The Auburn System-S/T
(Five Point Records, 2005)

Maniacal and grinding death metal is what The Auburn System specialize in, but they seem to come from a more hardcore background then a strictly metal background. Traces of Dillinger Escape Plan weirdness can be heard, but in general this has more to do with the likes of Suffocation or The Red Chord then it does with Dillinger Escape Plan.

You can expect vicious breakdowns, pummelling blast beats and a somewhat unique sense of dissonance. The fact that this is more of a death metal album helps the band stand out from the pack. Without the blasting and guttural vocals this could have been just another metalcore band, but it manages to be so much more.

The production is quite stellar, especially when this is a band that you probably have never heard of before. The guitars are thick and clear with incredible energy, while the drums have a natural tone and the vocals are mixed perfectly.

It would be a stretch to say that these guys are 100% original, but if a cross between say The Red Chord, or Origin and Dillinger Escape Plan peaks your interest, definitely look into this one.

Inactive Messiah-S/T
(Black Lotus/PHD Canada, 2005)


This album can pretty much be summed up in one word, boring. The band’s music is incredibly bland and very incoherent. It’s fairly rock based, but with vocals that are a horrible attempt at being death metal. They are strained and not heavy at all. Musically it’s mainly just bad rhythmic riffs with the odd melodic section. Black Lotus puts out a lot of good stuff, but this definitely isn’t good any way you look at it.

Mandrake-The Balance of Blue
(Greyfall/PHD Canada, 2005)

There are pretty much two things that I demand of female fronted metal bands, a passionate vocal performance and at least a somewhat heavy approach. Mandrake actually sounds a bit like Evanescence, but much better. Somber vocals clash with heavy guitars, and a melodic sensibility that is incredibly infectious. The band definitely isn’t overly heavy, but the riffing definitely lets you know that this is indeed a metal album. It isn’t a rock album dressed up like a metal album, through and through this is 100% metal.

I tend to be somewhat standoffish with keyboards, but Mandrake really manages to use them to great effect. They don’t play a central role in the music most of the time, mainly just being used for colors and extra textures. They add an extra layer to the sound that definitely helps thicken things up. The guitars themselves are a bit bare bones in their approach, with mainly just power chords, so the keyboard melodies really help the vocals stay at the front.

This might not be the typical album that I would throw on, but when music is played with passion it is easy to enjoy regardless if it is your regular genre of choice.

Aborted-The Archaic Abattoir
(Olympic Recordings, 2005)

Sometimes death metal bands make an incredible jump musically. Think of Carcass on Heartwork, Cannibal Corpse on The Bleeding and now Aborted on The Archaic Abattoir. Now Aborted have been amazing in the past, but nothing will prepare you for how savage, diverse and memorable this new album is.

The blasting of the past is definitely here, as are the trademark growls. But add to that an incredibly diverse vocal performance filled with shrieks, and hardcore sounding vocals. The music is just as diverse, going from straight ahead death metal to hardcore breakdowns, to even a few rock influenced sections. It’s fairly easy to see that the band has hit their creative stride and really nailed it with this album.

Aborted has always been a band that is well known but never really broke through past the underground. That all may very well change with this new album. This is one of the best death metal albums ever recorded, and in a time when blasting and technicality is the rule of the day, it’s awesome to see a band keeping things incredibly memorable.

Slumber-s/t
(Candlelight USA, 2005)

I’m not sure if you would call this doom, or just emotional metal that happens to have hints of doom. The band’s sound is layered with guitar melodies, synths and an extremely cool guttural vocal approach. It has hints of the Finnish doom/rock sound actually with a little bit of Sentenced coming across, and possibly a bit of HIM as well.

One thing that always bores me to death about doom are the plodding tempos, but despite being named Slumber, this disc definitely won’t put you to sleep. The band plays with a lot of energy, and actually isn’t very slow. They aren’t fast by any stretch of the imagination, instead travelling at more of a mid-tempo rock sort of beat. The guitars are usually quite melodic with layered melodies and a chugging power chord base. For as catchy as it is, it always stays heavy.

Fans of everything from Sentenced, to Amorphis, to HIM, to even Edge of Sanity will find elements of Slumber to get into. Simply stated, this is an interesting and heavy album that will blow you away.

Varathron-Crowsreign
(Black Lotus/PHD Canada, 2005)

Intros can be deceiving. The intro that opens this disc is horrible, but the songs following are quite good. So just skip the intro. The band plays, actually I don’t know what the hell to call it. The opening song is acoustic guitars and pianos, with the singer saying there is no god over and over. The second song however shows the band’s true face, which is varied and blasting blackened death metal.

Melodic guitars are covered with blasting drums and a rather old school sounding vocal approach. Everything from violins to piano are used to create atmosphere and it works quite well. The band’s approach really sounds like a combination of many different metal sub-genres. You have hints of black metal, death metal, power metal and doom metal coming together.

The vocal approach might actually be a bit too reserved for the style of the band. It remains fairly constant in a gruff death metal voice, but a bit of variety would have matched the band’s diverse attack. Possibly in the future they might try adding some depth to the vocals.

Honestly I wasn’t expecting much from this, and I’m fucking blown away. The intro sucks, but everything after that is amazing, diverse metal sure to please fans of everything from black metal to power metal.

Chixdiggit-Pink Razors
(Fat Wreck Chords, 2005)

Chixdiggit are a jazz/fusion band that play with…yea right eh? Seriously, Chixdiggit’s music is as simple as its name and it fucking rules. Simple power chord driven guitars and passionate vocals singing about topics everyone and their grandma can relate to. Throw in some incredibly memorable guitar solos and we have a winner here.

There is a bit of a newer Vandals vibe to a few of the songs on here, but it’s pretty standard fare for Chixdiggit. It’s not overly serious, but it is seriously rocking and just fun music. It’s the type of music you can put on and seriously just fucking forget about everything and have fun. And after all isn’t that what music is all about?