News Post

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_Peterson

I know this isn't a news article but it is important and has news in it. The creator of the mcdonalds egg mcmuffin is dead. He was a pioneer in food and even though he worked for mcdonalds it's always sad to see a man like that go. Hopefully they sell the egg mcmuffin in his honor now. A pioneer in food and business, this man should get some recognition for his death.

Bossk-.1\.2/Pelican-Pelican

A tremendous first release by atmospheric sludge band Bossk. Bossk is from england, that's probably how they get their trademark sound. Some say they play in the vein of Jesu, Sunn 0))), Isis, and Pelican; But i say nay. They sound nothing like any other sludge band. They only have 2 tracks on this album, one around 19 minutes, the other around 13. Only track 2 has vocals, for about 5 minutes in the last half of the song. I use these lyrics as an away message on aim because it's short, but deep. Their music makes up lyrics for you. This is their lighter side more-so compared to their other album ".2". Overall Rating: 10/10
The second of the releases by Bossk. This one is more sludgy sounding than atmospheric, with heavier reliance on southern sounding blasting dropped-d guitar. The album artwork is better on this one, and sadly i only have this one and an internet copy of ".1". (Which i will slowly get my hands on because they only sell it in england and the money converted to dollars here makes the release about 20$) This release again has 2 tracks. Bossk sure has a vast array of songs...4 to be exact. And again the second track is the only one to have vocals. The songs sadly are much shorter and almost too heavy for Bossk to play. This is the album that gives me hope in their new material (when the time comes after the .1/.2 reissue compilation album). Overall Rating: 8.8/10
The first release of legendary instrumental band Pelican. Pelican originally started as an atmospheric sludge/post metal band. They have since switched over to post hardcore for the latest 2 albums. This EP holds one of my favorite songs Mammoth. Sometimes though, you wonder why they never have vocals. Was it just an idea to be different, or could the guys just not sing? Who knows at this point. It's still good. It just took me a long time to get into (about 3 years i've known the band now and i got into them last month). This release is supposedly rare, so i take pride in owning this (I don't know how it's s rare if it's sold through barnesandnoble.com). This album makes me want to go out and buy the other releases when i have the money. Overall Rating: 8/10

Stutterfly/Jungle Rot/The Collection/Mortal Treason/Destroyer Destroyer/Horror of Horrors

And We Are Bled of Color- Probably one in my top 10 favorite releases of all time. This band plays beautiful post hardcore with so many layers of vocals. There are seldom parts that go without a pair of vocals. Sometimes it gets to the point where you'll hear a scream accompanied with 2 vocalists. The music is simple and really catchy. The vocalist has a beautiful, capturing voice, that can really get to those high notes. Sadly he left and the band changed slightly (no screaming anymore) and changed their name to Secret and Whisper. I definitely choose Stutterfly over SAW though. Best songs: Formula of Flesh, Gun in Hand, Where Angels Fell, and Sun Bleeds Red. Recommended to fans of: Secret and Whisper, Emery, (mid) Underoath. Overall Rating: 9873248953457035/10
Fueled By Hate-Jungle Rot's lesser release. I love Jungle Rot's trademark sound and magnificent vietnam and war themed album covers; But sometimes their music just isn't catchy enough. The album is good, but nothing really stood out and said "look at me, I'm Jungle Rot, and I'm here to mother f*@#kin' stay!". War Zone was the best release from Jungle Rot by far, but this album did pretty good. Overall Rating: 7.9/10
Volume I: Tools of the Trade- A compilation of 3 band's demos from the 90's. Royal Anguish, Soul of the Saviour, and Tortured Conscience. When i saw this was 2$ on a website, i jumped all up on it to get it; But some of it just straight up sucked. Royal Anguish: the absolute worst of all 3. Every  single song sounding exactly the same and had nothing special added on to their stuff. It is cheap blackened death metal rip-off music that i can't get interested to. Soul of the Saviour (this supposedly being their only release) went over really well. I liked them a whole lot. They are death metal that was way before it's time. Mathcore had just come out and many bands this year are starting to surface this year as Death-math bands. S.o.t.S. was the band at the forefront that invented this, although no one knew who they were. Tortured Conscience was really good. The only problem was that the music sounded just like their full-length and had sort of a stale flavor to it and got a little boring. Overall Rating: Royal Anguish: 0/10 Soul of the Saviour: 9/10 Tortured Conscience: 6.9/10
A Call to the Martyrs-One of my favorite releases last year. Mortal Treason is brutalized metalcore. Their singer Seth is also a pro-bmx biker. This album is insane, sadly my CD player trashed track 7. Best songs are the opening and closing songs. But besides that there was nothing else that compulses you to listen to the album. Makes you want more. Overall Rating: 7.8/10
The Dead Sleep Like Us For A Reason-The only grindcore i can stand. This is a fusion of slowed down technical grindcore (with grindcore songs lengths of about 2 minutes tops) infused with death metal elements. The screamer has a unique scream; what i like to call a pterodactyl squall. He freaks you out with this unique call and it beckons you to listen to the whole EP. Overall Rating: 9.8/10
The Sounds of Eerie-A classic death metal band. I scored this album for .52$ on amazon.com and fell in love with it. The album needed different song beginnings for the last 3 tracks (all start with the drummer tapping the high-hat to start off the song). I also was upset when i woke up and found out i ended up hearing the whole album before falling asleep. I like my albums to be lengthy. I need to save for their other album going for around 80$. This was a gem. Overall Rating: 10/10

