Haste the Day-Pressure the Hinges

Quality metalcore that is shunned by the metal scene. They are very melodic, so i guess metal heads consider it too "mallcore" to be accepted as metalcore. The vocals are strong and music is hard hitting on the old albums with Jimmy Ryan's high pitched screams; But Stephen Keech comes in and blasts out vocals at a totally different level. That's why it took me so long to get into this release. I was so used to Jimmy Ryan's vocals that when i first heard Keech's i wasn't interested. Eventually it grew on me (because of the 2 songs: Stitches and White Collar). The album has a lot of tracks for a first album with new vocalist, but it makes a lasting impression. Chorus of Angels ends off the album in the best way though, and thats why that and Stitches are my 2 favorite songs. I got the deluxe edition which has 3 demo songs added onto the CD (Sea of Apathy, Chorus of Angels, and some other one) and a bonus DVD. The DVD was acceptable. It compiled material over the years. It had one full show set from their tour with Between the Buried and Me, Every Time I Die, and i think Still Remains. Then it had some stuff, like preparations they have on tours, riding the buses, fighting. Then they have bits to a couple of songs live that they had Matt Tarpey (of Winter Solstice, Fjord, and for a short time, UnderOath) sing with them. Then material about their recording process, then more live stuff. What was an upset was that after the full set at the beginning, they don't show whole songs really after that, and if they do, it's the same couple of songs they always play. The DVD also has all their music videos; but what makes it worth it is they have Jimmy Ryan's last show. He puts out great vocals, but can't last long because he's sad to be leaving. He is now in Trenches. Overall Rating: 9/10

WinterDome/Circa Survive/Destroyer Destroyer/Cry of the Afflicted/Destroy the Runner

Weltendämmerung- Upbeat death metal sounding viking metal. Coming straight from Germany, this band seemed very odd to me because they sung about the elasai (vikings/norsemen). The vocals on the album are like that to Rammstein's vocals, and the death growlish screams complement the music nicely. The album is a double disk, one disc is the whole album with spoken word in between each song, the second disc is just the music without the spoken word. Since I have the CD-R, i have to sit through all of it. The upside is that the poetry is actually enjoyable to listen to, the narrator has a great voice for it. Overall Rating: 8.2/10On Letting Go- One of the best progressive rock albums i've heard. Circa infuses melodic post-hardcore with progressive rock and alternative for this album. Every song has a different catch to it and nothing ever sounds the same. Definitely worth the time if you are just getting into post-hardcore, or just don't know Circa yet. The artwork is outstanding and worth a lot more money than the album is going for. Overall Rating: 9.3/10
Littered With Arrows- The only good grindcore CD. This album is actually a infusion of slow blasting grindcore with death metal tendencies. The guttural boom screams and the high pitch pterodactyl screeches are insanely amazing. Never heard anything like DD, and are the best in their scene. Other bands on their label i found them on were all garbage, and DD is a pure gem. Overall Rating: 9.8/10
The Unveiling- Took me a long time to buy this one. I just never knew if the album would be worth it or not. Their old stuff wasn't good, and this was good but almost not good enough to buy it. I didn't rush out to get this; took about a year to go and buy it. The CD has a great opening with "Lift the Veil"; but thats really it. The other stuff sounds the same. They are like Stutterfly, heavy on screaming, heavier on vocals and melody. I like it but i wouldn't recommend it unless you're a fan of post-metalcore (killswitch engage) kind of material. Overall Rating: 6.9/10
I, Lucifer- Best album of 2008 hands down. A total change of style from their first album, DTR goes from melodic death/metalcore (bands like In flames and Darkest hour) to post-metalcore (Cry of the afflicted and Killswitch engage). The album still is amazing. Sadly a lot of the vocals on each song sound the same, but they are catchy, melodic, blasting, and progressive. I don't like the fact they changed so much, but i am in love with this album. Overall Rating: 20000/10

