Iommi with Glenn Hughes-The 1996 Dep Sessions
(Sanctuary Records, 2004)

You pretty much know what to expect anytime you see the name Iommi on a project. This album is full of vintage doom riffing that only the man himself could write. Unfortunately, Glenn Hughes’ vocal style really seems like an odd fit for the heavy riffing. He has a bluesy voice that while filled with talent, just isn’t dark enough to fit the nature of some of these songs, The more blues based songs and ballad songs work perfectly, but the more Sabbath-like stuff is a bit of a let down vocally. And honestly it’s the Sabbath like songs that people are going to buy this album for. The less heavy tracks are just a bit too radio friendly at times and while they are catchy they are also instantly forgettable. Thankfully the ratio of heavy to light songs favors heavy, but I still would have liked them to explore that side a bit more. It’s definitely nice to see that this album has finally seen the light of day, but it’s a bit lackluster at times, and really what everyone is waiting to hear is a new Black Sabbath album right?

Circus of Dead Squirrels-Indoor Recess
(ForaNation, 2004)

As you can probably guess from the band name this band is fairly humorous and also very childish. The rumor ranges from stuff that is actually funny, like the opening track about Nintendo, to the not so funny, Rubber Ducky Fucker. Musically these guys what you would call industrial metal or rock. They remind me a bit of a more electronic Rammstien with many more weird noises thrown into the mix. There are also hints of early Marilyn Manson to be found as well. The problem I have with music like this is simple. It’s just never really been a genre that I could fully appreciate. I do however like the bands use of clean vocals, which have a very original sound. I like the driving guitars, and harsher vocals, but when the electronic influences come in with weird bleeps and synthesizers I start to lose a bit of interest.

That said these guys are good at what they do, but I wonder if people will basically avoid them because of the silly band name. It really doesn’t do their sound any justice. This isn’t a style that I usually enjoy at all, but these guys manage to keep my interest while managing to only stumble a few times throughout the entire album.

Mithras-Forever Advancing...Legions
(Candlelight USA, 2004)

Mithras are a band that you don’t hear enough about in the metal underground. But with their amazing new album and now this re-release of Forever Advancing....Legions hopefully the band will have a chance to leave their mark on the metal community.

This album is definitely much more raw then Worlds Beyond the Veil. The songwriting is more straightforward bringing insane riffs, Morbid Angel influenced slower passages and blasting to new extremes. A lot of the atmosphere that makes their latest album so impressive is missing, but they make up for it with raw blasting insanity. This isn’t all about blast beats, but it is a great deal more violent and the band basically just annihilates for 3 or 4 minutes and moves on to the next song.

The songwriting is actually more instantly rewarding here. The riffing is easier to follow and while I hate to say this this is a much more typical death metal album. Not that it’s a bad thing at all though, because this is a raging album of blasting death metal the likes of which the scene doesn’t see much anymore.

The production isn’t really all that great, but I can live with it. There is a sense of urgency to be found within the rather raw guitar sound. It’s still very easy to discern everything and even during the blasting no clarity is lost. It’s not as polished as their new record but the rawness definitely gives the album a certain charm.

All fans of death metal progressing need to know about Mithras it’s that simple. Pick up this disc and Worlds Beyond the Veil together and be prepared to be completely annihilated. You’ll need a car jack just to get your jaw off of the floor, trust me.

Red Harvest-Internal Punishment Programs
(Nocturnal Arts Productions, 2004)

When I first heard Red Harvest I was completely blown away by their industrial influenced death metal. It was heavy as hell, extreme, and completely original. With this latest album the band is still in fine form playing their signature style to almost perfection.

It’s hard to explain how the industrial influence comes into play for this band. It’s not an overt influence. There aren’t huge drum sounds and bleeps all over the place. It’s more a sense of mechanism. There is something machine like about this band, like a giant killing machine coming to destroy the human race. Few bands outside of black metal manage to have a sound that you could call cold, but Red Harvest have a sound that could easily be called cold.

The main driving force behind the band is definitely guitars. The riffs are fairly simple, mid tempo and very effective. Some of the riffs even have a noisier black metal feel at times bringing in a much more melodic aspect to the bands sound. There are synth oriented moments, and the band isn’t afraid to experiment with electronic influences, but it’s only a matter of time before the crushing guitars and harsh vocals come back in to destroy the listener. It works out well because I’m sure some people won’t enjoy the overly industrial tracks, but would easily be able to get into the more metal oriented ones. It’s a diverse album that manages to move around a lot but stays consistent throughout. Nothing seems out of place in the least.

This isn’t a band for everyone. They would definitely appeal to a lot of people, but might be too extreme for some industrial fans and possibly a bit too electronic at times for some elitist metal heads. The bottom line is that this is a cutting edge band that doesn't play by any of the rules of the genres they draw influence from. This fact alone makes this album one of the most important albums the metal scene has seen in a long time.

