As I Lay Dying's "Awakened" Review

As I Lay Dying’s Awakened takes a deep breath in the first millisecond and unleashes its metalcore beach assault like five Christian shock troops determined to make a landing where they’ve never gone before. That crinkly sound in the background is the simultaneous storm facial muscles bending into frowns from many of AILD’s fans. 

Why has the band gone so far down melody lane? Why is Josh Gilbert getting so much microphone time? He’s in the way of Tim Lambesis and his screamo monotones! Did they pull a trick on everyone and sneak in Pierce the Veil or something? 

Embracing melody was a sin in the earlier days of metalcore, but these days every band in the genre has gone toward the light. Melody makes hit records. Metalcore makes for great live shows, where the force of a million decibels delivers a powerful experience. As I Lay Dying hasn’t gone soft, its musicianship and beefy presentation is still quite intact. The album has just taken a left turn away from The Powerless Rise.
 
“Cauterize” shouldn’t scare away the faithful. Neither should “A Greater Foundation.” They’re epic in arrangement and deliver the necessary MMA elbow blows to the top of the skull. Obviously, AILD is a band on a mission, as it were, so “A Greater Foundation” is a spiritual piece of nasty bruising. “Resilience” launches off like a multi-stage rocket, but then eases up after the metalcore breakdown and visits harmony ranch before bringing Lambesis back for another eight bars of battery acid in the ears before a couple measures of harmony shut the song down. 

The band plays like avenging angels behind the vocal trade-offs throughout the album. Everything is nestled in a proper metalcore production, all is as it should be. That’s not entirely a good thing though. 

“Wasted Words,” “Whispering Silence,” “Defender,” and “Cauterize” would make an impressive EP. The other six tracks are decent, but awfully hard to recall even after half a dozen listens. With the heavy metal compass pointing toward melody, AILD has tried hard to inject it into Awakened, but it doesn’t sound organic to the songs. 


Awakened may be a transitional album for the band. It will sound great on tour. Unless the album cover is hand-drawn by Stan Lee, there might not be much temptation to own the album. All the metalcore jostling for recognition makes it difficult to stand out for a band like As I Lay Dying. Awakened takes the fifteenth row back from the front of the chapel, present but maybe a little too easy to miss.

Dethklok's "Dethalbum III" Review

In its way, it shares more with Disney’s The Little Mermaid soundtrack album then it does with As I Lay Dying’s Awakened. Dethalbum III is a cartoon soundtrack, yet it manages to be more coherent and inventive within its genre than 90 percent of similar output so far this year. Dethalbum III kicks much rear-end, while giggling at its own inside joke.

Mastermind of everything Metalocalypse and Dethklok, Brendon Small has written every song. This explains the seamless way Dethalbum III goes from opener “I Ejaculate Fire” to song 12, “Rejoin.” With drummer Gene Hoglan and bassist Bryan Beller, Small has taken the Dethklok persona to hammer together a riff-driven album that rolls over convention with an unstoppable groove.
Dethalbum III is as accessible as death metal gets. The foul-mouthed version should fly out of the Amazon MP3 store while the cleaned-up version should become scarce in the Wal-mart CD rack. Regardless of the language, the Ulrich Wild/Brendan Small production is remarkable. Smashed down to a perfect three db margin, Dethalbum III will fit perfectly in every format out there.
“I Ejaculate Fire” intros on a scratchy Nonesuch record for no particular reason. So do half of the other metal albums lately. The song has made the rounds everywhere. It’s a thrash-fast groover of less than impeccable taste where Small’s vocals have evolved into outright legitimacy. Controlled and dominant, its only when Small backs off the microphone to concentrate on his superb guitar work that the power of the instrumentation sears through, especially with Hoglan (Death, Strapping Young Lad) drumming two notches above excellent.

The video for the song is either horrifying or hilarious depending on one’s viewpoint. That’s the Adult Swim joke, over the top and rarely sly. Dethalbum III, as an album, dials down the parody to nearly zero, and leaves that to the visuals.

