Anima-The Daily Grind
(Metal Blade Records, 2008)

Admittedly I was expecting this to be a grindcore album from the name of the album, but boy was I ever wrong. Anima sound pretty damn similar to The Black Dahlia Murder, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but calling this original would definitely be missing the mark. The band is indeed good at what they do but the comparison is definitely hard to shake.

The thing that strikes me about this disc is the fact that nothing really strikes me about the disc. The band is tight and extremely energetic it its delivery yet it really brings out little response in me. If this is because I am burnt out on the style, I'm not sure, but the At the Gates influenced riffs, snarling and charging drums have all been done far too many times already for this to make much of an impact.

I'm not going to question Metal Blade's motives behind signing this band, although it does seem odd for the label to sign a band that is essentially a clone of one of the most well known bands they have on their roster. Like I mentioned before Anima is good at what they do, but what they do has been done before and to death at that.

Nephridium-The Great Wave
(Self-Released, 2008)

Cannibal Corpse is an influence that is usually thrown around a lot in death metal and while it is a very lazy comparison is certainly suits this Ireland based death metal band. Taking influence from the Gallery of Suicide album in particular the band has a sound that is semi-technical yet still very memorable. Cannibal Corpse is one of the few death metal bands that can add technicality and still make it extremely heavy and hard hitting. Nephridium continues that tradition and I'm honestly left dumbfounded that this is the debut recording from the band.

The only thing that really holds back this album at all is the guitar tone at times. During some of the busier riffs the tone could have used a bit more muscle and comes across as a bit harsh at times. That is a very small complaint as the songwriting more than makes up for any of the production shortcomings. A song like Slave Ships really shows off the Cannibal Corpse influence but it has the memorable riffs that have been missing from the last few albums from the band and has a very Vile influenced feel to it. Tempo wise the band does a phenomenal job of keeping things from becoming stale. This definitely isn't an album that is all about blast beats and that is a nice change of pace.

Nephridium is a band that definitely has a bright future in the death metal genre. Put this band into a bigger studio and the result would be earth shattering. There are underground bands that continue to play killer but somewhat standard death metal with each album, and there are only a few that stand out and seem destined for bigger things. This is definitely a band that belongs to the latter.

Cold World-Dedicated to Babies Who Came Feet First
(Deathwish Inc, 2008)

Despite the fact that many people tend to ignore the connection, there has definitely always been a link between New York hardcore and hip hop. I'm not talking about the Judgement Night soundtrack either. More so a similarity in attitude and in a few cases a more overt hip hop influence on display. That is certainly the case with Cold World and this is an album that doesn't break down barriers, it utterly annihilates them.

The perfect example of the brilliance that is Cold World is the title track. Built on heavy riffs and barbaric vocals for the majority of the song and then the chorus boats amazing use of a sample perfectly interjecting the hip hop vibe the band is going for. Add in an extremely well done clean vocal section near the end of the song and you have a shining example of why this album is so hard hitting. The rest of the album is quite diverse and definitely not just another cookie cutter hardcore album.

Despite the fact that I am a big fan of hardcore I would be the first to say that the genre definitely has a lot of bands that sound very similar. Which in turn makes a band like Cold World stand out even more. The band certainly has elements that are common of the hardcore genre, but it is the extras that the band adds that makes the album so powerful. If you are a hardcore fan with even a passing interest in hip hop, this comes highly recommended.

Hawthorne Heights-Fragile Future
(Victory Records, 2008)

There is definitely a lot happening in the world of Hawthorne Heights. Not going into any of the details but it is somewhat surprising to my ears that the band has turned out an album that is undeniably bland. It sounds like Hawthorne Heights but it is missing something. The songs just don't seem to pop like they did in the past.

The funny thing is that the songs are adequately memorable. The hooks are there but the energy isn't. I think some of the problems might stem from the production of the album. It isn't a bad sounding album yet it is a very dull sounding album. Like I mentioned earlier it is missing the pop of the previous albums. I was a big fan of the previous albums but this one is unfortunately boring me to tears.

Whether the album was rushed or the band just wasn't into it, fans of the previous albums will ultimately be letdown by this latest album from the band. There are a few good songs on the album but the majority really fail to excite.

Discern-To Praise With Persecution
(Self-Released, 2008)

This is definitely what I would call a blast from the past. I'm not even sure how long ago it was but in a previous 'zine I reviewed a disc from this underground death metal band and the fact that they are still releasing music is awesome. Discern have two rather unique elements. One is that the band is a Christian death metal band and the second is that the band has always added bluesy undertones to their death metal.

You didn't read that wrong I did mention blues. The album starts off charging with I Sacrifice but the follow up Second Death Honesty takes a more mid-tempo approach adding in flairs of bluesy lead guitar work throughout. It makes for a sound that is unquestionably original. This is a band that has always bucked the trends in death metal and this album is no different. Discern has a very classic approach to the genre and Florida death metal is obviously a big influence. Death is also a noticeable influence as well.

