Cryptopsy: Whisper Supremacy (1998)

I have talked before about my reservations about checking out anything by Cryptopsy that did not feature Lord Worm on vocals.  I got into the band through Blasphemy Made Flesh followed by None So Vile, two absolute classics in the brutal death metal genre.  I simply could not fathom anything by the band being worthwhile without Lord Worm's guttural, gurgling vocal style.  And so it took a long time before I checked out anything without him.  Now that I have, I have decided to go back to the Mike DiSalvo era, which many death metal fans claim is even better than the Lord Worm era. 

This album is considered a classic by a great many people.  I do love the cover art, and always have.  It is easy to see why this album is so highly regarded.  Even though the band is mostly the same, apart from the vocal change, it is clear that the musicianship has improved by leaps and bounds.  No longer content with being incredibly brutal for brutality's sake, there is more of a method to the madness. 

Cryptopsy has always been a fairly technical band, but the technicality has really taken a step forward here.  Flo Mounier is one of the most virtuosic drummers this side of Tomas Haake, and it shows on this release.  The band has also added a second guitarist and two complement each other well.  It allows for a more dynamic sound and more solos.  Overall, this is a cleaner, more technically-proficient sound, but not lacking in brutality.

I do have to discuss the vocals, because that was the number one reason that I had not checked out this album before.  DiSalvo's vocal style is intense and his growls work well with the brutality of the instrumentation, though they are nowhere near as savage and ferocious as Lord Worm's.  I will say, it is much easier to tell what DiSalvo is saying, I am not sure Lord Worm was saying half of what the lyric sheets said he was, while DiSalvo's growls are actually comprehensible.  Still, I do prefer Lord Worm. 

This is a damn good album.  I still do not think it comes close to Cryptopsy's first two albums, though I do think I prefer it to Lord Worm's comeback album Once was Not.  So, maybe third favorite Cryptopsy album?  That sounds about right.

Iced Earth: The Dark Saga (1996)

That's Spawn on the cover isn't it?  I am no big comic book fan, and certainly not of most superheroes, but even I can recognize Spawn when I see him.  The major reason for that is that I have actually seen the live-action movie with Michael Jai White, Martin Sheen and John Leguizamo.  It was bad.  The name of the album does not really give much away, but listening to the album it becomes pretty clear that this is a concept album revolving around the Spawn comic storyline.  At least I am pretty sure, based on my limited knowledge.

Well, let's not waste any more time talking about the concept.  It is what it is and I have no problem with an album covering that storyline.  It is admittedly somewhat compelling.  Let's talk instead about Iced Earth, a band I have enjoyed for something like 20 years.  Yet, I have not done much looking into their works prior to Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is an album I love.  Recently, I picked up second album Night of the Stormrider, but the Iced Earth on that album bears only a passing resemblance even to this album.  The biggest change is the inclusion of vocalist Matt Barlow who joined for Burnt Offerings, the album preceding this one and the most popular vocalist of Iced Earth's tenure.  His rough-edged, deeper-voiced vocals fit well with bandleader Jon Schaeffer's Iron Maiden-esque galloping riffing style.  That style is in fairly short supply on this album however, which is kind of odd.

This album really feels like one drawn-out song with very little variance in the riffing or vocal styles.  Most of the songs are somewhat mid-paced with crunching riffs and Barlow's captivating vocals.  There is one ballad on the release that stands out quite a bit because of how different it is to the rest of the album.  It is really the storyline that drives this album moreso than the music.  Schaeffer sought more to create a cohesive story with music to match than to write anything groundbreaking musically.  Thus, the album comes across as cinematic, but not terribly interesting from a musical standpoint.

Ultimately, I would not recommend this album to someone looking at getting into Iced Earth.  There are some interesting ideas present, but it is not overly representative of the band's general musical style.  I like the album and Barlow's vocals are great, if a little overwrought, but a lot of the other elements that I have come to expect in an Iced Earth album are simply not present.  I am curious to know what Spawn fans think about it though.

Demolition Hammer: Tortured Existence (1990)

This may be one of the heaviest thrash metal albums I have ever heard.  I have been well familiar with this band, and even this album, for quite some time, having acquired it in a two CD release covering all of Demolition Hammer's music.  But there is nothing quite like having the album in its original format.  It feels more natural that way, the way the album was supposed to have been heard.

Demolition Hammer released just three full-length albums, and the last one was supposed to be released under the name of a new band, so really, they only had two albums.  This is the band's debut and it is a terrific one at that.  The band is still very raw, but their unbridled aggression and brutality shines through.  It is because of this rawness that this album has gained a cult following among metalheads. 

