Conspiracy-Concordat
(Pulverised Records, 2009)

I can't quite put my finger on what exactly to call this band. It is undoubtedly metal, but takes pieces of everything from black metal, vintage death metal, thrash and even straight forward heavy metal. It weaves together to form a sound that is fast, incredibly well written and also very addicting. Black metal seems to be the main focus at times but this is very far from being typical of black metal manages to stay away from the cliches of the genre.

The songs move quite quickly and despite the all out speed the band really manages to keep things quite memorable. A perfect example of what the band has to offer would be the song Conquerdate. It starts off with a very interesting acoustic guitar passage before exploding into black metal styled riffing. Later into the song an almost Mercyful Fate style of heavy metal is used in the riffing department and it helps to make the song even more varied and explosive. One small complaint I do have is that the production is somewhat muted. It's hard to explain but it could have used a bit more bite. The energy level is still very high but a bit more treble in the mix would have helped quite a bit.

That small complaint aside, this is an extreme metal album that is very easy to enjoy. The band is bringing originality to the genre and manages to do every subgenre they explore justice. Fans of black metal will definitely dig this, but fans of the evil side of classic heavy metal and classic death metal as well would do no wrong by picking this album up.

Assaulter-Salvation Like Destruction
(Pulverised Records, 2009)

It only took me a few minutes for the debut album from this Australian band to kick my ass. Taking a classic war metal approach similar to Destroyer 666, the band plays a high speed combination of black metal and thrash metal while leaning slightly more towards the later. This is raw, and visceral music that will have your blood boiling in no time.

This is definitely not the type of album to put on if you are expecting polished productions and perfect musicianship. This is raw and ugly, just the way it should be. The band manages to tread the line between chaotic energy and tightness quite perfectly. The energy level is barbaric in nature but the band is still very much together and the songs are quite memorable in nature. The band wastes little time and the basic nature of the band is really one of its strong suits. You know exactly what to expect from the band and if you are looking for snarling vocals, charging drums, and excellent thrash fuled riffing, this album provides it in spades.

There are times when I like metal to be polished, but there is no denying the power created during chaotic metal either. If you are a fan of war metal or thrash influenced black metal, this debut album is definitely worth a listen. The band manages to really nail every element that makes an album of this nature work.

Hammerfall- No Sacrifice, No Victory
(Nuclear Blast Records, 2009)

I've been a fan of Hammerfall since the debut album but these days the albums just seem to be bleeding together to my ears. The album starts off strong with Any Means Necessary but as the album progresses it becomes quite clear that this is just another Hammerfall album. I guess that isn't a terrible thing and I don't expect the band to do anything radically different, but it's hard to shake the feeling that this is the band somewhat spinning their wheels.

Diehard fans of the band are of course going to eat this album up. The aforementioned song along with the title track are definitely among the best the band has ever written. The problem lies in the rest of the album really. It just never lives up to the potential of these two songs because honestly they are just ridiculously good. There are other aspects of the album to enjoy though. One being the production. The sound is much beefier than you might expect from the band and the album sounds phenomenal. The drum sound and guitar sound are easily the best the band has ever had and really help even the more typical songs have a lot more oomph. I'm still not really sold on the cover of My Sharona though. It is interesting but seems overly cheesy and saying that on a Hammerfall album really says something.

While some of this review could be taken as negative this isn't a bad album by any means. The songwriting is indeed solid and the production is ridiculously polished. Like I mentioned before it is just another Hammerfall album at the end of the day though. It's worth your time if only to hear the title track and Any Means Necessary. If you are a Hammerfall fan you'll like this.