The Finnish wizards of the cello have certainly evolved since their Metallica tribute, enlisting the aid of some of rocks most relevant frontmen:  Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Cristinia Scabbia of Lacuna Coil, and Till Lindemann of Rammstein.  And let’s not forget the invincible drumming by Dave Lombardo of Slayer.

7th Symphony plays much the same way as the band’s recent records by offering vocals by four more prominent vocalists including Joe Duplantier of Gojira, Gavin Rossdale of Bush, Lacey Mosley of Flyleaf, and Brent Smith of Shinedown.  Almost needless to say, Duplantier is the clear victorious destroyer of the bunch; however, Rossdale’s vocal performance on “End of Me” is also pretty sick.

“Broken Pieces” featuring Mosley could pass for any of the Flyleaf singles that have been released in the past.

The rest of the songs are instrumental performances.  The opening “At The Gates of Manala” is a harrowing journey through the Finnish underworld or realm of the dead.  Agonizing string work dons the seven-minute trek over a fiery river of death.

“Rage of Poseidon” is a jittery thrash frenzy lasting nearly nine minutes while “On The Rooftop With Quasimodo” gushes with progressive melody. Lombardo delivers a thunderous onslaught of his own on “2010,” with his rapid footwork.

For those that download the disc from iTunes, the band offers a really chill cover of Black Sabbath’s “Spiral Architect” which is iPod worthy.

7th Symphony is another metal victory for the cellists of doom.  It is the perfect mix of mainstream rock diligence and progressive competence to engage all heavy listeners.

Apocalyptica is Perttu Kivilaakso (Cello/Additional Vocals), Paavo Lötjönen (Cello/Additional Vocals), Mikko Sirén (Drums/Additional vocals, & Eicca Toppinen (Cello/Additional Vocals).

Track Listing:

1. “At The Gates of Manala”
2. “End of Me”
3. “Not Strong Enough”
4. “2010″
5. “Beautiful”
6. “Broken Pieces”
7. “On The Rooftop with Quasimodo”
8. “Bring Them To Life”
9. “Sacra”
10. “Rage of Poseidon”

Thirty years later, it seems like every other album I open this year (last month Nonpoint, this month Filter) contains some sort of cardboard pop-up. Why did it take three decades for 3D-style technology to catch on? Frankly, I’m bored of the idea by now. You hear me James Cameron? You were three decades too late!

Filter’s latest record comes packaged with a blue pop-up booklet, which doesn’t impress me much either; doesn’t come close to Lando Calrissian flying the Millenium Falcon.  As far as the disc’s content is concerned, Filter does offer a few cool modern rock tunes on their latest release The Trouble With Angels. The best being “The Inevitable Relapse” and most pleasant being “Fades Like A Photograph (Dead Angel).”

One thing is for sure, all the songs sound very familiar which seems to be part of Filter’s appeal.  You get catchy programming and Richard Patrick’s dragged out “YEAHHHHH!” on many of the tunes.  He does a damn fine job at it.  You can almost equate it to that funny sound that Disturbed’s David Draiman makes on every single song.

Some of the tunes on The Trouble With Angels seem to blend into one another, while the track “No Re-Entry” stands out more than others in terms of careful composition.

Going back to the pop-up art work; Filter did a much better job than Nonpoint’s Miracle because Filter had the decency to offer a sleeve so the disc does not screw up the consistency of your CD rack—Good looking out Filter.

This disc definitely stands up to their previously released work. If you were a Filter fan before, then it would be foolish to say that this disc accomplishes anything different than earlier releases Short Bus or Title of Record.

Filter is Robert Patrick (Vocals/Guitars/Programming), Mitchell Marlow (Guitar), John Spiker (Bass/Programming), & Mika Fineo (Drums).

Track Listing:

1. “The Inevitable Relapse”
2. “Drug Boy”
3. “Absentee Father”
4. “No Love”
5. “No Re-Entry”
6. “Down with Me”
7. “Catch a Falling Knife”
8. “The Trouble with Angels”
9. “Clouds”
10. “Fades Like a Photograph (Dead Angel)”

WHITECHAPEL: A NEW ERA OF CORRUPTION

Knoxville, TN deathcore quintet Whitechapel have built a loyal following by steamrolling audiences with their three-pronged downtuned guitar attack, and their latest offering A NEW ERA OF CORRUPTION continues this squad’s mission statement with a bounty of their trademarked brutality at the forefront of the charge. Featuring 11 tracks whose relentless slug and chug guitars pound eardrums while a tandem of pulverizing riffs and ruthless percussive strikes blast listeners into submission, Whitechapel showcases the proclivity to go past the boundaries of deathcore with a pronounced death metal vibe, strong vocal phrasings that equally borrow from The Black Dahlia Murder and Oceano and flashes of melody in their guitar solos to counteract the chaos of their crash and smash deathcore. Despite the disc feeling dragged down with a touch too much crush to separate songs from each other, Whitechapel presents a well-chiseled and condensed collection of tunes ready for moshpit detonation. www.metalblade.com -Mike SOS

SPED: SPED

Sped is a band of NYC punks whose raucous delivery, sardonic attitude, and bratty vocal style embodies the spirit that once commandeered the Lower East Side before gentrification. Despite demonstrating their wares via a two-song sampler, this unit’s brash and bold presentation boasts an authentic albeit brief punk rock bite with a buoyant bounce that fans of NOFX, All, and Dead Kennedys will have no problem getting their pogo on to. www.myspace.com/spednyc -Mike SOS

MIGHTY HIGH/ STONE AXE: SPLIT 7”

Immersed in yesteryear’s rock ‘n roll regalia, this two-song split CD offers a glimpse of retro rock done right courtesy of Brooklyn, NY stoner rock troupe Mighty High and NWOBHM by way of Oregon outfit Stone Axe. Up first is “Don’t Panic, It’s Organic” by the NYC crew that gives Fu Manchu and Cheech and Chong an equal run for their money, thanks to the gas-huffed riff chug over a swinging wrecking ball rhythm tearing down the walls. Next comes “Metal Damage”, a track bursting with old school flavor from the opening simple yet stomping bass line to the histrionic hard rock vocals and rough and tumble Priest-esque guitarwork. If you like to rock, this might be the best 7:24 investment you’ve ever made. www.ripple-music.com -Mike SOS

ENGRAINED: ANGER, ROOTS & ROCK ‘N ROLL

Long running German unit Engrained drop a five-track offering bursting with a Motorhead meets Agnostic Front stance on ANGER, ROOTS & ROCK ‘N ROLL. From their relentless stomping rhythms to a set of strained vocals that sound a bit too stolen from Roger Miret, this crew keeps the premises basic while wearing their easy to pick apart batch of influences prominently. Nonetheless, Engrained manage to string together an effective strand of punk-tinged rock ‘n roll soaked in hardcore whose raucous spirit and flashy fretwork makes amends for the act’s severe case of unoriginality. www.spv.de -Mike SOS