The songs are fast-paced and intense with neck-breaking riffs.  I love the sound of the bass, which is a massive part of Demolition Hammer's sound.  It is clearly audible, driving the riffs and playing some complex rhythms at times.  It is one of the better bass performances in thrash metal, though not quite on the same level as work by Steve DiGiorgio or Cliff Burton. 

The only complaints I really have about the album are the somewhat limited production and the vocals.  With regard to the production, it would have been nice to have a meatier sound with the heavy, bass-driven riffs.  The vocals are just sort of plain for the genre and do not really do enough to stand out.

This is yet another thoroughly underrated thrash metal album.  Demolition Hammer straddle the line often between thrash and death and end up with an amazing, brutal thrash metal album.

Comecon: Converging Conspiracies (1993)

Comecon was a Swedish death metal band.  Well, sort of.  It was more of a project than a band.  There were only two full-time members, Rasmus Ekman and Pelle Ström, each of whom performed bass, guitars and keyboards.  There was never a human drummer, leaving that task to a drum machine.  And there was never a full-time vocalist.  Instead the band had essentially a guest singer on each release.  They used L-G Petrov (Entombed) most often, and Marc Grewe (Morgoth) appeared on the band's final album.  There is a reason that this is the first album I have checked out by Comecon.  It features Martin Van Drunen (Asphyx, Hail of Bullets, Pestilence, etc.), one of my favorite death metal vocalists.

This is a brutally savage release with biting riffs, aggressive vocals and a whole lot of speed.  Van Drunen delivers his typical rabid bark and sounds as good as anything else he has ever done.  The band obviously takes a lot of influence from other Swedish death metal bands of their time.  The typical buzzsaw guitar tone is present in spades, drawing comparisons to Entombed, Dismember and Grave, and there is plenty of groove to the riffing style.  So, in a lot of ways, this is a typical Swedish death metal band.

Comecon though, stands out a little bit from their Swedeath brethren.  There is the obvious lineup issues detailed in the opening paragraph.  But the band also tends to use some off-kilter riffing and bizarre moments.  For instance, in second track "The Ethno-Surge", there is heavy usage of a juice harp, which is just plain odd.  Then there are some strange breakdown sections that feature call and response between acoustic and electric guitar in "Community" that finds some way to sound perfectly natural next to the more standard riffing.

This is something of an underrated album in the powerful Swedish death metal scene.  I had seen the album cover a number of times, but had not really heard the band before picking this one up.  I came for Martin Van Drunen, I stayed for the terrific take on Swedish death metal.

Deicide: Overtures of Blasphemy (2018)

Deicide has had one of the more interesting careers among the Florida death metal bands of the late 1980's/early 1990's.  They have always been completely over-the-top about Satanism and Anti-Christianity which is their primary lyrical topic.  Their early albums are classics in the formation of death metal, but sometime in the late 1990's they began a downward spiral.  2006's The Stench of Redemption resurrected their career, but they were not really able to build on it, releasing one particularly disappointing album ('Till Death Do Us Part) and a couple of so-so albums.  So their latter career has been inconsistent to say the least.

The sound that made Deicide so important in the early formation of death metal was their simplistic, high octane riffs and uncompromising brutality, as well as their juvenile evil lyrics.  The only thing really clever about Deicide in the early days was the band name.  Over the years however, there has been a concerted effort to strengthen their songwriting chops.  The Stench of Redemption was probably their most mature and melodic album and they have been waffling back and forth for years since.

Which brings us to Overtures of Blasphemy.  Last year's album presents a return to the Stench form that resurrected the band.  As the album's title suggests, this is a very classical music-oriented album, not to suggest that fans of Wagner or Bach or even Orff are going to be impressed with it, it is a death metal album after all.  But there is a very real classical element to the leads and the solos that is very impressive and melodic.  The best example is the opening solo to "Excommunicated".  The current individual responsible for lead guitar is Mark English, also of Monstrosity and he is consistently amazing throughout the entire album. 

This is a truly monstrous sound from Deicide.  Everything feels massively huge and heavy with crushing riffs and bombastic solos.  Of course no Deicide album would be complete without the deep guttural roars of main man Glen Benton.  The songs are well-written and much more complex than the band's earlier works.  It is also an extraordinarily catchy death metal album, which is sort of a rare thing these days. 

This is easily the best Deicide album since The Stench of Redemption, at the very least.  It is at least possible that it is even better than that.  A few more listens should settle that.  For now, it is worth noting that this is an incredible return to form for a band many have written off.  We shall see if they still have more left in them. 