One big difference between this band and most current death metal bands is the fact that Discern knows how to employ dynamics in the songwriting. There are incredibly fast songs but there are always riffs and sections that help to break up the speed as well as entire songs that bring in different feels altogether. Your Choice is a perfect example with its slow and heavy doom inspired feel.

Discern is a band with a lot to offer and a band that I am glad to see still cranking out quality metal tunes. I think there was something like a 9 year gap in between albums from the band so hopefully we won't have to wait quite that long before we are treated to another album from this high quality death metal band.

Dagon-In Desolationem Per Nefandum
(Fire of Fire Records, 2008)

Despite what you might think, Texas is actually a state with some of the best black metal bands to ever come out of the US. Dagon calls the warm weathered state home but there is nothing warm about their musical output. This is cold, misanthropic black metal armed with incredibly succinct and primal riffs and energy.

The album does very little to break the mold of raw black metal, but the album is of high quality none the less. The songwriting relies more on memorable riffs than just trying to create a wall of blackened noise. The band also manages to add in atmospheric touches through creative guitar layering and the perfect amount of production based rawness. The vocals are a bit overpowering in the mix at times, but the raw emotion on display matches the intensity of the music perfectly.

The black metal genre right now is seeing an incredibly large number of albums being released and with all of the similar sounding bands out there it is sometimes hard to filter out the lesser bands. Dagon is definitely a band with a lot to offer and when you add in the nuanced songwriting and memorable nature of the songwriting this stands out amongst the raw black metal being released right now.

Naer Mataron-Praetorians
(Season Mist, 2008)

Despite having manic energy and a killer guitar tone, this album is a bit lacking in the originality department. I hate to use that old adage heard it all before but it certainly fits here. The band has a Mayhem meets Immortal sound and the riffs are very typical of the genre. In fact that only riffs that really stand out only really stand out because they sound like a riff you have heard before.

That said the band isn't bad at what they do. On the contrary the band plays with a lot of energy and the production is quite strong. The guitar tone in particular has a lot of balls and is very different than what you would normally expect from a black metal album. I think the length of the album is also a bit of a problem at 45 minutes the album would have been pushing it but this is an hour long and with the fast nature of the band it is a bit too much allowing the songwriting and riffs to become even more repetitive.

If you are a fan of blistering black metal you may want to give this album a shot but the delivery and production overshadow the actual songwriting here. With a shorter running time and a bit more variety in the riffing department the band would be a force to be reckoned with. As it stands this is merely just another black metal album.

Antagonist-Exist
(Prosthetic Records, 2008)

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting from this album. On one hand the band pretty much sounds exactly like I was expecting yet on the other hand there are some elements on display here that surprised me. From the most part you could say that Antagonist sounds a lot like a rawer version All That Remains. That in itself isn't a bad thing as All That Remains have become fairly squeaky clear over the years.

The basic formulas used are thrash riffs, melodic tremelo picked riffs with blast beats, sweep picking leads and clean choruses. It's all been done before but the band is good at what they do. Make no mistake though you will hear riffs that you have essentially heard before as the band certainly isn't rewriting the genre by any stretch of the imagination. A few surprises come when the band essentially strips away all of their metallic aspects taking on an almost screamo feel that brings to mind Silverstein. These are moments when the band really shines had they have worked even more of this side of the band into the songs the metallic elements might not have seemed so similar to other bands out there right now.

This is an enjoyable album that doesn't so anything glaringly wrong yet never truly excels at anything either. The songwriting is memorable yet not to an alarming extent. The band is at their best when they are playing fast or during the aforementioned screamo type sections. Antagonist is a band with a lot to offer and hopefully with the next album they will have more of an original voice.

Book of Black Earth-Horoskopus
(Prosthetic Records, 2008)

This is an album that pretty much dropped by jaw to the floor and kicked my ass while doing so. Death metal, black metal, thrash and even crust combine for an explosivly dark sound that is somewhere in between Incantation, Dismember and Phobia. If that description doesn't get you excited about this album, then one listen to the album should do the trick.

Fast riffs based on darkly melodic ideas set the pace but this defiinitely is not a one dimensional album riff wise. The band strips things down to as bare as possible with riffs that could best be desrcibed as hardcore punk riffs but much more evil in nature. The Dismember influence comes in the form of rapid fire melodic riffs that have vintage Swedish death metal written all over them. The vocals are extremely guttural and help to firmly plant the album in the death metal genre albeit the album isn't typical of the genre in any, way shape or form.

What really makes the album click is the fact that the band sounds very natural in their approach. There is no filler and no unnecessary parts plugging up the albums arteries. Each song is epic in scope and bulldozing in execution. The drumming in particular helps keep things moving quickly and with an energy that would be more likened to a crust or hardcore album than a death metal album, With that youthful energy, barbaric riffs and a raw but fitting production, Book of Black Earth have written an album that is destined to be one of the best metal albums of 2008.