SOILWORK: THE PANIC BROADCAST

Rejoice metalheads! Swedish modern melodic death metal merchants Soilwork have reunited with founding guitarist/producer Peter Wichers for their latest 11-track release THE PANIC BROADCAST, yielding a scorching return to business as usual while building off of the band’s past consistencies. From the intense opening strands of “Late for the Kill, Early for the Slaughter” to the somber acoustic intro “King of the Threshold” that morphs into the ballad-esque “Let This River Flow”, Soilwork considerably steps up their game from their last few efforts with elements of old school thrash and superlative production values reigning supreme while revisiting past glories with fresher perspectives (“The Thrill”, “The Akuma Afteglow”). Those who wrote the band off after FIGURE NUMBER FIVE shouldn’t get their hopes completely up, as the unit’s metalcore tendencies are still very much a part of their framework, but for those who felt cheated by the last few releases should feel vindicated with this new collection. www.nuclearblastusa.com -Mike SOS

CLINGING TO THE TREES OF A FOREST FIRE: SONGS OF ILL HOPE AND DESPERATION

Shapelessly shifting from blazing grindcore to nefarious noise rock to slow-churned doom (usually within the same song), Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire unleash a ruthlessly arranged cavalcade of vicious dynamic manipulations on their latest endeavor SONGS OF ILL HOPE AND DESPERATION. Imagine a musical tug of war between Pig Destroyer and Eyehategod with Napalm Death presiding over the proceedings to get an inkling of the chaotic cacophony this abrasive squad delivers complete with unsettling fits of dissonance and grotesque song titles like “Shat Out My Bones” and “They Smeared Shit on Their Skin so They Could Blend in at Night”. Not for the easily offended, faint of heart, or unadventurous, this Denver, CO quartet injects modern metallic abnormalities into a classic grindcore template while fully encompassing a true sense of desperation and devastation. www.prostheticrecords.com -Mike SOS

LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH: THE EXTRA DIMENSIONAL WOUND

Authentic black metal hailing from Los Angeles just doesn’t sound right, yet the City of Angels has a dangerous entity on their hands that gives the Nordic countries a run for their money in the form of the depraved squad known as Lightning Swords of Death. This diabolical unit’s eight-track excursion to the depths of the abyss via the second wave of black metal yields a nefarious listen laden in the dark end of the metal spectrum. Scraping the bottom of the barrel with a tenacious temerity, this blasphemous crew has risen from the ranks of the underground without losing an ounce of wickedness despite employing the noticeable beefed-up production value necessary for the band to both blast (“The Extra Dimensional Wound”) and crawl (“Venter of the Black Beast”) with equal efficiency. Add in a barbaric sense of malevolence summoned by a crushing low-end bass assault and a vile vocal performance whose shrieks and growls evoke true evil (“Damnation Pentastrike “) and THE EXTRA DIMENSIONAL WOUND becomes a monstrous affair that extreme metal followers need to experience. www.metalblade.net -Mike SOS

DIGAMY: A SHAPE NAMED SAYTEN

Straddling the lines between stinging indie rock, funky punk and driving grunge, the Astoria, NY trio named Digamy share their eclectic exploratory musical fancies with everyone on the five-track endeavor entitled A SHAPE NAMED SAYTEN. Mashing styles together with a slew of slanted melodies, memorable vocal lines, and a rash of off-kilter arrangements, songs like “Feed Me” sound like a cross between Dead Kennedys and Nirvana, while “Miracle Worker” melds touches of psychedelic rock with a Red Hot Chili Pepper-like thread running throughout. Provocative enough to keep ears racing while simple enough for the masses to get their rock out with, Digamy’s punchy potpourri of confrontational rock ‘n roll skillfully showcases their unique identity taken from an amalgamation of rock’s cornerstone artists from Pearl Jam to The Velvet Underground. www.myspace.com/digamy2 -Mike SOS

KINGDOM OF SORROW: BEHIND THE BLACKEST TEARS

The colossal collaboration between Crowbar/Down’s Kirk Windstein and Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta continues on the sophomore effort from Kingdom of Sorrow. BEHIND THE BLACKEST TEARS finds two of the busiest men in metal clamping down and getting nasty with burly Southern metal grooves (“Along the Path to Ruin”), metalcore brevity (“Sleeping Beast”) and stellar vocal tradeoffs aplenty (“God’s Law in the Devil’s Land”). Showcasing stepped-up songwriting cohesiveness with a decisively more “band” aura than from their debut (thanks to the rest of the band pitching in on ideas and structures), Windstein’s signature sludgy guitarwork and anguished vocal abrasions and Jasta’s trademark hardcore howl are equally off the charts here, as the presence of these elements has been significantly increased from before, resulting in a less disjointed batch of soul crushing songs that aren’t as easy to decipher who the main influence behind the scenes is.  Boasting 12 tracks that run compact like a Hatebreed song yet are bolstered with the headbanging zeal of a Crowbar tune, this disc finds the tandem meeting smack dab in the middle of their comfort zones and letting loose with an organically charged impetus fusing each man’s distinct strengths together to make a hellacious hybrid of metal goodness. www.relapse.com -Mike SOS

MASTERPLAN: TIME TO BE KING

Making his return to the fold after some time apart, Jorn Lande brings his impeccable vocal talents back to Masterplan on the German squad’s latest 10-track offering TIME TO BE KING. Championing streams of melodic metal, this group emanates a decisively darker vibe this time (“The Sun is in Your Hands”) with a rash of sweeping keyboards and crunchy guitars at the forefront of their rhythmically rousing attack (“The Black One”). Boasting a heartfelt histrionic performance by Lande over a slew of strongly written songs whose formulaic soaring chorus and blistering guitarwork combo comprise a power metal album of epic proportions (“The Dark Road”), this disc is bound excite longtime fans as well as garner new ears with its spot-on tried and true power metal presentation. www.afm-records.de -Mike SOS

LEVIATHAN: NASTY

Recently reformed NYC quartet Leviathan combines their no frills garage rock aesthetic with metallic overtones on the band’s latest five-track affair NASTY. This grizzled unit’s blend of dark-edged rock exudes the organically induced freewheeling spirit found in early hard rock a la Deep Purple while the band’s devil may care attitude (“Nasty”) and slanted musical stance evokes comparisons to a hybrid of Danzig and Rollins Band (“Made to Be Broken”). Unpolished yet hardly undercooked, Leviathan secures a sound firmly steeped in the underground full of big guitars, thunderous drums, and an undeniable rock ‘n roll swagger propelling the entire machine. www.leviathan-nyc.com -Mike SOS

CHRIS LANEY: ONLY COME OUT AT NIGHT

Chris Laney’s sophomore effort ONLY COME OUT AT NIGHT skillfully follows a meticulous hair metal template without sounding stale. From a rash of over the top guitar solos to rounds of sugary vocal harmonies reminiscent of Def Leppard and Slaughter adorning this 11-track endeavor, this Swedish guitarist/singer also known for his studio work with modern glam rockers such as Crashdiet and side work with veterans in Shotgun Messiah steps on the other side of the board to deliver potent and punchy melodies and crunchy rock anthems suitable for playing loud and letting loose (“Crush”, “Love So Bad”). Effortlessly intertwining grit and glamour, Chris Laney’s latest release contains all the bells and whistles necessary to feed the need for fist pumping hard rock. www.metalheaven.net -Mike SOS

CANVAS SOLARIS: IRRADIANCE

Instrumental progressive metal quintet Canvas Solaris unleash a nine-track album chock full of intricate arrangements and technical performance with IRRADIANCE. This seasoned squad’s dizzying time signature switches and swirls of precision-driven fretwork make for a challenging yet ultimately satisfying listen for those familiar with the outer reaches of the metal spectrum. Who needs vocals when you boast two shredding guitarists, a bassist, a keyboardist whose synth work accentuates without going overboard, and a drummer that keeps the whole mix of heavy dissonance in check? Not these cats, as this Georgia-based crew finds a happy medium between their death metal roots and their exploratory endeavors here with dashes of world instrumentation and daring compositions spearheading the charge. www.lasersedgegroup.com -Mike SOS