Unleashed: Across the Open Sea (1993)

As much as I love Swedish death metal, there are very few bands whose entire discography I have explored.  I am not talking about the Gothenburg melodeath scene, but the Stockholm scene.  I love Entombed for instance, but have only heard four or five albums.  I love Dismember probably more than any other group from the scene, but there are three or four albums I have not checked out.  Amon Amarth is really the only exception, though I have yet to hear their newest album. 

That brings me to Unleashed, a group whose recent output I am quite familiar with, but whose early work I am just now exploring.  Last year, I picked up their sophomore release Shadows in the Deep.  Just recently, I picked up this one, their third album.  I still have a long ways to go to look into their other material.

Unleashed is a straightforward Swedish death metal band who sang about vikings before it was cool to sing about vikings.  Yes, they pre-date Amon Amarth yet never seemed to receive the same level of attention.  Perhaps that is because their music is not as accessible.  They are generally much heavier than their countrymen without the same melodic sensibilities. 

I was a little taken aback when I heard this album for the first time.  The riffs are much more simplistic than the band has used in other albums.  In addition the sound is stripped-down with no frills, very few solos and almost never any instruments outside the typical guitar/bass/drums.  The vocals are delivered in a typical dry-throated snarl.  The songs are mid- to faster-paced and driven by the riffs.  They are generally fairly catchy.

The only real down note on this album is the ill-conceived "Breaking the Law" cover.  Judas Priest is an incredibly dynamic band while Unleashed really only knows one speed.  And so for a band to take a classic like "Breaking the Law", they really need to do something impressive with it.  Unleashed vocalist Johnny Hedlund does not have the pipes to sing Halford's part and does not even try.  The intensity level of the song also seems muted somehow, which is odd coming from this band.  And so the cover simply does not work.  Everything else is terrific though.

I do not know yet where this album stands in my ranking of the Unleashed albums I have heard.  I will have to go back and listen to everything to get that figured out.  I like it quite a bit despite the much more basic sound. 

Voivod: Target Earth

This is quite possibly my most anticipated album of 2013.  If not, it is pretty damn close.  I have become a huge Voivod fan in the last year or so.  The band at one point had called it quits entirely.  Denis "Piggy" D'Amour had died of cancer and, even though he had recorded a lot of riffs prior to his death, those riffs had since dried up.  The last two albums were made up almost entirely of stuff that he had written prior to his death and it looked like that was the end.

It did not work out that way though.  Blacky came back on bass, replacing former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, and they brought in a new guitarist, Chewy, formerly of Canadian tech-death underdogs Martyr.  The band was rejuvenated and recorded an entirely new album.  Well I was excited so I pre-ordered it complete with a t-shirt.

This album is a little bit of a grower.  The first time I heard it, I was somewhat impressed with the twisting, futuristic riff work, but it did not really sink in.  After several more listens, I can honestly say I love this album.  It is easily the best album Voivod has released since Nothingface.  And that is saying something because I love a lot of the albums the band has released since then.

Voivod has proven that they still have it on this release.  The band really does sound rejuvenated.  Chewy's riff work bears a striking resemblance to Piggy's without sounding like he has copied his predecessor.  Blacky back on bass sounds terrific, and Snake's snarling vocals sound as good as ever.

Voivod has released an early frontrunner for Album of the Year.  It is great to have them back.

Evocation: Illusions of Grandeur

Among the litany of bands that came out of the Swedish death metal scene, both the Gothenburg and Stockholm sound bands, Evocation somehow got lost in the shuffle.  They were only able to put out two demos in the early 1990's before disappearing entirely for over a decade.  That is something of a shame because Evocation is every bit the equal musically as Entombed, Dismember, At the Gates, and any number of other bands well-known from the scene.

Despite originally forming in the early 1990's, Evocation did not release their debut full-length until 2007.  Since then, they have been prolific, with this 2012 album being their fourth full-length.  Their first three were more of the Stockholm, buzzsaw-style of death metal.  This one changes pace a little bit.

Evocation has gone for an overall more melodic sound on this release.  The result is something of a mix between Dismember and Amon Amarth.  This is something of a letdown really, but the album still sounds pretty good.  Evocation has always been about a fast, crunching riff style with a very good sense for writing catchy songs.  Unfortunately on this album the band goes a little bit too far in seeking catchiness and winds up sounding a lot like the latest from Sweden's favorite Viking enthusiasts.

The songs are all very interesting, in particular "Divide and Conquer" and "Perception of Reality".  The band still fuses the Stockholm sound and the Gothenburg sound, crafting intricate melodies that go along well with the otherwise intense death metal riffing style and they can alternate or blend the two with ease.  But they went a little too melodic on this one as opposed to past albums.