News Post

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/03/21/antarctic.search.ap/index.html

People have thought to of found many species. This article proves wrong. This group found hundreds of new species in the upper antarctic sea and even i am excited about this. We are finding out more and more about the earth everyday; hopefully we don't destroy it until we find everything. The earth is a beautiful place with many plants, animals, and....buildings. I am sick of seeing some of the same animals all the time and am happy to see new ones surfacing (ligers, tigons, sea stars, jellyfish). It helps the environment to have life.

Crimson Thorn-Unearthed for Dissection/The Postal Service-Give Up

To me this is a death metal classic. Everyone who likes death metal needs to hear crimson thorn at least once. This is a compilation of their demo and their first two albums. Unearthed is the older father album of crimson thorn. It has not as much balls as the newer stuff had, but it is still very heavy and a great listen. And it also has my favorite song Asphyxiated on it. The plagued demo was not perfect compared to what they are now. Plagued was their first release and was heavily punk/hardcore influenced vocal-wise and in the guitars. Dissection is the best of all 4 of their releases. The first track "beaten beyond" just wakes you up and rips your face off. Blows their newest album Purification out of the water. This was a great collection of the first 3 Cds and i was lucky to get it at the price i did. Most websites sell this release for around 30$ and i got it at a normal CD price (around 14$). Overall Rating: 9/10 (Unearthed) 8.5/10 (Plagued) 10/10 (Dissection)
One of the genres i never really stray to when i listen to music. The Postal Service is the only electronic band i listen to. Some people mistake this genre with the closely titled genre electronica (which is a mix of trance, drum and bass, techno, and down tempo). Electronic surprisingly is older than rock music and blues. It was created in the late 1800's. It has only been recently (in the 2000's) that indie bands have been joining this genre to make electronic indie music, which is usually just called electronic. This album grapples to you in the beginning with it's popular songs (one was in the UPS commercial and another was in an Apple Inc. and an Intel computer commercial). But when you think half way through that it's going to lose your attention, you're wrong. Although the second half is not as popular as the first, the beats of the drums and keys keep you very interested in the music. In every song, most of the instruments are synthesized with keyboards and computers, only one song had actual drums. Probably the only electronic band i listen to, and the best ones at that. Overall Rating: 8.2/10

