Six Feet Under-13
(Metal Blade Records, 2005)

While the last album from Six Feet Under was a bit of a let down, 13 shows the band writing and recorded what is possibly the best album of their careers. It’s not like they have changed much either. It’s just that the song writing is consistent, catchy and some of the best stuff the band has ever pumped out.

There’s no denying that this band is rather simplistic. But not all bands need to be technical, and not every fan out there wants to hear blasting and off kilter rhythms with each band they listen to. That said though, this is a bit more involved then what the band has done in the past bringing in more guitar solos are more riffs per song. It’s still classic Six Feet Under, but just with a bit more meat on the bone if you will.

The production was once again handled by Chris Barnes and it is much better this time around. The album has an urgent, live sound. I think that the guitar tone could have been a bit thicker, especially during the guitar solos, but overall the album sounds greats, much better then the last album.

Six Feet Under is a band that people either love or hate. There is no middle ground. This album may just make people who didn’t care for them in the past reconsider what they think of the band though.

Impiety-Paramount Evil
(Paragon Records, 2005)

Impiety is a band that I’ve known of for literally years, but this is the first chance I have had to actually hear what the band has to offer. Being a huge fan of Angel Corpse, I couldn’t help but hear the similarities and instantly began to feel the intensity found within this disc.

The band is fast, dark and quite old school in nature. Blasting whirlwinds are coated with fiery guitar riffs and harsh vocal snarls. There is hardly any let up, with one bulldozing riffs crashing out of your speakers right after another. They manage to keep everything memorable though, and a clear production helps all of the nuances of the riffs stand out.

Saying that they mimic Angel Corpse would be cutting them short, but it is an influence that is easy to pick up on. But when you consider that Hammer of Gods was one of the most vicious albums ever released and Paramount Evil is one of the first albums to match that intensity it speaks volumes about this album. Few bands can play with this much energy and keep things together. There are faster bands, but the overall atmosphere, speed, and feel can only be replicated by a very select group of bands.

Fans of old school blasting death metal, and black metal will undoubtedly be into this one.

Blood In Blood Out-Respect Our Loyalty
(Spook City Records, 2005)

With the boom of metalcore happening right now when a CD of good ol’ fast, heavy hardcore comes across my desk it stands out like a sore thumb. Blood In Blood Out are fast, pissed off, but not afraid to break things down and play some incredibly heavy slower riffs that would undoubtedly cause havoc in the pit.

Think of Mushmouth mixed with more New York styled hardcore. The band is aggressive and heavy, but never afraid to throw in slow sections or even a few surprising guitar solos. They keep things short and to the point as well. The band blows through 10 songs in exactly a half hour which is pretty much the perfect length for a full length hardcore album.

The production isn’t spectacular, yet it doesn’t hurt the band at all. The energy comes across and that is the most important part of a hardcore album. It by no means is a bad sounding album though; it’s just missing a bit of oomph in the guitars.

Overall this is a punishing record chock full of heavy breakdowns, and solid song writing. It follows the tried and tested formula we’ve all come to know from heavy hardcore, and like they said if it ain’t broke….

Folsom-If You’re a Viper
(Spook City Records, 2005)

6 songs in just over 11 minutes are what Folsom serves up on their debut EP for Spook City Records. With such a short running time I bet you are thinking this is a fast band, but it’s actually quite the opposite. Folsom plays at a more midpaced tempo, they just don’t bother with filler. It has that classic NYHC feel mixed with hints of Sheer Terror. You can expect lots of power chords, and a surprising amount of double bass. It’s a bare bones approach to hardcore, and it works. They don’t try to cram different genres into the music.

Despite this being slow for the most part, Wasted Away kicks up the tempo and is one of the more standard sounding songs on the EP. The rest of the songs offer a nice cross section of what hardcore has to offer, be it slower breakdowns, or a more rocking approach.

It’s through and through hardcore the entire duration of the EP. Fans of everything from Sheer Terror to Blood for Blood will be able to get into what these guys are doing.

V/A-Digital Video Desctruction
(Metal Blade Records, 2005)

Despite being a be bare bones with absolutely no extras, menus or anything really, this is an excellent DVD showcasing 20 videos from the Metal Blade roster. Amon Amarth and Six Feet Under both have two videos each, while every other band only supplies one. Chances are none of these are played very regularly, well aside from As I Lay Dying at least. Here’s a rundown of who else is on here: Black Dahlia Muder, Daysend, Cataract, Unearth, Cannibal Corpse, Brainstorm, Cattle Decapitation, The Heavils, Impious, The Crown, Vehemence, Gorerotted, Ancient, Starwood, and Beyond the Embrace. The quality definitely varies from video to video, but there isn’t anything that you’d consider unwatchable. Fans of the Metal Blade roster will definitely want to check this out.