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The Guilt Show

Before They Know We're All Dead
Refoundation (2009)

Now this is more like it. After the slow burn of the opening track "Raise My Flag," The Guilt Show go for the throat with a violent thrashing attack of blitzkrieg type hardcore that reminds me of a cross between The Suicide File and Striking Distance. How awesome is that? Well yeah, it is awesome. The Guilt Show, like their … Read more

Hallowed Butchery

Funeral Rites for the Living
Vendetta (2009)

Funeral Rites for the Living kicks off in just the right way, as "Wake for the Human Race" opens with this absolutely guttural voice until the grand entrance of the rest of the music; admittedly, I had no idea what to expect of this album by Hallowed Butchery because of a complete lack of hearing of this solo outfit of … Read more

Myles Deck and the Fuzz

Police Cops
From Here To There (2008)

I guess Myles Deck and the Fuzz deliver what they promise on Police Cops. With a name referencing fuzz and a title copped from The Simpsons, the band offers three anti-police songs that I can throw on top of the landfill-size pile of similar-themed songs in my library. The lyrics are juvenile and anthemic, which I also probably should have … Read more

Jesu

Opiate Sun
Calo Verde (2009)

Now, here we are. Opiate Sun is yet another EP by Jesu, which seems to be a recurring theme lately with this outfit of Justin Broadrick's (in addition of course to oft times contributors Diarmud Dalton and now Phil Petrocelli). A pre-release teaser song, "Deflated" (with its awfully catchy gloom), was offered to the sometimes insatiable and growing Jesu fan … Read more

Yesterday's Ring

Diamonds in the Ditch
Suburban Home (2009)

Some folks they tell me: "You just can't play country / You're a stupid young punk and you're from Montreal" / But I'll still make you cry with that song. - Yesterday's Ring - "Sad Songs" Good, heartfelt music wins in the end, not shtick. Yesterday's Ring doesn't succeed because they're punks playing country, rather it's because of the honest … Read more

Struck by Lightning

Serpents
Translation Loss (2009)

I've said it before: Translation Loss has an amazing knack for finding bands that are head and heels over most of the metal world. This time they saved a bunch of trouble. After a fall out between members of another band on the label one of the members left and formed this beast. Though this is a heavy band there … Read more

Black Cobra

Chronomega
Southern Lord (2009)

Black Cobra have quite an impressive sound considering they're only a two-piece band consisting of a guitarist and drummer. The duo consisting of Jason Landrian on guitar/vocals and Rafeal Martinez (ex-Acid King) on drums do a pretty good job of delivering a strong sludge metal sound that remains consistent throughout on their third album, Chronomega. Already with two albums under … Read more

Coalesce

Ox (EP)
Relapse (2009)

If ever the term spoiled could be used, do it now right now because that is what Coalesce is doing to its listeners with the release of their latest EP, aptly entitled Ox by the way. Following an extremely long layoff due to (of all things) breaking up, Coalesce return with a ton of new material which this EP is … Read more

Becoming the Archetype

Dichotomy
Solid State (2008)

So after receiving the Becoming the Archetype full-length Dichotomy, I checked out the CD book before listening to it, remembering great tracks like "One Man Parade" off of Terminate Damnation, I immediately went to the last page of the album art to check the credits and see if there were any worth-while guests, only to find that Devin Townsend produced … Read more

Ghostface Killah

Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City
Def Jam (2009)

I'm a big Ghostface fan. Iron Man? Supreme Clientele? Fishscale? Love em'. The guy is by far the most consistent rapper of the Wu-Tang Clan. He's got great flow, can pull off the stream of consciousness rapping quite well, and his lyrics cover a nice variety of topics including the usual life on the street struggle, explicit sexual acts, as … Read more

Yog

Years of Nowhere
187 (2009)

Grind and technical metal are difficult types of music to pull off well as they are the kind of music that have rich histories of excellent examples of bands who do them well, and seeing as there are several very important touchstones which grind bands (particularly) seemingly must adhere to in order to fly the grind and technical metal banner … Read more

Run With the Hunted

Everything Familiar
Refoundation (2009)

When you name your band after a Charles Bukowski book, you are automatically selling yourself as an intellectual band, or at least a well-read one. This strategy can be either beneficial or cause negative affects on a band if their music and their lyrics fail to own up the intelligence level they wish to portray themselves. Luckily, Run With the … Read more

Ender

Ender
Darkroom (2009)

New Zealand is quite a long distance away from the United States, and whenever I hear New Zealand mentioned, Lewis Black's (the comedian and political commentator) sketch about performing there always pops in my mind " if you fly to New Zealand by plane from New York City it takes twenty-two hours if they really wanted to be more of … Read more

Baroness

Blue Record
Relapse (2009)

Much like their previous full-length, Red Album, Baroness' follow-up, Blue Record has been hyped quite a bit by the metal community. Red Album saw Baroness go in a very interesting direction as they shifted away from the straight-up heaviness of their EPs to a more drawn out and atmospheric sound, while still holding onto their sludge roots. Regardless, Red Album … Read more

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