A great down-tuned drum and spider-dance riff brings to life “Crush the Industry.” True death metal breaks out all over. The double-kick drum machine loop gets a work out, while vocals turn to black bile and guitar solos blaze at Mach one in power metal registers. Like cigarette smoke clinging in clouds close to a studio ceiling, Small’s keyboards loom over most of the tracks. Part Theremin, part Moog, part alien head voices, the keys infuse the tracks with a haunting glow. On “The Galaxy” the keys take the lead and swirl out the arms of the song’s melody with unearthly majesty.

“Starved” is a DM pounder with unusual guitar work and an inexplicably death jazz free metal guitar solo. “Ghost Queen” plows between finger-twisting riffs, tottering death stomp verses and still more off the hook solo work. The arrangement varies up from the other tracks, but in the end, all the songs build to strong climaxes. And, amazingly, not a single stoopid movie dialog or clanging sword battle drop-in anywhere on the album. All meat and no filler on Dethalbum III.

With the jaunty “Biological Warfare.” featuring some of Small’s croakiest vocals, the bar is raised another rung until the following track “The SkyHunter” cranks it up another one only to be raised once again by the gold-medal “The Hammer,” whose rhythm riff is concentrated purity. Dethklok may drift in the electronic waves of the videodrome, but Dethalbum III is as rock-hard real as the fantasy of death metal gets.

Texas in July's Self Titled Album Review

I have been hooked on Texas In July ever since I heard their first EP back in 2008. Their sound reminded me so much of one of my favorite bands in this particular genre (August Burns Red). Ever since then, I have seen the band grow and grow in popularity, even touring with August Burns Red and playing multiple festivals. Now, the band is releasing their third full length album, which is self titled, and it has to be the best thing the band has put out in their career.

I was one of the fans that was fairly disappointed with their previous effort, One Reality. It's not that I didn't like the album, I just didn't feel like it was on par with their first full length, and it seemed to go a different direction that what I was hoping for. They seemed to have stepped up their game with this self titled album though, and for that, I am very thankful.

The album intro is a typical intro you would hear on an album like this. It's just a minute long, and flows right into the previous released track, Cry Wolf. The hard pounding drums of Adam Gray kick things off in this song, and that is one thing I have always loved about Texas In July. Adam Gray is a drumming master. His skills are up there with great drummers of the scene, and even better than most I think. The musicianship of the band is ridiculous, also. The guitars can get so complex, while still having a great sound. I have had the chance to see them play live, and they sound great. They transition the complex guitars and drumming on the album into their live shows flawlessly.

Not unlike quite a few bands now days, Texas In July have worked a more melodic sound into their music. It's perfect, and really fits well with the sound the band has already established. The song Without A Head is especially melodic, and that's fitting because it features the guest vocals of Chadwick Johnson, the vocalist of the melodic hardcore giants Hundredth. A fantastic guitar riff starts the song off, and it leads you into a very I Am sounding Texas In July song. That is, until a little after the halfway point. The song just cuts out, and then a very melodic sounding guitar brings things back. This is when things start sounding very different for the band, and is where the vocals of Johnson come in. The next track, Bed Of Nails, is also a track that was previously released by the band. This song became one of my favorites because of the very odd placed guitar riff in the middle. It seems so odd, but it fits so well into the structure of the song. It almost gave me a hint of Stray From The Path.

A couple of the other standout tracks for me were Repressed Memories and the album closer Cloudy Minds. Repressed Memories is a completely instrumental track that gives off a very ambient feel. It's odd, in comparison to the rest of the album, but it sounds great. The closer, Cloudy Minds, has to be one of the most unique songs on the albums. It features a guest, but not in the typical guest vocal spot. It features Matt Greiner. For those of you that don't know, he is the drummer for August Burns Red. He does a drum solo/battle of sorts next to Adam Grey. Greiner is an even better drummer than Grey, and hearing his fantastic drumming on this release is a great thing for any fan of the two bands, or just drumming in general. It's a great way to close the album. 

My only real complaints on the album are the vocals, and somewhat repetitive structure on a couple songs. The vocals tend to not vary that much. It's more varied than their previous releases, but still not as varied as I would have liked, or as varied as I think vocalist Adam Good could be. Don't let that turn you off from the release though, because it's still (I think) their best release to date. The added melodic sound behind some of their typical chug-chug breakdowns really helped the band better their sound, and the overall feel of the album is good.The album was released yesterday, and I recommend picking it up.