Jungle Rot-War Zone/Death Cab for Cutie-Plans/Between the Buried and Me-Colors

Supremely reigning death metal that slaughters all in it's path. Jungle Rot blasts out blood curdling death metal riffs with a heavy hardcore influence. Singing about vietnam, guerillas, and of course diseases and death due to things like (you guessed it, jungle rot). This is definitely my favorite CD as of now. Blasting in grabbing you by the sack and almost ripping it off your body. And by the end of the album you're feeling happy, yet angry, and your sack is probably all shriveled and your face hurts from head-banging and hitting things with it. Best song forever on this album is Strong Shall Survive. And really i can't give a recommendation for people who like other bands because Jungle Rot is like no other! Overall Rating: 50,000,000,000,000/10
An album that has made fame for Death Cab for Cutie. Showing J.A.P.'s (Jewish American Princesses) and preppy kids that indie music is just for them. Well it's not; but now that this release is so commercial it is an album that you listen to and pull a Simon Cowell and say "It was forgettable." This album has a bunch of popular songs, that i really don't like (besides Soul Meets Body), and then all the light songs nobody listens to were too unpopular and too instrumental. The album altogether needed something more; but i really don't know what. One of those, take a long time to buy it kinda CDs. Overall Rating: 4.7/10
A great opus. Beautifully flowing album of progressive metalcore with death, jazz, ragtime, polka, adult rock, and egyptian elements. Each song is totally different from the next; but amazingly flow together at the same time. First track sounds like Queen (reminded me of their cover of Queen's bicycle race on their cover album from 2006). Track 2 was egyptian/aztec kind of themed. The album was so peppered in many different styles, that each song could, at any part, satisfy your ears. Although there are only 8 songs and 6 of them are ranging from 5 3/4 minutes to 14 1/2 minutes, it will always be a great release. The only disadvantage is, what if you want to hear only part of one of the songs, you'll have to end up listening through the rest to get to it and probably bore yourself. Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Dogwood-Reverse, Then Forward Again/Demon Hunter-Demon Hunter

A compilation of best hits from all of Dogwood's albums. Dogwood is christian San Diego skate punk. Their one member is actually getting alot of recognition for his skating abilities too. Dogwood is the only punk band i like. I despise punk and hardcore (fusions with core are okay). They mix in elements of pop and post-hardcore (early 90's was pre-post hardcore, that came in the late 90's-early 00's) so they were ahead of their time. I'm upset they don't have as many fans as they used to though. They're still together, sadly so far this was their last release put out in 2004. Overall Rating: 10/10
The first of all the Demon Hunter albums. I fell upon their second album before i even knew about the first really. This first album shows their roots sort of. The clark brothers' elements of mathcore they carried in from Training for Utopia, and also Numetal, Metalcore, Melodic Alternative, and some tinges of blackened hard rock. All the "goth" kids (a.k.a. the mallcore/mallgoth/mallrats) all listen to this and think they rock hard because they like mudvayne, korn, demon hunter, lamb of god, slayer. These kids are fags and losers, and think they're vampires.... which makes them retarded (don't talk to them). Although they are part of this scene, they are the best of all of them to me and deserve some respect for that. And they should be in metal archives' website; surely if they can put mallcore bands Skinlab and Disciple into their archives they can put this in. The album all together was good; but not anything amazing. Good melodies and light songs; but it needed something more. Overall Rating: 8/10

Jungle Rot-Darkness Foretold/Demon Hunter-The Triptych

People don't know good death metal unless they've heard the one of 3 of my favorites: Death, Dismember, or Jungle Rot. This was an EP issued by Jungle Rot with a Sodom, Slayer, and Carnivore cover. It also had a previously unreleased track and 3 live songs. To me if i got their other CD, with Darkness Foretold as its bonus track, there wouldn't really be a point to this album besides it's collect-ability. This album was issued with a comic called Jungle Rot and i sadly did not get the comic with the CD. but it was worth the 6$ i got it for. Overall Rating: 7/10 (because i didn't get the comic)
The third full-length from christian numetalcore outfit Demon Hunter. Demon Hunter consists of the Clark brothers, also known as the creators of mathcore. Their previous band Training for Utopia was a christian mathcore band that was mainly the first band in the mathcore genre. This album was very talented but loses your interest, even though the songs are much catchier than the ones on the older 2 albums. Blasting in with "Not I" and lightly fading out with "The Tide Began to Rise". They also did a cover of one my favorite 90's heavy metal song "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" by Prong off their album cleansing. They put more balls and umph into the song that it needed and boosted the album's rating and quality up by alot. I need to hear more of the new album so i can decide whether i still like Demon Hunter or not still. Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Indwelling-And My Eye Shall Weep/Impending Doom-The Sin and Doom of Godless Men/The Sound of Animals Fighting-Lover, the Lord Has Left Us