I really do enjoy listening to this album.  It is definitely catchy and, dare I say, fun.  However it is a shame that somewhere along the line Evocation lost their personal identity.  I blame Century Media personally.

Initial Impressions: Aborted: Global Flatline

Belgian bashers Aborted are all about brutality.  There is absolutely nothing pretty or melodic about them.  At all.  Also as you can see from the band's name, they are not the most subtle lyricists in the world.  Everything about the band is chaotic and loud as hell.  But there is always something to be said for that kind of music.  And once in awhile I want to listen to something that is likely to cause brain hemorrhaging.  Good thing too.

Aborted is coming off releasing a couple of albums that were not real well-received.  Their last album was reviewed very poorly by most.  That is due to the band's experimentation with the dreaded deathcore.  But this album sees Aborted returning to the crushing brutal death metal that they had perfected for years before attempting to branch out a little bit.  Let that be a lesson.  Never experiment.  Ever.

I am kidding about those last two sentences of course, but I am not kidding about how much I enjoy this album.  This is bone-crushing death metal the way it should be.  It's brutal and uncompromising, grinding death.  This is how a band that calls themselves Aborted should sound.  The dual vocal sound of Sven De Caluwe even sounds refreshed and as psychotically menacing as ever.

Aborted has undergone an almost complete overhaul of members, apart from the ever-present De Caluwe of course, since their last album.  Perhaps De Caluwe felt this was the only way to purge the disappointment of the last two albums.  It is not unusual for the band to be constantly changing however.  It is De Caluwe's project and his alone. 

I love this album.  I love a flesh-peeling death metal album and this one definitely qualifies.

Initial Impressions: Marduk: Serpent Sermon

Marduk has always been one of the more impressive black metal bands from Sweden.  Most of the reasoning for this is due to their emphasis on songwriting rather than just blasting away like some of their countrymen.  Nowhere is that more evident than on this album.

The above is not to suggest that Marduk is in any way less brutal than some of the other black metal bands to come out of Sweden, they certainly do have their chaotic moments of blasting frenzy.  But they are hardly ever brutal for brutality's sake.  But while there are certainly brutal moments, this whole album has a heavy and dark atmosphere surrounding it.  It is evil-sounding black metal the way that it was when it first crawled out of the depths of Scandinavia in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

The band still utilizes some of the staples that they always have.  There are still plenty of tremolo riffs and blastbeats present.  The vocals are still a sharp, raspy growl.  And the overall sound is still evil as hell.  What has changed a bit more is that the atmosphere is probably more prominent than it has ever been and the melodic guitar lines have gotten more impressive.

This is an absolutely compelling album from Marduk, possibly their best in years.  

Initial Impressions: Napalm Death: Utilitarian

I have been on a big Napalm Death kick lately.  So when I saw their newest release marked down recently, I had to get it.  Napalm Death has been consistently great for three decades now so I did not have any reservations about picking this one up.  It certainly helped that I loved their last release and of course, Napalm Death know who they are and are not likely to change drastically any time soon.

So what do we have here?  Unsurprisingly it's a Napalm Death album.  Seventeen tracks of grinding brutality.  Napalm Death pull no punches and just blast away for seventeen songs.  We do not expect anything more or less from them.

Of course it would not be a Napalm Death album without some form of experimentation or other.  While the core sound remains unequivocally Napalm Death, they do throw in some unusual moments.  We have a bit of a doomy opening, some almost chanted vocals, and an atonal saxophone thrown in at various points.  None of those moments overwhelm the rest of the music, they get put in almost as an aside.

Beyond the odd moments, this is a typical release from the band.  Barney Greenway still does his full-throated roar, and Shane Embury, Danny Herrera and Mitch Harris still blast away on their instruments.  The  band has lost none of its ferocity over the years and remains as uncompromisingly brutal as ever.  

Initial Impressions: Paradise Lost: Tragic Idol

Paradise Lost was a band I discovered fairly early on in my exploration of metal.  I think it was Christmas time when I was about 15 years old that I got the amazing Draconian Times.  That album was a favorite of mine for a very long time and I still love it to this day.  That being said, I have never really liked the rest of the band's material nearly as much.  Paradise Lost has gone through a lot of changes over the years and not all of them have been very good.

This album is probably the closest to Draconian Times of any of the albums that I have heard.  I have not heard really close to all of the band's albums, I will be honest about that.  This is not as fast-paced as some of the tracks from that album, in particular the hard-driving "Once Solemn".  This is melancholic gothic metal with a lot of melody.  Nick Holmes's voice still sounds as great and emotional as ever.