Testament's "Dark Roots of Earth" Review

Opener “Rise Up” is an instant, crowd-pleasing anthem. Not simply powerful, it’s an empowering statement of strength and self-belief, which along with the equally passionate “Native Blood” clears a path for the epic title track, which itself displays just how much Testament has outgrown a simplistic thrash pigeonhole and become a simply great heavy metal/thrash band.

Although Dark Roots Of Earth doesn’t offer experimentation as such, it does show a band unafraid of constant progression. The close to eight minute “Cold Embrace,” for example, unashamedly borrows from the psychedelic side of early Sabbath and puts it in the context of something not too far removed from a power metal ballad, without ever raising any doubt about Testament’s music coming from anywhere other than the heart.

Crucial to Testament’s resurrection in recent years has been their ability to absorb modern inspirations into their classic thrash blueprint. The power of Pantera and bottom-heavy groove of Lamb Of God are apparent in Testament’s latest output, but far from jumping on any bandwagons, Testament has simply made such influences their own and in doing so, ensured they remain as invigorating now as at any time in their lengthy career.

With time doing little to blunt their attack, Testament has crafted another fine album which once more underlines not only their outstanding musical pedigree, but their integrity and unshakable passion.
Testament remains a band at the very top of its game. Only time will tell if the likes of Metallica still have one more great album in them, but even if they do, it’s highly unlikely to come close to matching Dark Roots Of Earth.

Wait for the best of 2012 list folks – Testament just booked a place on it.

Cattle Decapitation's "Monolith of Humanity" Review

Monolith Of Inhumanity is an elaborate project of dynamic shifts and experiments in areas that were previously untouchable. Songs veer off into unsettling ambiance, where the usually-vicious nature is toned down for a slower, methodical assault. Songs like “A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat” have choruses that could be deemed “catchy,” which seemed like a curse of death for the band a few years ago.

All these songs are still the furthest thing away from being accessible. The band still crushes the dreams of little children with steel-toe boots. There’s nothing welcoming about the bile slathered on in big portions, and even the occasional finger-snapping melody does not dilute the straight hatred these guys have for the human race. If song titles can speak volumes, “Dead Set On Suicide” and “Gristle Licker” should do the job.

Present on the album is no-frills death metal, like the seedy “Projectile Ovulation” and masterful pace of “The Carbon Stampede.” Then there are the songs where the band stretches out with tempos that go all over the board. “Lifestalker” is one of the more aggressive cuts starting out, before transitioning into a bass-led break that redefines the meaning of “heavy.” “The Monolith” is a four-minute build-up that poses a question of enlightenment; “If we were promised heaven, why put them through hell?” “Kingdom of Tyrants” answers that in an ill-tempered manner.

It’s not one part of Cattle Decapitation that makes them so untouchable, but what each member has to give. Guitarist Josh Elmore comes off like a wild man with his spiraling riffs and hard-to-top solos. Bassist Derek Engemann makes the most out of his first studio recording with the band. The over-powering drumming of David McGraw leaves a headache behind (that could be because he is a little too loud in the mix). Travis Ryan steals the album yet again, with a range that most death metal vocalists would beg to possess. He even employs clean-styled rasps and growls, lending a tuneful swagger when used.

Cattle Decapitation have merged into an intoxicating death metal group, doing what is necessary to slam faces into the wall, but doing so in a tender and passionate manner.Monolith Of Inhumanity has been an album that has gotten its share of buzz over the past few months, and all of it is warranted. This is going to be a tough death metal album to beat this year, and it’s all because of the band defying any chances to confine to their old standards or fall back on well-practiced tricks.

Whitechapel's Self-Titled Review

It didn’t take any sort of deep thought for me to tell just how angry the band’s vocalist, Phil Bozeman, is on these songs. Based off of his grunts, pessimistic lyrics, and overall tone throughout the album’s 9 vocally-driven tracks, the man is pretty livid. Some of the songs have a sort of predictable range of topics for a deathcore band, stretching from subjects like fear, death, corruption, and insanity among a few other things. Even with all of that, this album still has more to prove and exhibit then some of the other bands within the scene.

