Naglfar-Harvest
(Century Media, 2007)

This album hits you like a poisoned tipped whip. Its sharp, cuts to the bone and leaves you bleeding and not sure what just hit you. This is Naglfar at their explosive best. Melody clashes with harsh vocals in a maelstrom of black metal intensity and classic metal twin guitar leads.

What really makes this album work is the layering. If you just took the rhythm guitars and the vocals youd have an excellent albeit somewhat standard black metal album. But when you add in the excellent layers of lead guitar and melodies added over top you have a diverse and hard hitting album that has a very unique feel, especially for the black metal genre.

Dont let all of this talk about melody fool you though, this is still a very fast album. The blasting is incredibly intense and there is not shortage of aggression. Some black metal is lacking in intensity even during the faster sections. That is definitely not a problem here as the band plays with an incredible amount of vigor giving the music an excitement sometimes lacking in extreme metal.

If you were a fan of Pariah, this is along the same lines but only better. Its faster, more melodic and in general is one of the most intense metal records I have heard in a long time. If you havent heard Naglfar before and the idea of black metal mixed with hints of thrash and just a bit of power metal sounds interesting to you, this is an album you will definitely want to hear.

BeLakor-The Frail Tide
(Self-released, 2007)

This one really took me by surprise, and why this band is releasing this album on their own is beyond me and this is a very well written and produce slab of metal that draws from the doom and black metal genres.

The album is quite varied. The band experiments with melody for the entire disc but the riffing styles and tempos change quite a bit. The opening song has everything from slow doom inspired riffs to classic metal twin guitar leads to fast Swedish styled thrash riffs. They manage to make it work perfectly and none of the changes come across as being abrupt. If I had to try and put a stamp on what they do Id say imagine a cross between Swallow the Sun and Children of Bodom.

I really like the vocals on this album. They favor an old school flavored roar that is one of the main reasons why this reminds me of Swallow the Sun. Both bands use a similar vocal style, and as is the case with Swallow the Sun, it sets a nice counterpoint with the melodic guitar lines here as well.

I have to say that if a label doesnt pick this band up I am going to be extremely shocked. This is a well written album that shows a young band already have a unique sound and approach. If you are a fan of Swallow the Sun, Children of Bodom, or possibly even Crimson era Edge of Sanity, this is a band you will want to check out immediately.

Diskreet-Infernal Rise
(Siege of Amida, 2007)

The name Diskreet had be somewhat expecting this to be crust or dis-core, boy was I wrong. This is bombastic death grind with quirky riffs, endless blasts and some of the heaviest groove riffs I have ever heard. Is it original? Not so much. But it sure does kick ass.

This might be a fairly common style but it isnt common that it is done this well. A lot of similar bands just end up sounding like a mess and cant keep things together as well as this band can. The riffing comes at you incredibly fast and the drummer does his best to keep up with an extremely energetic and natural sounding drum performance. I really enjoy the human feel of the drumming. The performance isnt lacking but it isnt perfect enough to sound like a machine either. It is the perfect balance I would say.

The band plays around with dissonance quite a bit and because of that this might appeal to fans of Dillinger Escape Plan or like minded bands. This is much more rooted in death metal and grindcore though. That said this isnt exactly what you would call easy listening. If you enjoy your death metal straight forward this one definitely isnt for you. It might have a bit too much mathcore influence for the purists as well.

If you are into technical and pummeling death metal like Brodequin and want to hear what they would sound like with some modern influences thrown in, this is essentially what you are looking for. This is fast, spastic and one hell of a ride.

The Chariot-The Fiancee
(Solid State, 2007)

Not matter how sick I am of start and stop riffing or what I like to call chugga chugga squeak riffing, when an album comes along as good as this it makes me forget how sick I am of the style. The Chariots debut album was a bulldozer of dissonance, driving rhythms and throaty vocals. The styled is continued here but with a slightly more streamlined style that seems to be a bit more hard hitting.

You can expect a lot of pauses, breakdowns, and whole slew of quirky and effective riffs that sound like Dillinger Escape Plan gone rock n roll. The songs are filled to the brim with unique ideas and twisted riffs and odd rhythms. What I love about all of the weird ideas is that when the band settles into a 4/4 groove it makes it all the more hard hitting. It really hits home and for the lack of a better word, grooves.

There is definitely a fairly strong Every Time I Die type sound being explored with this album. But while you can hear the Hot Damn influence coming through this is far from being a band that is just ripping that particular album off. There is plenty to digest here that sounds absolutely nothing like Every Time I Die. The Chariot have a unique thing going on and given the genre of music they play that is a commendable thing.

While this might be easily labeled as metalcore if you are expecting clean vocals and Swedish thrash riffs you are going to be disappointed. This is a visceral and rhythmic album that toys with dissonance and twisted rock grooves. This is a kick ass album that all fans of the debut album will eat up like candy.

Poison the Well-Versions
(Ferret Music, 2007)

After one album on a major label Poison the Well is back where they belong on a smaller label that wont expect the band to sell x amount of records and appeal to any certain demographic. Its a good thing that Poison the Well isnt on a major either as this album is a doozie and one that is definitely not easily digested.

This album still sounds like Poison the Well, but they have definitely expanded their sound and the overall feel of the album is much noisier and harsher then what people might expect from the band. The opening song, Letter Thing, explodes with a hardcore feel and an urgency that might have been missing from the last album. But the surprises come fast and the opening song offers us the first surprise in the form of a slide guitar solo. Let me tell you, it sounds amazing and somehow they manage to make it work.