Paradise Lost once again has put out a terrific album of gothic metal.  This is probably now my second favorite album from the pioneering band.

Initial Impressions: Nachtmystium: Silencing Machine

Once one of the U.S.'s premier black metal bands, Nachtmystium started to distance themselves from that style a little bit, adding more and more progressive and psychedelic influences to the point where there was hardly any trace of black metal on their last album.  Fans were divided about whether that was a good direction or not.  One thing that could be said though is that at least it was interesting.

This album has been hailed as a return to form for Nachtmystium, even the old black metal logo has returned.  That is not entirely correct.  There are still elements lingering from the Black Meddle albums.  For the most part the black metal sound has returned, though only superficially.  The band utilizes more tremolo riffs, blast beats, and harsh vocals, but underneath it all, it is clear that Nachtmystium has progressed beyond typical black metal.  Many of the songs feature some or all of these elements but also possess a distinctive post-rock or psychedelic sound as well.  Blake Judd maintains the harsher vocal style throughout the release however.

If anything, this album represents a coming-together of the sounds that Nachtmystium has put out over the years.  The black metal is present but so is the progressive rock, post-rock, and psychedelia.  The one constant is the cold atmosphere.

I really did enjoy this album.  I have liked prior Nachtmystium albums, but none as much as this one.

Compilations: Century Media Spring Sampler 2007

I am going to take you on a trip to a faroff time, the Spring of 2007 and see what Century Media had in store for us. I think this shows a little bit of a transition in the label. There are several clearly metal bands on here, but there is also quite a bit of metalcore and deathcore. This was before Century Media completely caved into the latter styles but the warning signs were there.

DARK TRANQUILLITY: "FOCUS SHIFT"
This is a typical DT song. Melodic death with layers of keyboards and Mikael Stanne's deep vocals. I have been a fan of DT for a long time now and even though they are kind of stuck in neutral musically now, have enjoyed all of their albums. I of course have this album.

VITAL REMAINS: "HAMMER DOWN THE NAILS"
Vital Remains HATES Christianity. I know that probably comes as a bit of a shock in heavy metal, but they really do. It's almost cartoonish. To emphasize this, they brought in Glen Benton of Deicide to provide vocals on this album, the only person who hates Christianity more than the band. I like this album, but the production is a little muddy and it is definitely over the top.

DESPISED ICON: "IN THE ARMS OF PERDITION"
Oh, here we go. This was before the deathcore scene became an ungodly parody of itself and this song is actually not too bad for deathcore. It's a shame that the band became a complete farce on their next album. That's not to say that this is good though. Just that it's better than some other deathcore bands.

INTO ETERNITY: "TIMELESS WINTER"
Very good song from this Canadian progressive melodeath band. Singer Stu Block has a great voice and can sing in a variety of styles without skipping a beat. He will be the new singer for Iced Earth. This is a great album as well.

IN THIS MOMENT: "PRAYERS"
In This Moment has risen to prominence mostly due to the presence of Maria Brink and her cleavage-baring outfits. She is not a bad vocalist, just kind of annoying. The music though is extremely stereotypical metalcore. If not for Brink and her breasts, this band would be forgotten.

DIECAST: "NOTHING I COULD SAY"
Essentially In This Moment without Maria Brink. Anyone remember these guys? No? I rest my case.

THE HAUNTED: "THE DROWNING"
I have said it before and I will say it again. I never really got into The Haunted. Their early material is okay, but it just never captivated me enough to get much of it. Their later stuff though shows a real attempt to capture a radio-friendly sound. It just sounds too sterile to me. Thrash is supposed to be dangerous. The Haunted just isn't dangerous enough.

FU MANCHU: "HUNG OUT TO DRY"
Stoner rock, kind of similar to Monster Magnet. I never really liked Fu Manchu even though I did like Monster Magnet. This does not change my mind.

BRAND NEW SIN: "REAPER MAN"
I am not familiar with this band. They sound like a hard rock band with some southern elements. Pass.

FINNTROLL: "KORPENS SAGA"
This is Finntroll doing what they do best, lilting folk melodies playing over some harsh blackened metal. The band is quite good at fun songs and catchy melodies. This is no exception.

NAGLFAR: "THE DARKEST ROAD"
I think Naglfar is a little underrated. The melodic black metal band has put out some great albums, but they get a lot of hate. Perhaps because they are melodic. Not sure. Anyway, this is another very good song by the band off of one of my favorite Naglfar albums.