The instrumentation is really what makes this album stick out above the rest of Whitechapel’s discography. An acoustic guitar is used somewhere in the middle of “Make it Bleed”, the album’s opening track, and in my opinion, I think it makes for a great effort with helping spice things up and keep things interesting without seeming to be forced. There some are a few piano intros and outros that lie somewhere on the border between cliché and natural.

There’s a very subtle use of electronics sprinkled throughout the release, one of the best examples of this would be an early part of the song “I, Dementia”. Don’t let that scare you into thinking that there are any dance-y beats present, electronics in the world of Whitechapel translate into minimalistic lo-fi synth and drum beats more than anything else. I’m very glad to know that there are not any sort of dubstep wobbles of any kind in any of these songs. This goes to show that Whitechapel makes a defiant stand of not running with most of the trends that are present in both the mainstream and underground world.

Yes, I said “most of the trends”. You’ll still find blast beats, breakdowns, and an occasional guitar solo in here. I mean, if you’re able to get past the fact that those things make up the very foundation of deathcore, you’ll still be set to be surprised with everything in the album. One of my favorite things about Whitechapel is the band’s usage of not one or two, but three guitarists that devastatingly cut through the mix while they shred, chug, and harmonize their way into your eardrums. At times, I could say that the songs have a definite doom metal groove to them, while at other times, I could say that they have a few quick bursts in tempo – something that could oftentimes be found in some of the many genres of metal.

This album wasn’t a hard listen by any means. The songs hold their own both collectively and individually. I didn’t feel like I was sitting through a nearly 40 minute long wall of sound, I felt like I was actually listening to a an actual album. This music makes me think about many things, it makes me think about a lot of the crazy, self destructive things that people do to themselves, it makes me think about the punishing things that people do to one another. Most of all, it makes me think about human nature in general.

Dying Fetus' "Reign Supreme" Review

Dying Fetus is very much about no frills brutal death metal and at times borders on the extremely powerful technical prowess of each of the band's 3 members. I am a fan of what bands like Suffocation did with Effigy Of The Forgotten and Atheist'sUnquestionable Presence, similarly bands like Chicago's Broken Hope also really helped to lay the foundation for what we consider to be technical death metal. While Broken Hope did it mostly tastefully Dying Fetus should probably shy away from the overly technical numbers as they seem to work best as a mid tempo crushing band with very good riffs. The intro to the album 'Invert The Idols' is exactly the problem I have with the band; way too technical for it's own good and wholly unnecessary as the follow-up track 'Subjected To A Beating' showcases a great amount of upside to the band. Reign Supreme tends to be a very bottom heavy album as the beginning is spotty and highlighted by the above mentioned track, and really tapers off from my memory until it kicks back in with 'Dissidence' and even parts of 'From Womb To Waste'.

Other highlights from the album include some great guitar pyrotechnics by John Gallagher, especially his solos and much less his random 20 second stretches of technicality which really seem to take away from the music in a "ok where are those great riffs again" sort of way. 'Dissidence' contains some of the best riffs next to 'Subjected To A Beating' and Gallagher puts on a great show with a flourish on 'the Blood Of Power'. Overall Reign Supreme should find it's place in any avid fan of technical/brutal death metal fan's collection; especially if you are already a fan of the band. I may not be the biggest fan of the genre but it's effect ties back to the beginnings of great death metal riffs and if the band could pump the brakes with some of the unnecessary embellishments they might become more a favorite of mine. For now they do a very good job nonetheless.

Miss May I's "At Heart" Review

Well, what should I say? I could tell you it’s well produced, the screams are clearer than they’ve ever been, the sung sections sound smooth and more natural (emphasis on more) than most metalcore releases now-a-days, and the album has a solid 45 minute run time. I could tell you all of that and it would be true, but honestly, that’s not really why you’re here. You most likely fall into one of two camps. First, the metal elitists (which is what I’m slowly becoming) who came here to mock “genericore” and already have their minds made up. If you belong to this group then you are going to hate the album regardless of what I say. The second group is comprised of those who were already MMI fans before At Heart was released. This group is a little more flexible. Sure, we’ll have the fanboys who will ignore any negative things I have to say and continue their unnatural love of what is a ridiculously bland album, but we’ll also have those who feel that metalcore is becoming (the elitists would argue it already has become) stale and who may hear reason. I’m addressing this review to the second portion of the second group.