The bold and the Brutiful. Wonderful brutalized technical death metal created by 3 men that started in a hardcore band entitled Overcome. Once Overcome had died out they created a demo and this full-length as Indwelling and then parted ways. With brutal vocals, slow guttural guitar and bass, and slow technical drums. Hard to think it was created by some hardcore kids. After a while the songs get repetitive and you sort of lose where you are because the vocals and technical drumming sort of carry you off and make you lose track of things; but its overall an amazing masterpiece of christian proportions, being one of the first christian brutalized metal bands. Overall Rating: 9/10
Christian brutal deathcore. I always loved this EP and thought it was the best album ever; until i heard their full-length. Now when i take a listen i really wonder why i liked this. The songs are all really repetitive and 4/5 were rereleased on the Nailed.Dead.Risen. album. The one song Patience in Suffering was my favorite song. This time i listened to it though, i barely even listened because it was so bland. No offense to Impending Doom. I loved this EP but now my mind and music perspective have gone on to bigger and better things. Overall Rating: 4.8/10
The second release from Post-avant-garde prog-rock band The Sound of Animals fighting. This album is well peppered with much influence. The album comes in with a short intro which leads in to a track entitle Un'aria (italian for an air). There are other songs that also have foreign titles and some songs that include languages like Farsi, Navajo indian, and German. Songs pick up their signature sound by having members well peppered in culture. Every album slightly changed its line-up. Every album the men have names of animals and usually wear masks and try to hide their names from the public (ex-The nightingale, the hyena, the giraffe, etc.) This album included members from Chiodos, Circa Survive, The RX Bandits, Finch, and Sunn O))) (the giraffe; created the album artwork). This album is probably the most eclectically styled CD in my collection having ranges of progressive post hardcore, persian folk, and southern african american spoken word folk poetry. Every time i listen to it now, i memorize the larger songs, but the short little interludes, outros, and intros bore and escape me. Overall Rating: 7.8/10

News Post

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/14/csi.manson.ap/index.html

Charles Manson: Crazed serial killer that killed many with his family clan. He will be eligible for parole in 4 years, ain't that pretty scary? This article speaks of how on their ranch they're possibly, at minimum, 3 more graves of people they had killed. I feel this is significant so that these peoples families can finally put their loved ones to bed the correct way. It's always sad to have a relative just dissapear and not know if they're DOA (dead or alive). This can help us look into the mind of Manson too. That he did not commit only a couple murders, but many, and was and may still be a completely crazed man.

The Sounds of Animals Fighting-Tiger and the Duke (Reissue)/On Solid Ground-On Solid Ground EP

This band is probably one of the best supergroups in existence. Including members of the RX Bandits, Circa Survive, Chiodos, Atreyu, Finch, Portugal. The Man, and many more. Playing a fusion of progressive rock and post hardcore mixed with alot of random noises. They also released a DVD where when they played live they had people painting in the backround and dancers prancing around the stage. TSOAF shows alot of abstract art and concept in their music. This is the reissue of their first album from 2005 and includes bonus tracks which are mixes from their first and second albums. They sadly are only going to make one more album and disband by what they say, but i'm still really anxious to hear the new release. Overall Rating: 9/10 Brutalized deathcore that will rip your balls off and shove a cross through the devils chest! The best of deathcore along the likes of Impending Doom and The Roman Holiday. Very low blasting guitar and bass that is extremely catchy, anyone can memorize the breakdowns. Beautiful range of scream scale, going from high screams to extremely low guttural blasts. Getting this cd was probably one of the best ideas i've had all year. Defenitely reccomended to be a must listen for kids who like metal and core material. Overall Rating: 28670298653079856350/10

38th Parallel-Turn the Tides

This band really had a premature death. This is a christian alternative rap/rock band from Iowa. The album is full of melody and rocking rap. Not too strong as other alternative stuff i heard (instrumentally), but an amazing release. They released a self-produced album in 2005 that i have yet to get my hands on. 2 of the former members went on to form a Harry Potter themed electronic rock band Ministry of Magic. For fans of: Project 86, Thousand Foot Krutch, Switchfoot, KJ52, Tobymac. Overall Rating: 8/10

Haste The Day-Burning Bridges\When Everything Falls

I found this band through a song on a dvd sampler i got with a norma jean CD 2 years ago. I fell in love with a song on the album below. This one took me a long time to get because i was lazy about getting it. I was stupid, because this is probably the best metalcore release. Jimmy Ryan's vocals are blaring black metal/grindcore vocals and it is infused with the right about of melody and chorus vocals. All the songs have amazing breakdowns and song breaks. The best song's are American Love and Blue 42, but this is another album where i can recognize every song and sing along. Overall Rating: 10/10
This album is the one i got because of the dvd sampler. The sampler had When Everything Falls. Probably the best song in metalcore history. Strong technical post hardcore/metalcore drumming with technical melodic death guitars and bass. Again those blaring vocals from Jimmy Ryan blast in and break down the joint. This was to me their lower point of their music (the lowest being their ep). The first album had catchier songs with better melodies and riffs, while this one really only had the first track, When Everything Falls, and Long Way Down. But if your an avid metalcore fan you will definitely want to have this in your collection. Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Sinai Beach-Immersed/Agalloch-The White/Afterimage-Codex: The Triumph in Eschaton