JPT SCARE BAND: ACID BLUES IS THE WHITE MAN’S BURDEN

Unearthed from obscurity, Kansas City psychedelic proto-metal group JPT Scare Band have been around since the early 70’s but have only been releasing albums since the mid 90’s. The band’s latest batch of tunes stemming from a multitude of basement and studios sessions comprises the collection ACID BLUES IS THE WHITE MAN’S BURDEN, a fuzz-laden seven track time machine trip through the formative years of hard rock via a bevy of organically organized hazy blues jams that wouldn’t sound of place between Hendrix, Cream and Zeppelin on classic rock radio. Throw in some garage rock charm, a dash of Blue Cheer rhythmic rattle, explosive fretwork fireworks melding Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimmy Page and an unadulterated rock ‘n roll spirit and you’ve got the makings of a band long overdue to collect the praise and adoration they richly deserve. www.ripple-music.com -Mike SOS

A BODY: ALL THE WATERS OF THE EARTH TURN TO BLOOD

The hauntingly sludgy Rhode Island duo that calls themselves A Body have embarked on a sophomore effort chock full of experimental lamentations. ALL THE WATERS OF THE EARTH TURN TO BLOOD is a slow cooked seven-track thriller that tinkers with bouts of Neurosis-esque atmosphere while embracing the macabre dissonance of Sunn 0))). Managing to implement a slew of avant-garde elements into their challenging musical offering such as an opening track consisting of only female chants for ten minutes, A Body is the type of band that defies convention and relishes in producing artistically-driven disturbing atmospheres bursting with jagged dissonance in lieu of melody or linear composition. Add in an unsettling array of samples and an occasional shrieking vocal that emerges from the depths of the murky guitar and drum doom metal undulations and A Body’s mission of creeping the hell out of listeners can be considered a rousing success. www.atalossrecordings.com -Mike SOS

AN EVENING WITH: CRUEL INTENTIONS

Long Island quintet An Evening With earnestly follows the footsteps of the likes of All American Rejects, Story of the Year and fellow LI band Taking Back Sunday with their stab at high-energy pop-punk entitled CRUEL INTENTIONS. This 12-track endeavor produced by one of the dudes from Hidden in Plainview unloads dollops of cavity inducing sugar-coated melodies over the kind of slickly produced guitar-driven Warped Tour rock that mainstream radio drools over with inescapable bouts of slightly anguished vocals cascading over the super glossy songwriting. Perfectly crafted for the PG-13 sect, An Evening With does an adequate job of whining their way into teenage hearts, tugging at heartstrings with big hooks while conquering one mall at a time with their swoopy hair-dos and punchy emo rock posturing. www.aneveningwithband.com -Mike SOS

AEON: PATH OF FIRE

Boiling over with venomous intensity, Swedish squad Aeon hurl pulverizing and technical strands of hatred for both God and religion on the group’s latest 11-track offering PATH OF FIRE. While this quintet’s Deicide meets Hate Eternal persona is far from groundbreaking, the sheer brutality audible on cuts like “Abomination to God” bears a blasphemous force that is impossible to ignore. Doling out vicious shots of velocity, belligerent growls with powerful phrasings (“I Will Burn”), solid guitar solos (“Of Fire”) and relentless rounds of pounding drums in the name of Satan is pretty stock in the death metal genre, yet Aeon’s incessant jackhammer delivery and genuine disdain for humanity adds firepower to the unit’s explosive malevolence, assisting the unit from being cast aside as merely a clone of the bands they draw much of their influence from. www.metalblade.net -Mike SOS

ISTAPP: BLEKINGE

Istapp is a Swedish black metal troupe whose debut album BLEKINGE displays a surprising amount of upbeat time signatures and catchy choruses for a band of their darkened nature. This 10-track affair demonstrates the unit’s need for speed with a confident swagger (“Snö”) while interjecting a bevy of stripped down speed-picked guitar melodies that compound contagious melodic death metal qualities with strong Pagan ties (“I Väntan På Den Absoluta Nollpunkten”). Sung completely in Swedish to maintain a fierce sense of authenticity, the trio of warlords that comprise Istapp gallop through the countryside armed with the mission to destroy all in their path with a pristinely produced slab of simple yet effective folksy black metal (“Bortgång Af Alvrödul, Ljusets Förfall”) . www.metalblade.com -Mike SOS

EARLY MAN: DEATH POTION

After a five-year studio hiatus, hardline traditional metal outfit Early Man return with DEATH POTION, a snarling beast brimming over with the familiar nuances from classic metal luminaries such as Diamondhead, Randy Rhoads-era Ozzy Osbourne, and Mercyful Fate. This Los Angeles by way of Brooklyn, NY quartet exude the old school bullet belt spirit with a raw guitar tone and a sneering yet startlingly clean lead vocal in tow not unlike fellow revivalists Three Inches of Blood and Valiant Thor (“Brainwash at Birth”), allowing tracks like “Kildrone” to bridge the gap between Voivod and Anthrax, “Someone Else’s Nightmare” to come close to copping the cadence of Metallica under a different production eye, and “Fight” to rip out a Judas Priest by way of Megadeth twin guitar melody that guides the entire song. Championing the organic deviance of the NWOBHM with hearty dollops of classic metal elements for good measure, Early Man’s 12-track time traveled excursion transports you back to the glory days of denim and leather. www.theendrecords.com -Mike SOS

PETE SANCHEZ: RACCOON MAISY

Left of center Long Island quartet Pete Sanchez brews an intriguing batch of tunes on the unit’s latest disc RACCOON MAISY. This band comprised of two sets of brothers meshes dark interludes and dissonant pseudo psych metal riffs (“WSE II”) with a ready for radio alternative rock slant and a flashy unabashed rock ‘n roll swagger. This troupe’s 10-track affair does just as the refrain from “Delay”, a cut that could pass for the alt rock brother of Type O Negative’s “Black Number One” asks, moving forward with swirls of hip shaking rhythms and bombastic hard rock histrionics meticulously translated and tweaked to capture the attention of those that expect more than the norm (“Stoned”).  Boasting a Jello Biafra-esque vocal warble that fits snugly between the band’s System of A Down by way of Our Lady Peace musical approach, Pete Sanchez’s sinewy stylistic switches are well-played, not too complex, and warrant many listens in order to fully comprehend and digest the band’s sea-sick sonic power. www.petesanchez.com -Mike SOS  

ALLEGAEON: FRAGMENTS OF FORM AND FUNCTION

Providing a veritable smorgasbord of Swedish death metal goodness as interpreted by five dudes from Denver, CO, the debut offering by Allegaeon entitled FRAGMENTS OF FORM AND FUNCTION is a very impressive introduction to the metal world. This disc boasts machine gun twin guitar blowouts aplenty a la Lamb of God meets Soilwork with touches of Dark Tranquility strewn in, complete with tasty solos and clever dynamic shifts keeping the mood sharp and swift while burgeoning strands of melody (usually emanating from the venomous vocal rasp) rise up from the chaos to assist this versatile squad’s massively heavy assault to reach maximum impact. Demonstrating capability to shred people’s faces off and still manage to write a memorable hook is no easy task, yet this quintet consistently succeeds in maintaining a resourceful balance between technical, brutal and catchy, resulting in an eclectic extreme metal experience chock full of evil explosiveness that intriguingly changes up the elements from their influences to form a crushing extreme metal perspective all their own. www.metalblade.com -Mike SOS