As much as I want to love this album I just can’t find anything to love. Yes, it is tight, well executed and crisp sounding but beyond that there really aren’t any hooks; nothing that drags me into it. If you listen to metalcore you know what to expect. The drums are there to keep time during breakdowns and do absolutely nothing to set themselves apart from the rest of the band. They blend into the background throughout the entirety of the album and, although some would say that is a drummer’s job, I would have to disagree. A drummer should be more than just rhythm, he (or she) should be the backbone of the album—the glue that holds it all together. Sadly, what we have here is nothing more than packing tape. Yes, it gets the job done, but it doesn’t win any points for aesthetics.

The guitar work is typical metalcore fair, quick riffs during the verses, and breakdowns galore. The problem is none of the riffs are memorable and none of the breakdowns are hard hitting enough to warrant a second glance. In fact, even though I’ve listened to the album close to a dozen times, I can’t think of a single guitar riff or breakdown that made me sit up and take notice. The closet section I can think of is the opening section of “Gold to Rust” where vicious screams are layered over a somewhat fun breakdown.

As for the vocals, they are good for what they are but sadly, that just doesn’t cut it anymore. The metalcore scene is flooded with bands and just being “good” isn’t enough. Not a single screamed section makes you want to keep listening. In reality, I had to struggle to maintain my focus. The sung vocals are not much better. As I mentioned earlier, they are smooth and natural sounding and, in my humble opinion, one of the better parts of the album. But again, there are no hooks. Nothing to grab the listener. The only section that made me want to sing along was the chorus to “Leech”. That’s it. One song.

All this being said, nothing from At Heart is bad. In fact, none of it made me cringe in horror, but nothing other than my requirement to write this review made me want to repeat the album. I’ve put off this review for too long in hopes that this album will grow on me. It hasn’t and it won’t. I won’t be coming back to this in the foreseeable future, or, most likely, at all. I still cherish Miss May I’s debut album, Apologies are for the Weak as one of my fondest high school memories and a solid metalcore album. But I’m over this genre. It isn’t devoid of creativity but it is inundated with copies of copies of copies. If you’re a long time Miss May I fan then listen to this album, but otherwise, as much as I hate to say it, you should pass this by.

Trepalium's "H.N.P." Review

This French band play death metal ― the name tipped you off, right? But they do it their way. Check out opening track "Heic Noenum Pax" for a good cross-section of the grinding, blasting, grooving and technicality these guys are capable of. Bringing to mind a more extreme version of Gojira, Trepalium have tons of big, open spaces to their death, often approaching thrashy, Meshuggah-ish turf (the riffs in "Slave the World" are pretty Thordendal-ish). I love the unique guitar work (see the awesome "Prescription of Crisis"), the perfectly crisp production and the high intensity levels that never get bogged down in too much bass-ridden death oppression. "Order the Labyrinth" and "Insane Architect" even turn into a kind of Soilent Green on death metal overdrive, with a Spanish guitar interlude. As the album goes on, the groove increases and the death metal fades away. "I Was" sounds like late-era Pantera, which makes sense, as this album ends with an admirable cover of "I'm Broken," one of the best metal songs ever written.

Marduk's "Serpent Sermon" Review

Icy screeds of tremolo-ridden guitars, rapid-fire percussion, and distorted vocals lay at the foundation of Serpent Sermon. "Into Second Death," "Gospel of the Worm" and "Hail Mary…" are replete with the atonality and darkened insanity of quintessential Scandinavian black metal. However, although Marduk draw from a familiar battery, the arrangement of said armaments ensures their firepower decimates rather than debilitates. The streaks of churning death metal and putrid crust inject the all-important animus—giving the band an impact radius well outside that of many of their brethren.