Another "scare the hell out of you" kind of band. This band is considered hardcore to some metalheads, but are actually thrash-groovecore with deathcore/mallcore tendencies. The album is straight forward anger. Extremely unorthodox christian views expressed in songs like "If I Was God". Great quality recording and a great band that was stolen off of facedown/strike first records by Victory records. Overally Rating: 9.9/10Agalloch is another favorite of mine. I was looking forward for the longest time to get this release and finally got it. It is a compilation of their dark ambient material and it is a continuation of The Grey EP. I have copy 10 out of only 2,000 copies of the CD and this, next to Ashes Against the Grain, is my favorite Agalloch Release. Overall Rating: 10/10The best quality ep from such an underground band like this should never go unheard. They master a fusion of christian death and metalcore just to the right amount. I heard this band around when the demo had just came out and fell in love with them and can't wait for the upcoming release. For fans of As I Lay Dying, mid-Mortification, On Solid Ground. Overall Rating: 9.8/10

Emery-The Question (Deluxe Edition)\I'm Only a Man (Deluxe Edition)/Pelican-After the Ceiling Cracked\Australasia

Emery is still at this point one of my favorite bands. I got their second release right after it came out, but then got the deluxe edition when it was released and gave the old version to my recorder. This is packed full of less heavier Emery material. But their was one song actually with a metalcore breakdown. The Question was "Where were you when i was..." (which comes before every song title). The best track was "Where Were You When I Was...Listening to Freddie Mercury". This edition came with bonus tracks and included acoustic tracks of some of my favorite songs. It also came with a dvd that had a biography, and easter eggs hidden in the dvd to hear old songs. It was well put together and a good hour and 8 minutes of music. Lost a little of the sheen though. Overall Rating: 9.9/10

I was hoping sadly for more on this release. I preordered it so i could get the deluxe edition signed by the band. I got it and popped it open and started listening excitedly. I heard through the album and there wasn't as much sheen as the 2nd album, and defenitely nowhere near as much as the first. They have become more poppy and dropped the fact that they were a christian band "selling out" christianity. Alot of christian bands that have done this lost their edge and quality (ex: Norma Jean and Emery). I enjoyed the one bonus track "As Your Voice Fades (live acoustic)". It was one of my favorite songs from the first album and it was performed beautifully live (along with all the other live acoustic songs recorded from their acoustic tour on this cd as bonus tracks). The bonus tracks are mainly what raised my loving of the cd. Overall Rating: 9.9/10This is actually a dvd they released late '07 as a compilation of shows from 2003-2006. It included a 3" demo vinyl that i downloaded of a remix and a song including guests from the band These Arms Are Snakes. It is a beautiful sound that Pelican creates with their sludgy post hardcore instrumental; But sometimes i wish their was something more, like vocals...because it sometimes gets repetitive due to the lengths of their songs never really being shorter than 5 minutes. Overall Rating: 8/10

The first full length from instrumental sludge/post hardcore band Pelican. The release is surprisingly high quality for a moreso underground release before they got big. With the shortest song being about 3 1/2 minutes and the longest at 11 1/4 minutes there is a vast array of different sounds and styles that pop in and out when you listen to the album. It took me a long time to really get into pelican. I liked them at one point but stopped listening to them this week, and now i can't stop listening to them. If you like Pelican you should check other bands like: Sunn O))), Irreversible, Isis, 5/5/2000, and House of Low Culture. Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Death Cab for Cutie-Transatlanticism/Darkest Hour-Deliver Us