MOSE GIGANTICUS: GIFT HORSE

Mose Giganticus doesn’t hide its influences one bit, as their thinly veiled homage to the sound championed by the likes of Baroness, Mastodon and Melvins borders on highway robbery from the opening strands of the first cut “Last Resort”. Utterly unoriginal yet played with purposeful virulence, this Philadelphia-based troupe masterminded by a virtual one man band named Matt Garfield also throws in a hearty smattering of synths and some jarring musical juxtapositions like dropping the chorus of “Tonight Tonight Tonight” by Genesis as played by Isis into “The Seventh Seal”, complimenting the waves of sludge metal aped from the Georgia sky employed throughout. While this seven-track affair will undoubtedly get over better with those without a frame of reference, Garfield’s daring songwriting and the sheer sonic goodness displayed yields an enjoyably monolithic listen even though the sounds used are not theirs completely. www.relapse.com -Mike SOS

WAKING THE CADAVER: BEYOND COPS BEYOND GOD

New Jersey’s deathcore heroes Waking the Cadaver brutalize with a belligerent blend of slamming riffs, neck snapping rhythms, and gruff growls better than most of their peers, scraping the bottom of the barrel of extreme metal to drum up a viscous consistency of chaos on their nine-track offering BEYOND COPS BEYOND GOD. Taking cues from a kaleidoscopic array of extreme metal from the likes of Hate Eternal and Napalm Death to Dying Fetus (“Terminate with Extreme Prejudice”), this quintet slash and burn through a ruthless stream of chromatic low end crunch with enough burly breakdowns to keep the floor a constant sea of human limbs without an ounce of compromise. If you’re a slam metal fan or a guilty pleasure seeker, this disc delivers with dastardly dissonance. www.seigeofamida.com -Mike SOS

VARIOUS ARTISTS: THIS COMP KILLS FASCISTS

Round two of THIS COMP KILLS FASCISTS has been brought to life thanks to the underground savvy and sensibilities of Pig Destroyer/Agoraphobic Nosebleed juggernaut Scott Hull, yielding an exhilarating yet exhaustive 74-track album featuring 19 bands specializing in various incarnations and hybrids of grindcore, noise rock, powerviolence, and hardcore punk. Notable acts include Drugs of Faith, Crom and Lack of Interest, yet all of the acts prove themselves as worthy of their spot, despite disparate sound quality effecting some band’s selections more than others. Clocking in at over an hour, there’s nary a chance to catch your breath here sans a few funny samples sprinkled in (Marion Barry’s “Nuclear Bio-Chimp Assault” is a standout), as this disc’s broad scope and relentless pace renders an accurate account of what under the radar heaviness is all about while bestowing the listener with a shot of some good old bang for the buck. www.relapse.com -Mike SOS

OCTAVES: GREENER PASTURES

Octaves is a Maryland-based quintet that builds their dissonant blend of screamo, mathcore, and modern metal sound from the likes of The Bled, Norma Jean, and Every Time I Die on the squad’s eight-track GREENER PASTURES. Intertwining a cosmic array of jarring guitar riffs and frantic bass guitar with unsettling rhythmic patterns and a monstrously lung-ripping vocal performance, this unit’s songwriting veers into experimental territory rather often during the course of this album, applying a like-minded rash of nuances and effects similar to their peers while retaining a steadfast stream of hardcore aggressiveness (“Be Angry at the Sun for Setting on a Set of Sons”) to consistently keep the music abrasive throughout (“I Am He Who is Called I Am”). Charged with an explosive sense of dynamics, Octaves have created a progressive and powerful debut album for folks that enjoy fielding a barrage of musically concrete curveballs. www.hotfootrecords.com -Mike SOS

AGE OF END: THE RHYTHM OF THE SLAUGHTER

Massachusetts-based quartet Age of End dusts off the nu metal machine and takes it for a spin on their harsh seven-track sojourn entitled THE RHYTHM OF THE SLAUGHTER. Employing a sound chock full of pummeling distortion with off kilter melodies aplenty (“12 Days Later”), this troupe combines the technical prowess of Mudvayne and the bare knuckle rage of 40 Below Summer (“The Awakening”) with a lackluster love it or leave it sing/scream vocal showing whose Staind-esque sentiment with hip-hop sprinkles seems a bit out of step and a tad out of key throughout the entire disc. Comprising a dated type of heaviness steeped in metal and hard rock tones from the early 00’s, Age of End’s debut disc yields relentless rounds of unabashed aggression and disjointed tempos perfect for folks into Korn, Flaw, Nothingface and Dry Kill Logic. www.ageofend.com -Mike SOS

THE FUCKING WRATH: TERRA FIRMA

Producing a stopgap EP for their new label home in between relentless rounds of touring, perennial California roaddogs The Fucking Wrath blast out a five-track crusty hardcore stopgap entitled TERRA FIRMA on new home Tee Pee Records. While this trio’s Sabbath meets Black Flag blend of thunderous rhythms, metallic riffs, and burnout breakdowns is far from groundbreaking, this rollicking outfit’s output can undoubtedly be described as groundshaking, leveling listeners with a barrage of bone crushing fuzz laden whiskey swilling down and dirty ditties guaranteed to get the blood boiling and the limbs flailing. Consisting of four new barnburning cuts and a sweet cover of Pentagram’s “Hurricane”, The Fucking Wrath makes an auspicious debut for their new digs while stomping a hole in your chest in the process. www.teepeerecords.com -Mike SOS

RESOLUTION 15: SATYAGRAHA

What’s odder than having one violinist in a guitar-less metal band? Try having two violinists shredding like maniacs a la visionary NYC troupe Resolution 15, who pull off the daunting task in bruising fashion on their sophomore seven-track release SATYAGRAHA. The album’s title, taken from Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance, displays both this unique band’s mindset and their progressively minded slab of metal meshing the abrasiveness of Lamb of God, the technical prowess of Nevermore and the forward-thinking nature of Meshuggah (“Malus Olympia”). Drawing a potent twin guitar sound from two electric violins is no easy feat, yet Resolution 15 triumphantly translates all of the aspects seething metal guitar requires and implements them into their bevy of punishing rhythms with various levels of venomous vocal anguish that falls somewhere between Jon Oliva and early Ozzy Osbourne (“The Good Life”). Decisively different than the rest of the pack without sacrificing the firepower necessary for proper rounds of heaviness, Resolution 15 is one of the few bands that truly provide an alternative to the metal norm. www.resolution15.com -Mike SOS

MORBID CARNAGE: NIGHT ASSASSINS

Staying almost too true to their obvious influences, Hungarian thrash mongers Morbid Carnage unleash a whiplash fury of speed and aggression on their seven-track offering NIGHT ASSASSINS. Sticking closely to the Kreator/early Exodus paradigm of extreme metal, this group pounds out with bludgeoning riffs and vicious velocity (“Funeral Pyre”) while championing the sounds of thrash metal’s gilded era with jugular-grasping efficiency. Despite the tendency of each track melding into one another without any sense of individuality, Morbid Carnage does an admirable job of replicating the hostile environment and breakneck pace necessary for a winning blend of thrash metal with an unrequited fire fueling their unoriginal yet spirited assault (“Castle in Pain”). www.pulverisedrecords.com -Mike SOS