Clean vocals are of course nothing new to the band, but they have really experimented with a unique approach. The second song, Breathings For the Birds, comes across like The Beatles meets Poison the Well and it works perfectly. This is an album that shows a band reinventing themselves and distancing themselves from a genre that the band helped create. Music right now has become far too safe and bands arent taking the time to create anything new or exciting. So when an album like things comes along it really kicks the dust off of your ears and makes you realize that music can still be exciting.

If you are expecting just another Poison the Well album you are going to be very disappointed. However if you want to hear a band that has their creative juices flowing and managed to translate that to tape, this is indeed the album for you. Saying this is the best album yet from Poison the Well is definitely an understatement. This is exciting, interesting and a big middle finger to the stagnant music scene of today.

The Answer-Rise
(Albert Productions, 2007)

This is the type of album that just sort of makes me say meh. Not that the band is bad at what they do, but truth be told it has been done and how many Zeppelin meets modern rock bands do we really need? These guys are indeed tight and the guitar solos are a nice flash from the past, but it is hard to shake that bar room feel. Put a beer in my hand and have these guys playing live and I would probably enjoy it but as far as listening to it at home with no beer, and I have trouble enjoying it. If you are a huge Zeppelin fan and cant get enough of Zeppelin influenced bands I would say check this out. I suppose fans of retro flavored rock might enjoy this as well as they come across slightly like The Darkness but with much less annoying vocals. I do enjoy the very natural production as this album sounds like a million bucks; it just really isnt my cup of tea.

Breed 77-In My Blood-En Mi Sangre
(Albert Productions, 2007)

This album had the potential to be quite unique but a few factors really stop the album from having the impact that it could. The band plays a very unique Spanish flavored version of modern rock and it is quite unique, sort of like a Flamenco flavored version of Godsmack if you will. The band is also quite competent on their instruments as some of these guitar solos are quite well written and match the feel of the band quite well. The main problem I have is that the songwriting doesnt really seem to stick. Its catchy without being memorable, if that makes any sense. Its easily digested but doesnt really have much staying power. The band does have a unique flavor but at the end of the day it does come down to being fairly common radio rock with some interesting ideas. If you enjoy Spanish music and modern hard rock checking out this band should be a no brainer. Chances are you will probably be into this a great deal more then me.

Dark Tranquillity-Fiction
(Century Media, 2007)

Dark Tranquility is one of the few bands still together that helped forged the Gothenburg sound that has had such a huge impact on modern metal bands. Even after all of these years, Dark Tranquillity is still arguably the best band playing this style of blistering yet melodic metal.

The band has definitely been spreading their creative wings with the last few albums and have moved away from being a mainly speed driven band. But I would say that this is the first album that really melds the older style with the slower more melodic direction the band took with some of the later albums. You have the blistering speeds and blasting of the earlier material but mixed with the slower and more deliberate pace of Haven and Projector.

With the band basically drawing from their entire back catalog for inspiration this is indeed the most diverse the band has ever sounding. Each of the 10 songs hits with a unique take on the Dark Tranquillity. While this does feature some of the fiercest songs the band has written in a long time dont expect the entire album to be fast though. The fast moments are frequent few songs are fast from beginning to end. IN fact the songs that have the most impact are the songs that combine the fast riffing with the extremely catchy and melodic choruss common from the last few albums.

This is an album that only Dark Tranquillity could have written. The razor sharp riffing and excellent use of melody is what sets the band apart from similar bands and this album is a shining example of just how much better this band is then most bands playing similar music.

Blutch-Materia
(At a Loss Recordings, 2007)

This is my first time hearing the oddly named Blutch and this is pretty much exactly what I would expect from At A Loss, heavy guitars, lots of feedback, sparse arrangements and very unique vocals.

Unlike a lot of similar bands Blutch tends to keep the running times of their songs a lot shorter then average. It really helps them keep things interesting and never does a song seem to outstay its welcome, although a few sections do seem to meander. One problem I do have is that the vocals are a strange beast. They have almost a spoken quality to them and Im on the fence as to whether or not they really fit what the band is striving for musically. At the very least it is more unique then having just the normal screaming vocal style. When you get right down to it this isnt a vocal intensive on the album anyway.

The production here is a bit strange to my ears. It sounds heavy and the mix is very clear, yet it doesnt seem to jump out of the speakers enough to really pound the impact home. The guitars need to jump from the speakers and give you a 1-2 combination straight to the face and the sound isnt quite there yet.

If you are a fan of the Mevlins, Yob or any of the weirdness that Hydra Head has to offer, then this will be right up your alley. Right now I would say the band is just slightly above average but they are definitely onto something.

Byzantine-Salvation
(Prosthetic Records, 2007)

There was a time when home videos werent very common but that sure as hell isnt true anymore. DVDs are readily available from pretty much any band you can think of, some deserving, and some not so deserving. Byzantine is definitely a band that deserves a DVD. While the band has only released two albums, both albums are incredibly killer albums that combine thrash with a Meshuggah like chug. This DVD is the perfect visual accompaniment to go with the albums.

While most DVDs tend to focus on live shows, this one does something quite a bit different. It has the band playing live but in an operating room complete with x-rays in the background. The song quality is phenomenal and this is definitely a unique idea. Sort of like a live music video if you will. If you are looking for concerts there 5 or 6 live songs included, which are shot by fans but still high quality with excellent sound quality.

The best part of this DVD for me was the behind the scenes footage and the studio footage. Watching the guys record gives you a good insight into what takes place in the studio and also shows how creative the band is as well. Also included is the Jeremiad video, guitar and bass lessons, interviews and a photo gallery.

If you are a fan of Byzantine this is definitely a DVD that you will want to pick up. You can tell that a lot of effort went into making this DVD and it definitely isnt just something that was thrown together to make money.