Goatsnake-1+Dog Days
(Southern Lord Records, 2004)

This is a reissue of the bands 1999 album 1, with the added bonus of Dog Days from 2000. Goatsnake is easily one of the best Sabbath influenced doom bands around and 1 is basically what you could call a masterpiece of modern doom. The production is thick and sludgy, while the song writing plods and weaves through some of the more memorable riffs ever heard in doom. This is one of the few doom albums that really has a sense of dynamics. They have incredibly rocking moments, but aren’t afraid to turn down the distortion a little from time to time either. The second track Innocent is much more mellow, while still retaining the bands signature sound.

This is also the strongest vocal performance the band has ever had I’d say as well. The vocals just really work on this album and aren’t anywhere near as pitchy as the newer Goatsnake material that I’ve heard. To this day 1 still remains the bands masterwork, but I’m sure someday they will have an album that tops this.

Dog Days is much heavier then the 1 material but still very much in the same vein. The funny thing is that while only a year later the vocals on this album are much more pitchy. It might be because of the increasing heaviness of the band. This sounds like it’s tuned down to an ungodly pitch. It’s still great stuff though, but the Dog Days tracks are more along the lines of current Goatsnake.

This is pretty much essential listening for all fans of doom. 1 is easily the best material that Goatsnake has ever written and it’s now wrapped in a new pretty package with extensive liner notes. So how can you go wrong?

Zao-The Funeral of God
(Ferret Records, 2004)

Zao could almost be called the metalcore Spinal Tap they have gone through so many line-up changes. But the amazing thing is that they manage to keep things together and consistently bring out albums that not only rock but challenge the very genre that they helped create.

This album stands out like a sore thumb amongst today's cookie cutter metalcore. Each song has unique ideas and the band has a firm grasp of writing metal riffs that have more to them then just the standard breakdown riff that every fucking band seems to use now. There is also a thread of melody running throughout with more straight ahead riffs and clean vocals showing from time to time. This helps the songs stay interesting and also makes them just a bit more memorable in the long run. In the end though, this is a heavy record anyway you look at it.

Dissonance comes into play quite a bit in the songwriting department for Zao. It always seems to come out of nowhere too. During the opening track, the nosiest riff comes right after the most melodic, so they definitely keep you on your toes.

One thing that you can’t help but grasp is that this doesn’t sound like a hardcore band trying to play metal, this sounds like a band that truly understands how metal works and how to write songs around the heavier approach. The riffs just work together and the songs flow much more then a lot of metalcore bands around right now. They don’t sacrifice any heaviness in the process either.

The production has a surprising amount of mids in the guitar sound. Bands are usually trying to get the heaviest guitar sound possible which usually means scooping the mids. But this has a lot of mids and manages to be very forceful. It also makes every note ring through clearly as the added grit really helps the nuances of the guitar riffs stand out. The bass guitar is a little bit quiet in the mix, but it might just be hard to pick out because of the in your face guitar tone.

Metalcore might be the flavor of the month right now but there are still bands playing the style for all of the right reasons. Zao is one of those bands. They have been doing it for years, and this is easily the best album of their careers so far. Hopefully they can keep the line-up solid and keep bringing ear damage like this to the unprepared public.

Roses are Red-Conversations
(Trustkill Records, 2004)

I’m sure most people expect only breakdowns and hard vocals from Trustkill, but Roses are Red definitely throw a hammer into the gears of what you’d normally expect from the label. Roses are Red are more along the lines of what you’d expect from Drive-Thru Records. With extremely catchy songwriting, clean vocals, and an energetic performance, it won’t take very many songs before this band wins you over.

Saying this band is melodic is a definite understatement. The guitar playing is pretty straight forward, but while there is always the rhythm guitar pounding out the power chords, there is usually always another guitar line over top playing a melodic counterpart to the more straight forward rhythm guitar. It’s a little touch that adds a lot more depth to the bands sound. If it was just the rhythm guitar it would sound pretty empty I think. Not that I really need to tell you, but this isn’t really a speedy affair either. It’s along the lines of what you’d expect from indy rock, with a few songs being a bit faster more along the lines of pop punk. But this is most easily described as a rock band. They don’t pose to be called a punk band, this is simply a high quality rock record.

The band manages to effectively implement a dual vocal style that has become a bit common place these days. The difference here is that the main style is the clean vocals. The screaming is mainly reserved for back up vocals, but they do take center stage from time to time during some of the heavier moments. This isn’t a heavy record, but a few riffs may take you by surprise. Especially the almost metalcore like breakdown found in the closing track. It completely took be by surprise the first time I heard it and it’s little quirks like this that make this album so memorable.

In a time so cluttered with bands similar in style it might be a bit hard for Roses are Red to stand out. Why you ask? Well because people like music that is easily digestible and while these guys are catchy, they aren’t playing by the exact rules that would catapult a band to mainstream success. It could happen over time, but I think this album will get their foot in the door. It’s too good for people not to take notice.