S.M.U.T: THERE’S GONNA BE BLOOD

NYC rocking oi punksters S.M.U.T. have concocted a stomping and scorching six-track sojourn entitled THERE’S GONNA BE BLOOD. Crammed with simple yet effective melodies, infectious gang choruses, and a bevy of mayhem inducing compositions smeared with punk rock mischief, this affair wastes little time in demonstrating this quartet’s no-frills street punk leanings or a devil may care stance strengthened by the sneering female lead vocals of Cutie Calamity leading the raise your fist and yell charge. Radiating with a feistiness that maintains a bouncy fun vibe with a significant bite throughout, S.M.U.T. cleverly combines their influences to make a raucous punk rock joyride.  www.myspace.com/NYCSMUT -Mike SOS

EMPYREON: BEYOND PERCEPTION

NYC metal quintet Empyreon thrust an impressively translated blend of Nordic and Scandinavian influence to the limits on the outfit’s 11-track endeavor BEYOND PERCEPTION. Bolstered by a predominant keyboard presence laying down haunting lead lines (“Behind the Clouds”) while weaving in and out of the viscous guitars, black metal vocalizations and expediently trigger-happy drum blasts (“Burning Angel”), this troupe produces a dramatic and dynamic blend of Euro metal on par with the likes of Children of Bodom, In Flames, Soilwork, and Dark Tranquility. Empyreon brings their A-game to the table, complete with soaring choruses, all around solid musicianship, and blistering rounds of darkened and symphonic speed assault drawn from a scalding smorgasbord of the Swedish and Norwegian metallic models (“Infinity”), making a strong showing in the process for the headbanger torn between power, black, speed, and traditional metal.  www.myspace.com/empyreon -Mike SOS

NICE NEW OUTFIT: CAPTURA

Reconvening after a 12-month hiatus to record seven tracks live without a net, Danbury, CT’s Nice New Outfit have made a boisterous post-hardcore release in their backyard in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd no less. Entitled CAPTURA, this collection of tunes ties together the scattered shards left behind from the likes of At the Drive In, Faith No More, Quicksand, and Glassjaw (the latter two who NNO covers with spirited zeal here) and exhibits this band’s super-smooth blend of heavy and gazing that fuels their full-frontal attack. Smashing rollicking rhythms, angular guitars, and authoritative vocals together, this squad named after a Fugazi song does their lineage proud while supplying a hearty helping of left of center aggression. www.lapdanceacademy.com -Mike SOS

SCHLEUSOLZ: 10 MOVIES

German studio wizardry with a twist of kitsch comes courtesy of the duo named Schleusolz on their latest 12-track effort 10 MOVIES. This disc is comprised of songs from movies according to the tandem that only run in their mind, yielding a perplexing yet intriguing array of soundscapes whose majestic instrumentation and grandiose nuances could very well fit into soundtracks from major motion pictures. Employing an eclectic juxtaposition of atmospheric synths, classical music influence, dramatic compositions, lounge tones that range from dark to cosmic, this act pushes the imagination into overdrive while attempting to attain a cinematic scope suitable for the creativity of the listener to run unencumbered. If you’re looking for an unorthodox experience rooted in a trippy mix of retro and electronica, Schleusolz have everything you need to get your fix.  www.myspace.com/schleusolz -Mike SOS

____________________________

Mike SOS is a frequent contributor and great friend to the Gears of Rock. Be sure to check out Mike SOS’ bands Seizure Crypt and SOS. They will rock your balls off! All of the above releases can be found in our store.

In addition to the nine perfect live RIP tracks, you get seven bonus tracks of fan-favorites including “Skin O My Teeth,” “Peace Sells,” “Symphony of Destruction,” and “Trust.”  This live disc was mixed and mastered with just the right intensity.  It’s ultimately a very fitting and refreshing 20-year tribute.

One small thing lacking from this live program is Mustaine’s entertaining stage banter.  You get the sick live tracks but the audience interaction between the tunes is nonexistent, which is disappointing because Mustaine is one cool metal dude.  However in all fairness, “Holy Wars Reprise” does offer some shout-outs to Los Angeles and band introductions.

Rust In Peace Live is a great live tribute to a true thrash masterpiece.  Also, Broderick’s guitars are so crisp and dead-on that he makes it very difficult to miss Marty Friedman.

Megadeth is Dave Mustaine (Vocals/Guitars), Chris Broderick (Guitars), David Ellefson (Bass), & Shawn Drover (Drums).

Track Listing:

1. “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due”
2. “Hangar 18″
3. “Take No Prisoners”
4. “Five Magics”
5. “Poison Was The Cure”
6. “Lucretia”
7. “Tornado of Souls”
8. “Dawn Patrol”
9. “Rust In Peace…Polaris”
10. “Holy Wars Reprise”
11. “Skin O’ My Teeth”
12. “In My Darkest Hour”
13. “She-Wolf”
14. “Trust”
15. “Symphony of Destruction”
16. “Peace Sells”

This record certainly brings the thunder, about 76 minutes worth in fact. The 10 new songs contain classic Maiden vibes (“The Alchemist”) as well as dirty conjurations (“Starblind”) heard on more recent releases like Brave New World and Matter of Life and Death.

Here you will find brilliant grooves (“Coming Home”), fist pounding beats (“Satellite 15…The Final Frontier”) courtesy of Nicko McBrain, and sick bass riffs (“El Dorado”) with a progressive edge. Steve Harris is the man!

The triple guitar attack of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers are in full force. The shredding leads (“Mother of Mercy”) will bury you in ash long before you even think to escape. Haunting classical guitar sounds don “The Talisman” before a heavy scourge of riffs incite complete disaster.

Bruce Dickinson’s vocals are dead on as usual, losing nothing over the years, but everybody knows that. The only part of the album that is a bit off-kilter is the first 4 minutes 35 seconds, containing a percussive redundancy that is not entirely necessary.

The Final Frontier is another victory for the pioneers and legends of heavy metal. As always with Maiden records, this disc gets better with every listen.

If this album does not debut at #1, then its pure shame that the inhabitants of Earth hath brought.

Iron Maiden is Bruce Dickinson (Vocals), Dave Murray (Guitars), Adrian Smith (Guitars), Janick Gers (Guitars), Steve Harris (Bass), & Nicko McBrain.

Track Listing:

1. “Satellite 15…The Final Frontier”
2. “El Dorado”
3. “Mother of Mercy”
4. “Coming Home”
5. “The Alchemist”
6. “Isle of Avalon”
7. “Starblind”
8. “The Talisman”
9. “The Man Who Would Be King”
10. “When The Wild Wind Blows”

Papa Roach

Mainstream rock radio’s pals of the early 2000s, Papa Roach, employ an interesting concept on their latest disc that contains some new stuff and some live old stuff.  Time For Annihilation…On The Record And On The Road is not quite an EP nor a live album, but a mixture.

The first 5 tracks are the hard rocking newbies, while the last 8 songs are the live favorites. As a metal fan, I should not give these guys the time of day, however I always found it difficult to be a hater. As cheesy as “Last Resort” was when it came out, that riff is damn catchy.