ABORTED: "THE CHONDRIN ENIGMA"
Aborted, the Belgian brutal death metal band, made an effort to tone down their sound for this release. The result sounds like a really brutal melodeath album. They also added quite a few breakdowns. The result really disappointed a lot of longtime fans. I quite like the sound, but was not terribly familiar with them before this. The band does seem to be following the career path of their obvious idols in Carcass.

IMMOLATION: "WORLD AGONY"
This is off of what I think is one of Immolation's best albums. Their Morbid Angel style of dirty, razor-sharp riffing is at its best and vocalist Ross Dolan sounds even more powerful than usual. Just a terrific album.

FEAR MY THOUGHTS: "BLANKNESS"
Another band I was unfamiliar with. This is basically melodeath/metalcore. Nothing terribly exciting.

CELTIC FROST: "GROUND"
Of course Celtic Frost's reunion album in 2006 ranks as one of the all-time great reunions. Frost did not attempt to recapture their old sound. They released something new and exciting. It's too hard to catalog this under a simple genre tag, it's completely unique and powerful.

SATYRICON: "K.I.N.G."
Satyricon was one of the more unique bands in the Norwegian second wave black metal scene. Incorporating folk melodies and instrumentation into their sound, they really stood out for awhile. By this point though, Satyricon had streamlined their sound into a fairly simple black 'n roll style. It is okay for what it is, but it is nothing like what it was.

FIREWIND: "FALLING TO PIECES"
Firewind is a fairly straightforward power metal band with some great hooks and an impressive pop sensibility. This is definitely radio-friendly and infectious. It makes you wonder why radio stations can't play Firewind instead of Nickelback. Frustrating.

THE TEMPEST: "RISE AND FALL"
Apparently this band changed their name prior to the release of their first album and became The Agonist. Basically a harsher, more metallic version of In This Moment. Same analysis applies from In This Moment. I do like the singer's voice though. Everything else is terrible.

TENET: "INDULGE ME"
I have never heard of this band either. Apparently this is a demo track from an upcoming album that was not released for another two years. Not sure what happened there. Apparently this is the side project of the guitarist for Strapping Young Lad and it is pretty impressive heavy thrash metal. I like this quite a bit.

Century Media Grab Bags

Last week, I received one of these as a free gift for placing an order with the record label for more than $50.00. These things usually cost about $10.00. Not a bad free gift, I thought. I had done this once before soon after moving to St. Paul and just beginning the major metal listening habit. At that time, I received nine CDs that I loved, and one that I traded in. Pretty good ratio.

So this time, I was hoping for something similar, boy was I disappointed. I guess you can't argue too much about something free, but I only got two albums that I will continue to listen to. The others, I already had (can't fault them too for that obviously) or had no interest in.

The first grab bag:
Andromeda: Extension of the Wish
Candiria: 300 Percent Density (traded in)
Darkane: Insanity
Diabolical Masquerade: Death's Design
Finntroll: Jaktens Tid
Internal Bleeding: Alien Breed
Jungle Rot: Dead and Buried
Macabre: Dahmer
Tiamat: The Astral Sleep
The Crown (Crown of Thorns): The Burning

All told that was a pretty good haul. Some Swedish thrash, folk metal, progressive metal, death metal, slam death, and the phenomenally bizarre Diabolical Masquerade album. Two of the albums were even ones I considered buying myself. Only Candiria was traded in as I am not a mathcore fan.

The second grab bag:
Arch Enemy: Rise of the Tyrant (traded in, already owned)
Behemoth: The Apostacy (traded in, already owned)
Cradle of Filth: Cruelty and the Beast (traded in, already owned)
Despised Icon: Day of Mourning
Duff McKagan's Loaded: Sick (traded in)
Endwell: Consequences (traded in)
Nachtmystium: Assassins-Black Meddle Pt. 1 (traded in, already owned)
Nebula: Apollo
Terror: The Damned, The Shamed (traded in)
The Miles Between: Deceive? (traded in)

Not nearly as a good of a haul. I'm not a huge fan of the Despised Icon album and the Nebula album is okay, but the others I got rid of. Terror, The Miles Between, and Endwell are all hardcore groups, and I am not a fan of hardcore. Duff McKagan is a former member of Guns 'N Roses, and I don't care for his solo work at all. Glad I did not pay for this stuff.

Century Media Carnival of Sounds Compilation

I received this CD sampler from Century Media along with a free CD that I got as a result of getting 10 Century Media proofs of purchase, my favorite thing about the company. The CD was Nevermore's Dreaming Neon Black, which was excellent. This, on the other hand, is mostly a pile of crap. Still, I'm not usually one to quibble with free music. And, if you believe that, you're incredibly gullible.

