on "Porcelain Hearts Shatter". Solid and well-rounded, Cristalix straddles melodic and chaotic well enough for the guys to beat their chest while their chicks sing along to the chorus. If you like radio friendly metal with shards of aggression, check this act out. www.myspace.com/cristalix -Mike SOS

UNEARTH
III: IN THE EYES OF FIRE
METAL BLADE
Unearth lays down its angriest, darkest, and most imminent album to date with III: IN THE EYES OF FIRE. Produced by Terry Date (Pantera, Soundgarden, Deftones), the 11-tracks found on this blistering offering are equipped with neck-snapping thrash guitars, concrete-smashing rhythms, and vocals that burst from the speakers with unadulterated rage. And yes, there are breakdowns. Giant, volatile, and crushing ones on cuts like "This Glorious Nightmare" and "Impostors Kingdom" that can wreck small villages. And yes, there are Swedish metal licks galore, like the galloping "March of the Mutes" and the Testament-esque "Sanctity of Brothers", only two of the many to snack on for mavens of the riff. While some may contest the praise Unearth receives, the fact is that few bands have stayed as brutal while successfully retaining its foundation as this disc suggests, keeping this Massachusetts-based quintet consistently at the top of the underground's elite. Mosh-worthy and headbangingly thorough, Unearth have whipped up a ferocious and frenzied album that is unquestionably metal to the core. www.metalblade.com -Mike SOS

GORGOROTH
AD MAJOREM SATHANAS GLORIAM
CANDLELIGHT
Norwegian black metal messiahs Gorgoroth’s latest blistering endeavor contains all of the evil you could possibly summon within an eight-song offering, as the crushing AD MAJOREM SATHANAS GLORIAM unquestionably delves into the dark reaches of the soul. Notorious for their lawlessness as much as their musical prowess, this quartet’s hate-filled mantras and high profile criminal acts may have gotten all of the press as of late, but that should change after a listen of this demonic collection. Having been captured with all of their bile intact, the hellacious opener “Wound Open” sets the menacing tone for which AD MAJOREM SATHANAS GLORIAM succinctly runs through for the remaining 30 minutes of nihilistically charged blast-beat mania found on “Carving a Giant” and the riff-tastic yet foreboding “Prosperity and Beauty”. Perfect as a soundtrack for any Halloween gathering, Gorgoroth walk the walk, talk the talk, and deliver a standout black metal album that evokes fear in the hearts of the unknowing. www.candlelightrecordsusa.com -Mike SOS

LANDMINE MARATHON
WOUNDED
LEVEL PLANE
From the ominous and totally devastating opening riff of “25th Hour”, you can feel the Earth shake, and that’s most likely what Arizona’s Landmine Marathon intended. This quintet juxtapose early ‘90s extreme grind metal with traces of southwestern crust throughout this eight-track sojourn, occasionally turning up the Carcass meets Napalm Death meter on cuts like “Crisscross Thoughts” while displaying epic guitar licks that morph into a full-on musical assault on tracks like “FUBAR”. Direct and chaotic, chances are if you own any albums from the early day era of Earache Records, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this tumultuous 22-minute tour-de-force. www.level-plane.com -Mike SOS

LAMB OF GOD
SACRAMENT
EPIC
Boldly flying the flag passed on from Pantera, Virginia’s Lamb of God makes a triumphant return to the metal world with SACRAMENT. And while naysayers and backbiters may cry “sellout” due to the quintet signing to a major label, fear not all you paranoid metalheads: there’s no sign of letup across these 11 tracks, as the kick your head in opener “Walk With Me in Hell” aptly suggests from the get-go. Displaying technical metal wares draped in the Confederate flag while armed with the most bile-laced apocalyptic lyrics currently heard, Lamb of God has truly hit its stride on their fourth installment of skull crushing metal, as tracks like the infectious yet smoldering “Redneck”, the rapid-fire thrash stomp on “Beating on Death’s Door”, and the prototypical bleak metal anthem “Blacken the Cursed Sun” demonstrate the band’s ability to fuse Megadeth, Pantera, and Testament while implementing its own modern chops, depraved southern charm, and metallic firepower within the chaos. SACRAMENT is a killer metal album from head to toe, and should wind up on many a top ten list at the year’s end. www.epicrecords.com -Mike SOS

A((WAKE))
THE CRESCENT
SELF-RELEASED
Pacific Northwestern trio A((Wake)) roll out a six-track vocal-less metal offering whose ambitious technicality and unconventional songwriting seem to be the band’s most valuable possessions. Imagine Tool, Pelican, Mastodon, and The Fucking Champs getting together for an extended jam to try and grasp what these guys have accomplished on songs like the deep grooving “Ortus”. Heavy guitars you’d find in metalcore, steamrolling rhythms spastic metal acts employ, and a furious sense of immediacy are just some of the nuances you’ll hear on “Drown the Sky”, while the wares of progressively-tinged bands like Mouth of the Architect and Cult of Luna are apparent on cuts like the sprawlingly savage “As the Crow Flies”. Captivatingly rich, sonically stunning, and surely able to find an audience in both the metal and indie music communities, A((Wake)) are a band to keep an eye on, as THE CRESCENT showcases a band that understands the fine line between self-indulgent and genre-defying and uses it to the fullest advantage. www.myspace.com/awake69 -Mike SOS