Whitechapel-This is Exile
(Metal Blade Records, 2008)

While the similarly styled All Shall Perish have opted for a slightly more restrained approach on their latest album, Whitechapel have written a monster of an album that shows that the debut album was no fluke. The energy is barbaric and the riffing veral and uncompromising showing the band growing on the strengths of the debut and becoming an even more vicious band in the process.

While the inclusion of breakdowns pretty much solidifies this albums place in the deathcore genre, this album offers much more than your average band in the genre. In fact aside from the breakdowns this is very much a modern death metal album in many ways. The guitar is rapid fire and much more inventive than the typical Swedish styled guitar riffs so common of the genre. Thankfully the band doesn't go the easy route hand have written a number of creative breakdowns throughout the album. There are a few that are a bit more cliche but thankfully those moments are well frequent with this album.

Whitechapel really isn't breaking much ground but their energy and songwriting strengths certainly puts them near the top of the deathcore pile. The disappointing part of the album really has nothing to do with the album itself. One just has to wonder if people will look past the over saturation of the genre and give this album a chance. The album is quite good but is that enough to get the people sick of the genre to take notice?

Escadron-Tide of the Fallen
(Self-Released, 2008)

Armed with a full speed ahead style of modern thrash, Escadron are honestly an unsigned band that are playing thrash that is much more intense and worthwhile than most of the bands lumped into the so-called resurgence of thrash. This isn't a band that tries to relive the glory days of the genre. They take what The Haunted started with their first few albums and have polished the formula to perfection.

The album is packed to the brim with rapid fire melodic thrash riffs that are played with an incredible amount of vigor. It's not hard to hear that The Haunted is the bands biggest influence, but with The Haunted somewhat changing gears and leaving behind the breakneck speed of past records, this is definitely a welcome influence. A few differences would be in the vocal department. The vocal performance is a bit more vicious than what The Haunted is known for these days and the use of death metal vocals help to punctuate the usually fierce screams on display.

This is the type of style that American bands attempt but rarely succeed in nailing. Escadron definitely has a grasp on what works within the genre and have songwriting chops to spare. The energy level is high, the riffs are memorable and the production is simply crushing for an unsigned band. This may be a band that you have never even heard of, but it comes highly recommended none the less.

The Haunted-Versus
(Century Media, 2008)

The Haunted are a band that have never really made the same record twice. Each record has taken a slightly different path and that is no different with their latest album, Versus. While the album ultimately still sounds like The Haunted it also shows the band coming at a slightly more rock angle. There is a lot of swagger added to the usual assault of the band and it makes for an instantly enjoyable aural beating.

The opening song Moronic Colossus really sets the tone for the rest of the record. The song is energetic, ridiculously catchy and a song that is surely to become a staple of the bands live set for years to come. Little Cage is a song that shows an intensity similar to the earlier albums and is one of the few fast songs on the album. In fact aside from the aforementioned song the only other song that kicks up the tempo is Crusher. The lack of speed certainly doesn't hurt the album. Quite the opposite actually as the band truly lets the songs breathe and with this album in particularly each song is unique in approach.

If you are expecting 11 break neck songs this is an album that will leave you dissapointed. If however you enjoyed what the band has been evolving into with the past few albums you will probably be blown away. The exaggerated rock sound might be a bit to swallow right off the bat, but once the album sinks in you'll realize that it adds an entirely different level of ass kickery to the bands repertoire.

Jeff Loomis-Zero Order Phase
(Century Media, 2008)

It's probably of little surprise that an instrumental album from the guitar player from Nevermore sounds a hell of a lot like Nevermore minus vocals. There are definitely a few songs where he lets down his hair and pays tributes to some of the greatest guitarists of all time and there is no denying that Jeff Loomis is one of the best guitarists in metal these days. If you are a fan of metal guitar playing this album is for you.

The first two songs are essentially Nevemore songs without vocals. It's with the third song where the album really starts to shine. Ron Jarzombek trades leads with Loomis and the result is a flurry of technicality that will leave your head spinning. If you are a fan of sweep picking this song will leave you frothing at the mouth. The standout track for me is Sacristy. The songs starts with a very mellow feel similar to Yngwie Malmsteen before shifting into a section that is very Joe Satriani influenced. One small complaint would be that the distortion could have been packed off a bit during the main melody but that is a very small complaint.

If you need proof of just how damn good this guy is at guitar one listen to Miles of Machines will leave you speechless. What certainly makes the album worthwhile is the fact that the album never falls into the realms of excess. This isn't the type of album that was released by Shrapnel and just features 40 minutes of mindless speed picking. There is no shortage of fast sections and Loomis certainly isn't afraid to show off his chops. But he adds his chops to actual songs which is a nice change for a style of album that is often considered masturbatory.