Later, a stronger single was released named “Between Angels and Insects.” Now the band was proving that there was more substance and power to them. Both of these songs appear on the live half and serve as high quality renditions, sounding true to the original studio versions (the work of overdubs?).

“Burn” is a solid opening track, although you don’t get that impression until the chorus (“I wanna watch you burn”). The arena anthem “Kick in the Teeth” a la Gary Glitter was the first official single. I’m sure I will be hearing plenty of it in the upcoming NY Rangers hockey season at the Garden.

However, the hottest hit from this release will, without a doubt, be the tasty ballad “No Matter What.”  “The Enemy” is a classic sounding Roach tune with a strong intro riff from Jerry Horton. Jacoby Shaddix sings about running away from an enemy inside, and doing whatever it takes to survive.

Time for Annihilation is the perfect disc for fans of the alt-metal system.  You get five new songs that bring the old school vibe that fans love and awesome live tracks of the greatest hits.  This is a great transitional album to their new record label, Eleven Seven Music.

At the end of the disc, Shaddix asks you to text $5 to WhyHunger.  It is not exactly the type of hidden track  we are used to, but a nice gesture by the band to say the least.

Papa Roach is Jacoby Shaddix (Vocals), Jerry Horton (Guitars), Tobin Esperance (Bass), & Tony Palermo (Drums).

Track Listing:

1. “Burn”
2. “One Track Mind”
3. “Kick In The Teeth”
4. “No Matter What”
5. “The Enemy”
6. “Getting Away With Murder (Live)”
7. “To Be Loved (Live)”
8. “Lifeline (Live)”
9. “Scars (Live)”
10. “Hollywood Whore (Live)”
11. “Time Is Running Out (Live)”
12. “Forever (Live)”
13. “Between Angels and Insects (Live)”
14. “Last Resort (Live)”

NONPOINT: MIRACLE

Admirably remaining intact despite enduring bouts with the music industry’s infamous waves of uncertainty, the latest release by veteran Florida act Nonpoint entitled MIRACLE showcases a reinvigorated unit determined to not just survive but thrive. Produced by Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett of Mudvayne and self-released on the band’s own label, this 12-track endeavor demonstrates a decisively beefier overall sound than previous efforts (“Dangerous Waters”), seemingly incorporating influence from the men behind the board into groovy yet gritty melodies such as “Looking Away” and “Throwing Stones” while continuing to roll out the notoriously infectious and hard hitting refrains that put them on the map back in the day (“Miracle”). Adroitly straddling the line between Incubus and Sevendust with their distinct Latin flavor kicking up on occasion (“What I’ve Become”), this album amplifies the band’s familiar dynamic nuances with all sharpened edges exposed, resulting in a powerful album full of expected stop-start jabs and a rejuvenated attitude fueling Nonpoint’s fierce fires . www.nonpoint.com -Mike SOS

SEASONS AFTER: THROUGH TOMORROW

Seasons After is a Kansas-based quintet who apes the nu-metal template ad nausea on their 12-track release THROUGH TOMORROW. With a mixture of equal parts Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, and Bullet for My Valentine, this group’s hard hitting but extremely predictable output comes with a flurry of twin guitar assaults and a pounding percussive performance while the vocals fluctuate between creamy choral parts and throat-ripping screams. Adding in a cover of “Cry Little Sister” from THE LOST BOYS for a touch of instant pop culture notoriety, the debut by Seasons After may seem edgy to those unfamiliar with the heavier edge of the spectrum, yet the entire affair culminates in a cookie cutter presentation whose calculated and formulaic sense of songwriting yields the kind of music perfect for mainstream radio to push to the stars. www.dirtbagmusic.com -Mike SOS

ROSETTA: A DETERMINISM OF MORALITY

Philadelphia, PA’s spacey hardcore troupe Rosetta returns with A DETERMINISM OF MORALITY, a sensational seven-track offering from this galactic-minded quartet. Opting for shorter song lengths this time around, Rosetta tightens up their distinct brand of shoegazing metallic goodness and add a few new tricks to their arsenal (“Revolve”) without sacrificing the remarkable buildups the band has utilized on previous offerings (“Blue Day for Croatoa”). Intertwining colossal rhythmic shifts, masterful manipulations of the drums, gutwrenching vocals, and shimmering and soaring guitars, Rosetta provide the perfect balance between calamity and calmness with a bounty of atmospheric waves and crushing ambience leading this unit’s dynamic surge. www.translationlossrecords.com -Mike SOS

YEAR OF NO LIGHT: AUSSERWELT

Ambient French metal troupe Year of No Light present a four-track, 48-minute multi-layered post metal attack with AUSSERWELT. Bolstered with a barrage of sonically supercharged orchestral metallic movements, this album’s most predominant features include shimmering guitar lines that walk the line drawn by Isis and retooled by Pelican, well-measured rhythmic thumps whose thunderous thumps thicken the listening experience, and a nasty disposition that yields bleak pools of sludge and shards of progressive black metal, all without the benefit of vocals to cloud the thorough comprehension of the doom-laden world Year of No Light concocts. Best served in one sitting (though multiple listens of singular track are surely bound to reveal all sorts of blissfully aggressive accentuations), this album does a suitable job of unleashing a powerful slab of heaviness with both cinematic overtones and a flair for drama. www.conspiracyrecords.com -Mike SOS

JACKYL: WHEN MOONSHINE AND DYNAMITE COLLIDE

Jesse James Dupree and company returns after a lengthy hiatus with WHEN MOONSHINE AND DYNAMITE COLLIDE, a high octane low brow hard rock hootenanny chock full of down and dirty double entendres from this Atlanta based quartet. Maintaining an unadulterated love for AC/DC with barnburning riffs galore (“I Can’t Stop”, “Get Mad At It”) and James’ whiskey-soak wail manning the helm (“She’s Not a Drug”), this 12-track excursion allows the listener a firsthand account of what it’s like to ride shotgun with the band with a Mason jar of homemade brew in your lap and a team of strippers shaking their assets on the back of the flatbed. Turn off your brain and turn up Jackyl’s tried and tested yet contrived blend of no frills southern fried hard rock anthems perfect for both the stripper pole or the parking lot all-nighter and leave your responsibilities and inhibitions at the door. www.faebook.com/officialjackyl -Mike SOS

SCHLEUSOLZ: THE WEINHEIM EXPERIMENT

The sophomore effort from space cadet German troupe Schleusolz is anything but predictable, as the 18-track THE WEINHEIM EXPERIMENT thrusts this duo’s versatile and uninhibited blend of sounds and beats chock full of frivolous synths and quirky melodies out past the outer limits. Imagine game show theme songs from the 1970’s colliding with any one of Mike Patton’s off the wall efforts jamming with the band from the Creature Cantina to get a start to where this band and their distinctly European mindset is headed, as this eclectic offering consistently flows a myriad of fresh music equally embracing the riches from early ’80s new wave, world, dance, electronica, and pop genres while throwing convention to the wind and turning everything they can sideways in the process. Composed with both modern sensibility and vintage know-how, Schleusolz’s latest release demonstrates a flagrantly flamboyant style with an unbridled irreverence unencumbered by time and space, allowing this act the freedom to boldly roam the cosmos for intergalactic inspiration or dip into the vaults of time to construct a musical entity throbbing with offbeat charm (“Polyphobia”). www.myspace.com/schleusolz -Mike SOS

