Kaliban-The Tempest of Thoughts
(Crash, 2005)


Man, first off. If I saw this album in a store I would just laugh at the cover art and leave it to collect dust. This has to be one of the worst covers that has ever been printed. Musically the band isn’t much better honestly. They play competent melodic metal with harsh vocals, a lot of guitar solos and absolutely no originality. It’s a poor mans Children of Bodom any way you look at it. And why the hell would you listen to this when you can just listen to the real deal?

With Passion-In the Midst of Bloodied Soil
(Earache Records, 2005)

The US metal scene is absolutely flooded with bands bringing in a Swedish sense of melody. With Passion definitely have that influence, but they are one of the few bands that do anything unique or interesting with it.

Take Swedish death metal, add it technicality, and a Dillinger Escape Plan sense of urgency and you have With Passion. It’s an utterly exhausting album full of tremendously memorable melodies, chaotic drumming and vicious vocals.

These guys definitely aren’t afraid to show off that they can indeed play there instruments as guitar solos are much more common then the breakdowns so common place for heavy US bands. This might get lumped into the metalcore genre, but this is so much more then just that and so much better then what usually gets labelled metalcore. This is simply put extreme metal, and I when I say extreme, I mean extreme. This is fast and in your face, with hardly any let up. Even the slower melodic sections are still bursting with energy. This is an album that shows that the US has a lot to offer fans of extreme music.

Cephalic Carnage-Anomalies
(Relapse Records, 2005)

Cephalic Carnage are a band that is definitely in a league all their own. When you hear the band you know instantly who it is and the urge to head bang and throw yourself around violently is hard to resist.

The band’s potent brand of grinding death metal is in full force on Anomalies. Forget what you’ve heard in the past. This is faster, heavier, and even more varied. The vast majority is of course blasting insanity with brain shaking vocals, but there are some surprising slower moments and a few almost rock like sections.

The production is definitely the strongest yet for the band, keeping things equally furious and tight. The energy levels are definitely incredibly high, yet everything is tight and perfectly mixed for a sound that will definitely give your speakers the beating of their lives.

With every album from these guys you can expect surprises but also be sure that they will continue to play savage grindcore unlike anything you have ever heard before. Anomalies definitely continues that tradition.

Paint It Black-Paradise
(Jade Tree, 2005)

Kid Dynamite was easily one of my favourite punk bands of all time, so when you consider that Paint It Black is somewhat a continuation of the band I am definitely on board and along for the ride. Paint It Black is definitely similar to Kid Dynamite, but much rawer with a more Black Flag like influence coming into play. It’s fast and energetic, full of simple guitar riffs, full throttle bass playing, shouted vocals and fast drums. Its simple put, hardcore punk, and done to near perfection. They keep things urgent and keep the song lengths short, but without sacrificing memorable vocal patterns and riffs. In a time when bands are far too concerned with breakdowns and wearing women’s jeans, Paint It Black is waving the flag of true hardcore and waving it high.

Brodequin-Methods of Execution
(Unmatched Brutality, 2005)

Brodequin are extreme to the point of almost being too extreme. Every riff is 100% throttling, punishing you with blasting and guttural vocals with hardly ever any let up. That in itself isn’t really a problem, but the song writing itself does leave a little to be desired. There just isn’t much to latch onto. The vocals are far too monotonous, and somewhat lacking in energy. There also isn’t much to break up the different sections in the songs, it all seems like a blur and it makes your head spin, but not in a really good way. They definitely have potential, but this is just too much.

Swallow the Sun-The Morning Never Came
(Olympic Recordings, 2005)

This could very well be the best doom album released in the past 10 years. I shit you not. These guys manage to write incredibly memorable, sorrow laced anthems filled with incredibly heavy guitars, haunting melodies and scathing vocals. They definitely take their cue from My Dying Bride but are honestly blowing away anything My Dying Bride has done in years.

Tempo changes are the secret to success here. Very few bands in the doom genre do this and it just becomes boring and stale. I don’t like an entire song to be the same tempo, it definitely enhances the atmosphere of doom, but it can just be unbearable at times. These guys also play with a lot of energy, and while they are definitely doom metal, they play with the vigour of a death metal band.

The production is absolutely crushing, with huge guitars, and a perfect mix. There is obviously a lot of layers to the band’s sound and each rings through clearly amalgamating into an incredibly thick sound. You won’t have to strain to hear anything. This is as clear and powerful as a metal album needs to be.

Doom metal is rarely a genre known for innovation and it is arguable that these guys are doing anything new. The song writing is amazing however and the album is just heads above everything else out there right now in the genre.

Alove for Enemies-The Harvest
(Facedown Records, 2005)

Wow. That’s all I can say, wow. Alove for Enemies debut EP showed a lot of potential but lacked a little bit of focus, but damn have they ever stepped it up with their debut full length for Facedown.

The band definitely plays heavy hardcore, but I wouldn’t call this metalcore. Think more mid-tempo with burly guitar riffs, hoarse vocals and a truckload of breakdowns. They almost have a more European approach to heavy hardcore. You won’t find any Swedish melody either. All of the melody here comes in the form of mainly the use of octave chords.

Vocally things are pretty straight forward with a hoarse yell being the main style of choice. There are a few sections that bring in a spoken style that definitely helps break things up quite a bit. It’s nice to see them try something unique instead of just using clean vocals like pretty much everyone else.

Saying that they have gone to the next level with this album is a definite understatement. I would have never expected a jump this big so early, as this is one of the best albums Facedown has ever released.