Century Media used to be one of the major labels involved in bringing European metal to the United States, something I am very grateful for. However, in recent years, the company has proven to be just as trendwhorish as Roadrunner, a company I have maligned at least a couple of times on this blog. Century Media is currently busy gobbling up as many deathcore bands as it can find before the bottom completely drops out of the market. Considering that deathcore has been fairly crappy to begin with, excepting a few bands, one can imagine what this has done to the label's reputation in metal circles.

Shall we begin?

WINDS OF PLAGUE: "Soldiers of Doomsday"
Blackened symphonic deathcore? That's apparently the genre tag that is given to this band. I've got an easier one for it: crap. Incredibly ambitious, the band nevertheless falls completely on its collective face. Think Dimmu Borgir, with lots and lots of breakdowns, and try not to recoil in terror. The band is obviously talented, but really can't write a decent song, at least not here, they're just trying too hard.

DIVINE HERESY: "Facebreaker"
This is the band started by Dino Casares while Fear Factory was on hiatus. I'm not sure of the intention in starting this band. The same death metal elements and industrial metal elements are here as are on Fear Factory, but lo and behold, breakdowns! So, apparently Dino wanted a band that had the same elements as Fear Factory, plus hardcore. Sign me up! Or not. There is also an overuse of blast beats here, seemingly the only thing the drummer can do is blast away. This further detracts from the experience because the rest of the music cannot be heard.

SUICIDE SILENCE: "Wake Up"
Perhaps this band is unfairly lumped in with the deathcore crowd. I don't know, to me they sound more like a grindcore band than a deathcore band. Nevertheless, they remain oddly popular with the deathcore scene. For the most part, this is just chaotic noise. There's no real structure here, certainly not falling into the metal genre structure. Therefore, NFM.

NAPALM DEATH: "Strong Arm"
Napalm Death is one of the godfathers of grindcore. They are also one of the first bands to experiment with combining this extreme punk style with death metal and are still one of the finest such bands. This is off of their newest album, one that I really enjoy. The grindcore elements are fairly obvious in Napalm Death's sound, but so are the death metal influences. This particular song is a little more grindcore, but for the most part the band has been closer to death metal for a long time. Barney Greenway has one of the more aggressive and primal sounding voices in extreme metal.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD: "Call of the Hammer"
I really enjoyed the last two albums by this band. As such, I will probably check this one out, even though I was a bit underwhelmed by the song. The mix just sounds off, the drums are too high in the mix and sound hollow. The hardcore vocalist is gone, being replaced by another vocalist to chime in with occasional growling screams. The lead vocalist though is still there. The music is still closer to traditional heavy metal. Not their strongest effort, but still passable.

LACUNA COIL: "Spellbound"
Lacuna Coil has been going downhill for awhile. Ever since Cristina Scabbia became a major sex symbol for the genre, the band has been heading into Evanescence territory. This song does nothing to right the ship, instead falling deeper into radio friendly rock muck. It sounds essentially the same as every other song the band has recorded since Comalies. I gave up on the music of Lacuna Coil after hearing Karmacode, this song convinces me I made the right decision. The guitar solo was a nice touch though, sorely lacking in much of their recent music.

ARSONISTS GET ALL THE GIRLS: "The 42nd Ego"
Owner of one of the worst names in extreme music, AGATG (I'm not writing that bullshit again) is similar in sound to Suicide Silence. By that I mean structureless grindcore. By that I mean NFM. More chaotic noise, although they come close to metal in some places. I haven't heard too many songs that start with a breakdown. I'm not sure I want to hear another one.

GOD FORBID: "War of Attrition"
God Forbid was one of my favorite metalcore-ish bands after their fourth album (the band had largely dropped many of the core influences in favor of a more melodic thrash metal sound). I was expecting big things for Earthsblood, unfortunately I was a little disappointed. Then soon after the band started touring, one of their founding members quit the band. It's been kind of a bad year for these guys. This song is one of the better ones off their newest album, but not the best. It features most of the elements that made me enjoy this band though. It's tough to say what will happen in the future for God Forbid. Hopefully they'll get back on track.

THE AGONIST: "Martyr Art"
The Agonist is a metalcore band out of Canada featuring a very attractive female singer, another frequent subject of Revolver's Hottest Chicks in Metal features. She takes the Arch Enemy approach to vocals, preferring more death metal inflected growls, although she does do several clean parts as well. The music is standard: boring metalcore noodling and breakdowns. It's safe to say the band's saving grace is their singer, without whom they would be almost completely unknown.