The opening martial beat of the title track is smothered by a swarm of obsidian riffs. Easing back for a few mid-tempo passages and adding a rousing, albeit feverish chorus ups the sinister ante. Slower creeping riffs launch into ferocious assaultive sections and are used to great effect on the doom-smeared "Temple of Decay" and "Damnation’s Gold"—a tried and true tactic for Marduk. Many of Serpent Sermon's songs mix frenzied riffing with an often decelerating and feedbacking cadence, adding plenty of coloration. Although, don't panic, it's still all varying shades of black.

Once again, vocalist Mortuus flawlessly poisons the atmosphere. His wraithlike screeches and gnarrs are as crucial to the band's sound as any instrument (as they are on his blisteringly evil and venom-dripping side-project, Funeral Mist). On Serpent Sermon, his malevolence and villainy is in bone-chilling form. "Messianic Pestilence" kicks off with one of his patented croaks. On the album’s finest track, "Souls for Belial", feculent riffs are counterpointed by a hellishly rasping spoken word section, and he gleefully spits out noxious tirades on "M.A.M.M.O.N."

Serpent Sermon shows Marduk aren't likely to go quietly into the night anytime soon. The new album is a vomitus purge of satanic morent henchmen.nomania, its homilies delivered with diabolic fervor. However, for all Marduk's fiendishness, it's worth noting the coherent sense of determined artistry that’s at work. Buried under layers of devilment, corruption and filth, Marduk are working hard to avoid stagnation, and are still in the leading ranks of black metal's most bellige

The Agonist's "Prisoners" Review

The Agonist have not turned their back on what they’ve done in the past, and no more is this evident than in Alissa White-Gluz’s vocals. She is the type of female singer the closet-dwelling metal nerds can’t stand; a good-looking woman with crazy, dyed hair who has no problem with the occasional suggestive pose. When it comes down to the task at hand, she is equally matched with any other vocalist in metal, both male and female. Her good cop/bad cop routine has been reproduced a jillion times, yet her brutal harsh growls and angelic clean wails are tough to match.

For the first time on any of the band’s studio albums, they employ the services of a second guitarist. Whether this helps with the technical-edged riffs or increase use of solos is not known, but it wouldn’t be a surprise. Longer songs help to flesh out ideas that were normally packed into four minutes, and the band has a clear intent of ambition that was only hinted at on the previous two albums. There’s no way that they could have pulled off the low-key wonder of “Revenge Of The Dadaists” five years ago.

If Prisoners has one running theme, it’s how clearly these ideas come across. The stripped-down acoustic intro to “You’re Coming With Me” hides the stark beating the next few minutes have in store. “Dead Ocean” motions in a soulful ending that didn’t seem possible, judging by the tough exterior of the first half. The big success on Prisoners is the eight-minute “Ideomotor,” which is lifted to an elite status by its lengthy outro that feels significant in its scope.

The Agonist came onto the scene as a bland metalcore act, but Prisoners disproves this notion. They have come far from being just another metal band with a female singer, and don’t deserve any of the bashing that female-fronted bands get thrown at them. Prisoners is a much tamer album than Lullabies For The Dormant Mind, with less additional instrumentation, but is just a smidgen better due to the combined effort of each member.

Abnormality's "Contaminating the Hive Mind" Review

It would be dishonest to claim that the quintet has the most unique style going for it, but certainly there are some inventive twists woven through the songs that add a fresh coat of cement to the bedrock foundation from which they mete out severe aural punishment. Forceful, palm muted burst rhythms are threaded with tremolo guitar progressions and a copious use of dissonant, atmospheric grooves. Those seeking out slam sequences will hardly be disappointed, as a number of tracks like "Monarch Omega", "Hatred Relentless" and "Fabrication of the Enemy" feature harried, enormous breakdowns that feel like the band are bouncing cinder blocks across your face; but they certainly don't pigeonhole themselves into a 'mosh now, mosh only, mosh forever' niche thanks to the surgical explosions of accelerated technicality that keep the pacing varied and the ears affixed to the adventurous guitar players who hold nothing back in their quest up and down and all over the fretboard.