ANCHORED: LISTEN TO THIS

Contrived and cliché, Anchored deliver an obligatory blend of Kid Rock, Nickelback, and Papa Roach with a decisively adult country twang perfect for frat boys to hook up, bro down and wild out to with this Texas quintet’s 11-track LISTEN TO THIS. Summoning down and dirty riffs, rhythmic power and lyrical inspiration from directlybelow their belts, this disc gets as insufferably derivative as you could imagine anything that sounds like edgy supermarket background music could, complete with a slew of half-rate hooks and the kind of adolescent simplicity and forced execution that elicits groans yet seemingly remains in the mainstream’s sightline despite the ultimately generic and soulless nature.  www.myspace.com/anchoredmusic -Mike SOS

DOWNSHALLOW: THE NEW FASHION

Downshallow returns to a heavier mindset after dabbling in acoustic alchemy on their previous effort with their latest 12-track album entitled THE NEW FASHION. This New Jersey quartet projects an enormous sound that references everything from the left of center metallic vibes of Chevelle and Deftones to the soaring melodies of Our Lady Peace and Finger Eleven while maintaining a distinct identity whose sonic brew brims over with cascading hooks, unexpected rhythmic movements, and a massive vocal presence leading the alternative metal leanings on cuts like the sinewy “Crash”, the psychedelic blues shuffle of “Ashes” and the bass-driven groove of “All For Nothing”.  Balancing modern rock nuances out with a clever array of teeth gnashing riffs (“Without a Reason”, “Subway Vampire”), Downshallow’s artsy brand of hard rock allows for both functionality and fashionability via a series of brooding emotions guiding the listener through this veteran act’s moody musings and angsty hybrid of hard rock, metal , and alternative. www.downshallow.com -Mike SOS

EARLY GRAVES: GONER

Early Graves dole out a crusty and chaotic blend of hardcore, death metal, and grindcore on their sophomore effort GONER. This San Francisco based unit’s latest 10-track offering is resolutely leaner and meaner than their debut, melding the warmongering tones of Entombed with the vitriolic nature of bands like Trap Them and His Hero is Gone to form a viscous and vile collection of short and tight songs heavy on the seething anger (“May Day”). While there’s little diversity to be found here, this under 30-minute affair caustically cuts to the chase and aims straight for the jugular with a rusty razor in hand, guaranteeing to inflict all sorts of damage. www.ironcladrecordings.com -Mike SOS

DIABULUS IN MUSICA: SECRETS

The musical output from Spain’s Diabulus in Musica does not resemble the Slayer album of the same name in any way, shape or form, as this unit derives a balance of sound from both the Gothic and symphonic metal genres, complete with standout heavenly female vocalizations intertwined with the occasional beastly male growl, oodles of atmospheric keyboards and a slew of piano tinklings and string arrangements accentuating the standardized metallic overtones. Referencing the usual suspects to a fault (Nightwish, Epica, Theater of Tragedy), this 13-track release follows its influences extremely closely and displays a serious lack of originality, yet still manages to pull out a string of solid melodies powered by the rousing vocal performance (“Under a Shadow”, “Lonely Soul”) despite doing little else to differentiate themselves from the pack. www.metalblade.com -Mike SOS

MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT: THE VIOLENCE BENEATH

Atmospheric sludge metal troupe Mouth of the Architect marks their return with a massive sounding four-track EP entitled THE VIOLENCE BENEATH. Sticking to their guns by continuing to incorporate a gazing metallic stance bursting with shimmering guitars, harsh vocals, and cavernous rhythms that readily land the band into the Isis/Pelican/ Neurosis bin, this Dayton, OH unit stacks the deck with bruising buildups and a colossal wall of sound that can be felt surging through your being as much as it is heard through your ears (“Buried Hopes”). Throw in a studio-quality live recording of a new track (“Restore”) and a captivatingly clever cover of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” and this post metal act showcases a penchant for both thinking outside of the box and smashing the same box into tiny pieces on this stopgap offering. www.translationloss.com -Mike SOS

FATAL EMBRACE: THE EMPIRES OF INHUMANITY

Despite curating their blend of old school since the mid-‘90s, German thrash metal group Fatal Embrace come off to be cut from the same cloth as bands currently riding the waves of the golden age of the Bay Area scene on their latest release THE EMPIRES OF INHUMANITY. With an obvious obsession with Slayer with touches of Destruction, Sodom, and Kreator very apparent throughout this 10-track excursion, this purebread headbanging crew dishes out a sinister cavalcade of galloping riffs (“Another Rotten Life”), throat-ripping screams, and frenetic drums with a powerful precision-driven performance that deters the glaring lack of originality long enough to warrant multiple listens for the most ardent of followers of the thrash metal movement. www.metalblade.com -Mike SOS

INGESTED: SURPASSING THE BOUNDARIES OF HUMAN SUFFERING

UK metal mavens Ingested adopt the new philosophy of extreme heavy metal to an almost fault on their debut effort SURPASSING THE BOUNDARIES OF HUMAN SUFFERING. While broad strokes of deathcore and slam adorn much of this squad’s musical output, hints of bands such as Dying Fetus, Suffocation and Devourment slip in and out between the standard squealing guitar fills and guttural vocal rants to give this nine-track affair a bit of depth that goes beyond the breakdown and studio trickery. And while titles such as “Anal Evisceration” and “Intercranial Semen Injection” border on downright ridiculousness, it’s all part of Ingested’s relentless quest to brutalize at any and all costs, yielding redundant blasts of slamming grooves, an unsettlingly gore-obsessed lyrical vision, and the kind of mechanized mayhem with misogynistic overtones that gets old and stupid rather fast. www.candlelightrecordsusa.com -Mike SOS

TRIUMFALL: ANTITHESIS OF ALL FLESH

Serbian black metal unit Triumfall start their debut eight-track album ANTITHESIS OF ALL FLESH off thunderously with a orchestral yet spooky feel, setting the tone for this unit’s Dimmu Borgir meets Emperor style of black metal malevolence. While some may argue that Triumfall brings nothing that hasn’t been heard if you’re a follower of the darker end of the metal spectrum, they do manage to present it with a raw quality and the glacial conviction that stirs emotions on cuts like the rousing “Omega Overeasts The Presence”. Carefully carves harsh vocals, tremolo-picked guitars, and bastardized blast beats from the playbooks of the top of the genre to comprise a devious yet often visited blend of symphonic black metal complete with all of the trimmings (“Within Their Midnight”), Triumfall concocts a straightforward slab of menacing metal that doesn’t stray too far away from the nefarious middle ground it was birthed from. www.regainrecords.com -Mike SOS

OCTOBER FILE: OUR SOULS TO YOU

The rebellious streak of British metal act October File is alive and well in their music as shown on latest disc OUR SOULS TO YOU. Furiously pounding out with a punishing array of clanging Ministry-esque rhythms while supporting a string of conspiracy theory inspired political rants and social diatribes akin to arguably the band’s biggest influence Killing Joke, this quartet’s angst-ridden hardcore punk contains an anarchistic aura that you can’t buy at the mall (“Isolation”) propelling their harsh hybrid of metal, punk, and industrial past the point of angry into a whole new level of contempt. Juxtaposing metallic brute force with a mechanized heartbeat fueled by repetitive mantras revealing excessive fits of displaced rage towards the powers that be (“Dredge”), this 10-track release comes with a bonus four tracks remixed by industrial metal pioneer Justin Broadrick, who tacks on more throbbing beats than a discoteque on a Saturday night while subtly accentuating the band’s condemnation for those in control via samples and atmospheric reinterpretations of October File’s intended themes and viewpoints. www.candlelightrecordsusa.com -Mike SOS