WARBRINGER: "Severed Reality"
At least something decent that I haven't already heard. Warbringer is one of the better newer U.S. thrash metal bands from California. Though very young, the band seems to know its classic thrash pretty well. The band is beginning to find their own voice on their latest release, as shown by this song. Fast, aggressive, and ferocious, Warbringer will be a band to watch for years to come.

DESPISED ICON: "MVP"
Despised Icon is often cited as one of the better bands to emerge from the deathcore scene. I hope the rest of their music is better than this song to prove that. The song just doesn't do anything. It's essentially blastbeats coupled with the singer's best (worst?) Barney Greenway impression. There's virtually no guitar riffs here at all. I've heard some good things about this band, this song is definitely not a point in the band's favor. I really hope this isn't the best there is from Despised Icon. Otherwise, I would be tempted to suggest NFM.

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE: "You Ain't No Family"
That's not a typo, that is the band's name and it is indeed a worse name than Arsonists Get All the Girls. As bad as the name is, the music is worse. A jumbled mess of noise that never really comes close to metal, the band has earned a big fat NFM from me. The singer is another girl that combines clean caterwauling with growling and shrieking. The music is virtually nonexistent. There is the occasional humorous interlude in there, but it seems clear this band is less interested in making a serious album, than they are at throwing as much shit as possible into their "song". Pass.

EARTH CRISIS: "To Ashes"
Earth Crisis seems to come from the Hatebreed style of modern hardcore. Or perhaps it's the other way around, I really have no interest in checking. This is basically loud, heavy hardcore featuring tough guy shouting and absolutely no attempts at making the song memorable or to stand out from all the other bands that sound like this, and there are a lot. NFM.

IN THIS MOMENT: "The Great Divide"
Blech. I was annoyed the moment the singer started crooning from the first second. Yet another band more known for their attractive female lead singer than their music. This one is a tad more melodic than The Agonist, though not as much as Lacuna Coil. They are significantly more annoying though. Their music basically sounds like Avenged Sevenfold, but with a female singer. NFM.

OLD MAN'S CHILD: "Ferden Mot Fiendens Land"
Old Man's Child is a band from Galder, also of Dimmu Borgir. Much like Dimmu Borgir, Old Man's Child plays melodic black metal. It's a welcome change of pace from the barrage of crap perpetrated by the last several tracks. This unfortunately is not one of the better tracks from the album. It does feature the keyboard flourishes and heavy riffing that the band and genre are known for, it's just not one of the more memorable songs from the band's new album. The acoustic part though is strangely beautiful.

DAATH: "Silenced"
Daath made big waves in the metal mainstream a couple of years ago when their album The Hinderers came out. People who don't know anything (Roadrunner Records) hailed the band as the next big American extreme metal band and cited supposed influences from death, groove, thrash, and black metal in their music. When I heard the band though, I heard a Fear Factory clone and nothing more. Daath has improved their sound this time around a little. It is a more cohesive mix of styles, but I still have yet to hear anything worth the hype that they have received. This is an improvement, but I think the band still has some growing to do before they can be considered the next big American metal band. Unfortunately, the band kind of became victims of their hype because I would enjoy the band more if they had not been shoved down the throats of metal listeners.

LUNA MORTIS: "Forevermore"
This song starts off great, finally some decent new melodic death metal. Then it suddenly switches gears and heads into a progressive gothic metal style, complete with another female lead singer. This one sings more than screams but ultimately, the music just falls flat. This band has some promise, but they fail to live up to it on this song. It would be nice to hear a female singer in a band other than a melodic death metal band. It would be nice to hear a melodic female metal singer that is not singing opera. This band just doesn't quite make it. It's a good thing there are still bands like Benedictum and Temtris out there.

SWORN ENEMY: "Still Hating"
Hatebreed ripoff alert. For such a terrible band, Hatebreed sure has a lot of imitators. Sworn Enemy at least has headed into more of a groove metal style of guitar riffing which manages to save the band. Throwdown did the same thing recently. All told, this band has gotten a little closer to later-era Pantera than Hatebreed on this particular song, but that's only a marginal step forward. I still would not buy an album from this band.

ARCHITECTS UK: "We're All Alone"
Ahh, my ears are hurting. What the fuck is this? It's almost as noisy as Iwrestledabearonce, but only slightly more structured. This band is basically just a hardcore band. And not a very good one. I'm tired of writing and I hate this fucking song so that's it. NFM.

I will probably never listen to this piece of shit sampler again. What a dismal pile of crap.