This band may seem to everyone else who knows me, to be off kilter from what you think i listen to. Well if you think that, you obviously don't know me. I grew up around an eclectic style of music and was introduced to Death Cab for Cutie by my ex-girlfriend who i had a very bad relationship with. I scrambled to try and find things in common between us, so i started listening to DCFC about the time this album was released. Unfortunately her and i were on and off for a while and then just ended our relationship and friendship all together. This is what i have left. This is the best and favorite of the DCFC releases to me. Every track is well known and practically memorized. It is a beautiful blend of indie, ambient, and post-punk. Best track out of the whole album would defenitely be the piano and vocal ambient masterpiece "Passenger Seat". It made my sister cry the first time she heard it, and the song holds alot of my feelings in it too. Overall Rating: 83527303724892347823489436203748643705/10The newest release from this very odd band. They combine thrash/hardcore/metalcore/melodic death metal/ and gothenburg. This new album is their most quality to date. The beginning of the album consists of this new styled material that is different than any of their old material. Then comes their hit song "Demon (s)"; and thats where the album goes into melodic death metal. The album gets more melodic until 3/4 the way through. It still keeps up and stays very quality compared to their old recording quality. The end comes in with these songs that sound like they came out of their first albums (like The Mark of Judas). They have really poor recording and effects quality; especially for a band that is on Victory records. The last songs sort of made me less interested in the album and lowered the overall goodness. Overall Rating: 8/10

News Post

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/puppy-torture-v.html

I heard this article because my mom got a chain mail. A video this sunday was posted on youtube showing 2 marines throwing a black and white puppy into a ravine. This is a horrid site. I was so upset by this video. Why would people commit such an atrocious act to such a helpless animal. Hopefully this video was not a real video and they used a fake dog. If not 1) many people will be outraged at the united states forces. 2) The forces will flip a shit. 3) we already had the abu ghraib incedent and we don't need anything more discomforting of what our forces are doing in their spare time. This movie sickens me and i hope it is fake, if not, ill be extremely upset and angry at why these men committed such a sick act

Demon Hunter-Summer of Darkness/Brain Drill-Apocalyptic Feasting/Hate Forest-The Gates

I found this band through a christian guy at my church and they were what got me into metal. Of course Demon Hunter isn't metal, they are blackened numetal with christian alternative infused into the music. This was their second release and their best. The 3rd release and new release were total garbage. I'm looking forward to see them at cornerstone festival this summer though. Overall Rating: 7/10 Brutal Technical Death Metal on Crack Cocaine. Marco Pitruzzella is probably the fastest drummer on the face of the earth. He uses this single stroke technique on the snare where he switches off controlling fingers between his middle, ring, and pinky fingers. The Bassist is amazing too. He uses tapping arpeggios and does sweeping and never uses a pick, always picks with his fingers. The guitarist is great, pumping out discorded technical riffs, sweeps, and arpeggio scales. The vocals are good, ranging from high screams to low grunts. The band plays very fast and technical. I can only stand listening to this band for this genre because this music is amazing but extremely annoying. Overall Rating: 10/10 (just because of the talent)
My Friend got me into this band and Drudkh at the same time. (Drudkh was formed by members of Hate Forest after they disbanded). This is a 2 track ep recorded in clifton, new jersey on elegy records (although the band is from Ukraine). Track one is 20 minutes of a crackling fire and menacing winds (when i sped it up it sounded like it was saying something.) and at the end of the song (13 minutes on) it is the sound of a beating heart. Track 2 is a 9 minute black metal riff and drum beat played over and over basically. Probably the most menacing release by hate forest and probably by any other band besides the axis of perdition. I put money to good use when i got this rare release. Overall Rating: 10/10

Impending Doom-Nailed.Dead.Risen/The Coterie-Aesthete

Probably the brutalest deathcore band. A beautiful christian album that will literally "scare the hell out of you". I found this band in 2006 and fell in love. This was when christian music was taking a turn in style. Brutal christian music is what is starting to come into the scene, and its all better than the regular streamline stuff. Overall Rating: 8937529857308495302745/10
I found this band on smartpunk.com last year and listened to them and extremely liked them. It is sad that after this release they have fallen of the face of the earth and i haven't heard anything about them since. They are what i call Post Metalcore. Which is post hardcore that takes metalcore breakdowns and influences. Its a great unheard album that needs some airtime. Overall Rating: 9/10

Nerlich-Defabricated Process/Guahaihoque-The Return of the Ancient Gods/Amputated Genitals-Human Meat Gluttony