Contaminating the Hive Mind wouldn't be possible without such top notch musicianship, and trust me when I say that in this regard, the band is filled to overflowing, the collective experience of a dozen or more other local groups under their belts, several of which hail from related sounds (Sexcrement, Deconformity, Goratory and so forth). Jay Blaisdell is a storm incarnate, with so much celerity in his hands and feet that he makes the blasting and double bass seem effortless. Guitarists Jeremy Henry and Ben Durgin run the gamut between heavily syncopated rhythmic complexity and spurious, well plotted leads that inject all manner of hysterics into the frenetic architecture of cuts like "Shooting the Messenger". Scene veteran Josh Staples brings up the low end with suitable elasticity, and even though the hugely percussive nature of the music doesn't always favor the bass over the drums and guitars, listen closely and this plunking dynamo will dizzy you with some appreciable finger work. The rhythm section is so tight in conjunction that you'll need a lubricant just to process it. 


Also likely to draw attention are Mallika Sundaramurthy's vocals, which have improved considerably over the previous EP, catapulting her into position as one of the better female presences to vomit into a microphone this side of Sinister's ex-growler Rachel Van Mastrigt-Heyzer. Her intonation is deft and guttural, almost like a faster and harder George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher inundated with wretched spasms of snarling, laying to waste any childish misconceptions that gender defines brutality. I also really enjoy that this band has a more political and dystopian bent to the lyrics somewhat akin to a Suffocation or some of the recent West Coast maulers like Inherit Disease. Heavens know there are enough bands paraphrasing Cannibal Corpse and Mortician; give me a flood of thoughtful, restless and intense imagery with some meaning behind it, any day.


Ultimately, your taste in death metal will go a long ways in tempering your reaction towards an album like this. If you scoff at surgical polish, staggering proficiency, and above all, sheer brutality or have no interest in anything more modern than Sweden, Florida and Incantation circa the early 90s, then chances are this is not going to change your mind. On the other hand, if you were to pull at your roots and unearth the fundamentals established by bands like Suffocation, Cryptopsy and Deeds of Fleshnear the close of that decade, or if you find yourself constantly mining the rosters of labels like Unique Leader, Comatose, and Sevared for additional sounds, then this is one case of constant whiplash well worth shelling out the few dollars it will cost you. Contaminating the Hive Mind is a clear success, standing alongside recent efforts from Germany's Pighead and Japanese newcomers Desecravity as one of the better brutal/technical death albums I've heard in 2012.

Job for a Cowboy's "Demonocracy" Review

Demonocracy affords Job For A Cowboy another album to legitimize their melodic death metal sound, which was set forth starting with Ruination. If that album was the band’s testing grounds to tweak what they wanted to accomplish with a new style of music, Demonocracy is where the technical side is worked on. Bringing in guitarist Tony Sannicandro and Cephalic Carnage bassist Nick Schendzielos translates to dynamics not heard on any Job For A Cowboy album to date. While the changes between Genesis and Ruination were noticed right away, it’s not as clear-cut from Ruination to Demonocracy. The production is crisper, which is a positive for Schendzielos and his schizophrenic bass playing, and the guitar solos are on almost every song. These aren’t throwaway doodling sessions, but sharp and flashy, which separates them from most bands of the same genre. Overall, a really good album that keeps you interested for the whole ride.

God Forbid's "Equilibrium" Review

Welcome their 6th album, and the only one not on Century Media Records. Dallas, the rhythm guitarist left the band in 2009, and he's been thus replaced. God Forbid seemed to have really gone back to their roots of their Gone Forever Ideas, with a few new influences. They have cut back on the guitar solos, a lot of their songs have a more of a melodic sound, while some of the others are just complete headbanging fests. Overall, it's a good mix and it shows that the band isn't just copying and pasting their older material. Plug in a pair of headphones and you can easily detect a lot of uses from both guitarists. Which for me, is a plus, shows that everyone in the band is participating. Drums are insane, especially on songs like Scraping the Walls, bass is noticeable, and not generic, their song Don't Tell Me What to Dream is evidence enough. The only real drawback I can think of is that a few of the songs start out too slow and it's easy to lose interest in them, but once it picks up, you find yourself really immersed in their songs.