BIG BALL: HOTTER THAN HELL

Deriving their familiar sound from a strict diet of Brian Johnson-era AC/DC with a hint of Accept while taking their album title from KISS (surprised Gene Simmons hasn’t reached out to them yet), there’s very little in the way of creativity coming through on the 13-track disc HOTTER THAN HELL by German hard rockers Big Ball. There’s a lot of good time big beat down and dirty rock and roll to be had here, but if you own any of AC/DC’s later material, you know what to expect and can definitely do without this clone. The crude nature by which they ape the formula of the aforementioned and incorporate it into their sleazed-up version only manages to add their name to the long list of bands that do their best to emulate Angus and company and fail miserably. www.afm-records.com -Mike SOS

THE DAISY ANTHESIS: SURFACE AND THE SKY

Making a startling transformation from acoustic act to progressive deathcore squad sounds like an impossible mission, yet the Canadian trio The Daisy Anthesis have defied the odds and done just that. Proving that they are an eclectic unit, their debut endeavor SURFACE AND THE SKY documents this group’s amazing stylistic jump with every odd time signature movement and chaotic rhythmic switch (“Transparent (Part 3)”). This 11-track affair is definitely not your run of the mill heavy album, as this troupe does a fine job of keeping things lively with a bevy of sweeping dynamic shifts, spurts of technical musicianship, jarring dissonant bass and guitar runs, and an overall herky-jerky offbeat quality woven into the framework of each song (“In the Eyes of the Prosecutor”), channeling bands such as Candiria, The Red Chord, and Psyopus with touches of Strapping Young Lad and grindcore strewn in the process while a manic vocalist screams his lungs out the entire duration of the album. Perfect for heavy music fans that prefer a challenge, SURFACE AND THE SKY is a release chock full of intriguing twists and turns with the musical chops and song structures to support The Daisy Anthesis’ left of center tendencies. www.diminishedfifthrecords.com -Mike SOS

PORTAL: LURKER AT THE THRESHOLD

Avant-garde Australian death metal squad Portal are all about turning convention sideways, and their latest re-released offering taken from this whacked out outfit’s demo tape entitled LURKER AT THE THRESHOLD is now available via a picture disc thanks to the folks at Chrome Leaf. Truly showcasing why this band is so revered on the underground circuit, this act doles out an array of warped metallic nuances spun with a woozy aura that induces panic from the onset. Despite only featuring two tracks that run under 10 minutes in length, this affair’s unbridled barrages of weird noise permeate a long-lasting unsettling vibe bound to stick in your craw and give nightmares long after the last cacophonous guttural blasted strand is played. www.chromeleaf.org -Mike SOS

THE BREATHING PROCESS: ODYSSEY (UN) DEAD

The Breathing Process is a New England metal troupe that incorporates a hodgepodge of modern metal nuances into their latest 13-track presentation ODYSSEY (UN) DEAD that don’t always gel well together. Armed with a overbearing Goth-esque barrage of keyboards and pianos infiltrating through new school Euro metal structures laden with gloppy stabs at atmospheric grandiosity and taciturn triggered to death percussion (“The Living Forest”), The Breathing Process provides flashes of an imaginative edge but remains too bogged down with second-rate metalcore tendencies (“The Opaque Forest”) to fully realize the fruits of their labor, almost as if the band tries too hard to force elements and implement mindsets into their music that don’t really belong just to fit in with the Hot Topic crowd or into a particular tour package. Instead of servicing songs properly, The Breathing Process utilize a type of cut and paste maneuvers that come off as an insincere and half-baked metallic exercise drill whose promising parts are outweighed by the band’s overwrought issues with identity. www.candlelightrecordsusa.com -Mike SOS

LOCUSTA: LOCUSTA

Ohio-based extreme metal quintet Locusta unleashes a hellacious flurry of blackened death metal on their 10-track eponymous debut. Implementing a dastardly blend of dark and furious riffs that wield both progressive death and Swedish melodic metal tendencies (“Mutiny”) with an ample throat supplying the belligerent growls necessary to invoke curses and frighten the masses (“Dusk at the Mausoleum”), Locusta showcases the bloodthirsty aptitude to rip you to shreds (“War of Knaves”) as well as the ability to take a more stylized approach without losing any thunder (“2012”). Drawing its sinister sound from the likes of Immolation, Skeletonwitch, and Suffocation with a level of musicianship that is a cut above the norm, Locusta boast the chops and the songwriting acumen to make waves in the extreme metal genre on musical merit alone. www.myspace.com/locusta614 -Mike SOS

____________________________

Mike SOS is a frequent contributor and great friend to the Gears of Rock. Be sure to check out Mike SOS’ bands Seizure Crypt and SOS. They will rock your balls off! Many of the above releases can be found in our store.

Hagar got the party started right, whipping through classics “There’s Only One Way To Rock,” “Bad Motor Scooter,” “Heavy Metal,” “Mas Tequila,” a slowed-up rendition of “Right Now” from the Van Hagar years, and “Why Can’t This Be Love.”  The Red Rocker showed up in perfect form with the Wabo’s doing an excellent job backing him up.

The only problem with Hagar’s set was the fact that so many stupid people failed to show up to Jones Beach for the opening of Sammy’s set.  The Wabo’s should not be playing “I Can’t Drive 55″ in front of such a minuscule crowd. Again, this is the fault of the ungrateful tardy Long Islanders that can’t comprehend the importance of honoring true rock godliness.

Aerosmith sounded phenomenal on the stage from the very opening riff of “Toys in the Attic.” As always, they brought their huge light show and flawless sound system. Steven Tyler’s voice was dead on, as was Joe Perry’s lead guitars. The wind blew strong and seemed to leave the sound unaffected, a rarity at Jones Beach shows.

At times throughout the set, it was difficult to watch Aerosmith because you could feel that uneasy tension churning between Tyler and Perry.  There were moments when you could feel Tyler was annoyed and frustrated as Perry strutted along his catwalk, overstaying his welcome. I get the feeling that Aerosmith will not be returning to the New York area any time soon, if not ever.

Following an amazing rendition of The Beatles’ “Come Together,” Tyler introduced Perry’s guitar solo.  Here, Tyler referred to Perry as his “American Idol.” Hahahaha! Sick burn.

Aerosmith’s set was going great until the “Guitar Hero” showdown solo break where Perry battled against his video game self, which then led into the bluesy point of the show. Perry sang lead on Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House,” which destroyed the momentum of the overall set.

It was pretty much downhill from there with the chick-pleasing-ballad “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” and the Honkin on Bobo monstrosity “Baby Please Don’t Go.”  I have seen Aerosmith about 10 times now and most shows unfold the same way; The band starts off with such great energy, does a nose dive to near-oblivion, delivers a weak rendition of “Sweet Emotion” (they can just never get the harmonies and sound effects right live), comes back to life with a solid performance of “Dream On,” then its either tunes of awesomeness or pain to the end of the night.

Unfortunately, there was no “Mama Kin,” “Seasons of Wither,” “Rats in the Cellar,” “Same Old Song and Dance,” or “Back in the Saddle” on this night.  If they slid these gems into the set, replacing the weak crap, it could have been the greatest rock show (and perhaps greatest farewell show) of the decade.