A masterpiece put together by finland metal legends Nerlich. Coming from the same region of technical death metal gods Demilich, they play in the vein of Demilich too (like Biolich {a Demilich cover band}) This band puts together this album with technical riffs and brutalized vocals. Great quality recording too. This is their only full length, they have released many demos that are now on a compilation (like Crypt of Kerberos). This is probably one of the better technical death bands i've heard...of course besides Demilich. Overall Rating: 8/10One of the oddest bands i have heard. But one among my favorites. Brutal death metal...i never thought could be fused with epic folk metal, but Guahaihoque did. Its like brutal death metal with panflutes and Eluveitie like vocals. Only released a demo and this ep in their 12 years of existence. Columbia has released some great bands including Guahaihoque and Amputated Genitals. This is the best band in the southern hemisphere and should get alot more recognition for their amazing talent. Overall Rating: 10/10Another good release from columbia. Brutal death metal greats Amputated Genitals. Only releasing this full-length so far and nothing else i hope for much more. The drums are typical brutal death but with a really high pitched tomtom sounding snare drums which is the root of all the instruments, reigning supreme over the guitars and battling the lead with the vocals. A great release i've been waiting to get at a store that says it has it but don't. Overall Rating: 9/10

Point of Recognition-Admiration of a Son/Emery-The Weak's End

A classic christian band that emerged late in the 90's into the hardcore scene. Taking elements from thrash metal and crossover they are considered metalcore. This album is probably their hardest hitting one, which any fan of the band has in their library. Probably the best (and first) of all their full-length releases. Strong brutal metalcore vocals in the vein of Zao. Drums and guitars taking death/thrash elements. And great recording quality. Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Probably one of my favorite albums i've grown up on. I found emery when i was 11 in pennsylvania. Got a compilation with Underoath, showbread, emery, etc.. Emery was obviously my favorite with Ponytail Parades. When i turned on this album the first time with "Walls", it blasts in screaming "Are You Listening?!". This resounds strongly through the album, keeping your attention the whole album. This post hardcore band with screamo influence is great recording quality given the fact this was their 2nd release and their first full length. The best of their 3 full lengths by far. Overall Rating: 89327895084375890246532984653245/10

Darkest Hour-Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation/All Shall Perish-Hate.Malice.Revenge.

People look at Darkest Hour as metalcore due to the fact they are on Victory Records. But there is more to them. This was recorded in Gothenburg Sweden, a city which invented a genre called Gothenburg which is mainly this specific sounding melodic death metal coming from the region. (Same goes for other swedish city Stockholm). Darkest Hour pulls thrash, death, metalcore, hardcore, punk, melodic death, and other elements all together in this album. The ending 3 tracks and their song Oklahoma reign supreme over all the others resounding the most in my mind. Overall Rating: 8.8/10Simply put: Shitty recording quality of a mediocre deathcore/melodic metalcore album with a few good breakdowns. Overall Rating: 3.4/10

Becoming the Archetype-Terminate Damnation/Eternal Lord-Blessed Be This Nightmare/Ivoryline-The Love You Have\There Came a Lion

Unlike their sophmore release, this album has more culture. This was their first full-length released under their new name Becoming the Archetype. It infuses elements of jazz, christian alternative, death metal, deathcore, hardcore, sludge, melody, black metal, symphonic elements, prog, and orchestral elements. The album is predominantly melodic death with those elements. But this is a mastery of music on this album. The vocals are along the lines of Ryan Clark of Demon Hunter (who is actually on the track Elegy performing backing vocals). The bass and guitars have extremely complicated technical prog riffs that reign supreme. Overall Rating: 9.9/10The debut of death metal band from the scene in UK. This is sort of an upset to me. This band started as death metal but have progressed into experimental death/deathcore. It sounds like Bury Your Dead with ballsier riffs and vocals. But overall this album does have its strong points. It keeps your attention the whole way through and doesn't bore you; it even gets light where it needs to be. Overall Rating: 7/10Probably the shortest full-length from a brutal death metal band i've heard. More so of grindcore length songs but without the grindcore. Songs range from 28 seconds to 2 minutes and are all hardhitting brutal death. Gore and all, this is an average brutal death release. 20 tracks in 23 minutes, all good. Overall Rating: 8/10Probably one of the only pop bands i like at this point. Pop is overated, but this band is catchy. It has alluring hooks that keep you into the album. It has a sense of beauty lying inside the music. Not as catchy as the album, this EP still proves worthy enough to go out and buy. Overall Rating: 7.5/10Alot more hooking than the EP release. The album sadly has some parts where you lose interest and walk away, even in the good songs. The beginning of the album is like that, but the center-end of the album is strong and keeps your attention. With songs like Be Still and Breathe, Bravery, and Hearts and Minds. This one is defenitely worth getting, but I'd say listen to it when you need to get some sleep or something. Overall Rating: 7.8/10