Winter Solstice-The Fall of Rome/Stutterfly-Broken in Pieces

The CD that you love but never want to listen to. I picked up this CD at a Borders a couple years ago hoping i was getting something good. I get home and listen and fall in love with the first 2 songs. The album is straight-up ball kickin' metalcore. They had just signed to Metal Blade records and came out with this album when they sadly broke up. The music is okay... but this is an album that you really need to be in the mood to listen to to appreciate it's quality. Overall rating: 7/10
The balls they had early on. Stutterfly started as a fusion of post-hardcore and rapcore, blasting out heavy blasty hard rock. I love the older versions of their songs "Gun in Hand" and "Life's Disease". This CD is definitely worth it if you're a true fan of Stutterfly and Secret and Whisper. This album has done the opposite of helping me in life compared to their second album though, sadly enough. Overall rating: 8.1/10

Between the Buried and Me/Living is Our Example Vol. 1/Full Scale Riot

Alaska- A tornado of confusion that eventually turns into something good. BTBAM is a very stereotypical fast paced metalcore band at the top of their scene. Their fame was gained by signing to Victory records and getting enormous attention. The album starts off with All Bodies and Alaska, 2 really good songs. After that a bunch of the songs just drag on, being excessively long and only having a few good bits of the song that you have to fast-forward to get to; Which has always been an issue for me while listening to BTBAM. Later on the album has 3 amazing songs: Roboturner, Autodidact, and my favorite Backwards Marathon. Backwards Marathon is beautiful in the sense that it goes from metal, to ambient to melodic metal with crazy guitar sweeping. Then the album drags on more until the last track "The Laser" which is a spanish sounding lounge jazz song which is actually pulled off well by BTBAM. Overall rating: 7.8/10
Basically a compilation of trashy hardcore/rapcore bands (with some holding thrash/crossover and metalcore sound). This CD is recommended for kids just getting into rapcore and hardcore to see what side of the spectrum they'd rather stick with. The only reason i've kept this is due to the fact that there are some prominent songs that stick out to me that are actually pretty good. Point of Recognition, Travail, Society's Finest, and P.O.D. all submitted good songs to this compilation. P.O.D. was only a couple years old when this came out and put my favorite song on this (Coming Back) which is the only song I like by them. Overall rating: 6.3/10
I'm friends with the guy in the right in the picture, Rob Moschetti. He's been in the likes of Undivided, Mutilation, Biohazard, Pro-Pain, and almost Anthrax (but joined Pro-Pain instead). This is his side project with guys from Rhythm Trip and Dirt Church. He gave me this CD, i don't know what the track listing or artwork is. It's an amazing crossover groove metal CD. With only 4-5 songs i presume it's an EP or demo. I can't wait to hear more from Rob though. Overall rating: 10/10

Norma Jean-Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child/Virgin Black-Trance

The only time when repetition is good. I grew up on Norma Jean and was obsessed with them from 7th-9th grade (which their album redeemer came out and i stopped listening to them). So i decided to keep their first album (which had totally different material due to the vocalist {now in The Chariot}). The album is like the mother pearl of crack for mathcore. The album has songs that are about 1 and 1/2 minutes to a song 14 minutes long. The album has beautiful yet simple breakdowns that are repeated for long periods of time (ex: one song they scream "Like bringing a knife to a gun fight" for 3 minutes straight"). I love this album still and I'm extremely upset that it's in such crappy condition; so I'm going to buy another copy. Their roots were okay as Luti-Kriss and their 2nd Norma Jean album was okay... but I'll always stick with Bless the Martyr. Overall Rating: 7/10 (due to the fact the album is scratched beyond recognition)
Excellent but leaves you hanging dry. The EP is delectable and you could listen to it as if it was a full length; but then it gets ruined because it's a 3 song 14 minute long CD. The most prominent song was track 2 blasting in angrily with death/doom vocals and fighting between operatic vocals. I got this as a bonus disk to Sombre Romantic, which i thought was coming as just the CD, but I got more bang for my buck. This is only good to listen to to prepare yourself to hear Sombre Romantic; so be sure your have both in handy. Overall rating: 7.6/10

Oceana-The Tide/Virgin Black-Sombre Romantic

2 words: very odd. A different band on the forefront, Oceana seems to be post hardcore/emocore but are actually Experimental atmospheric sludge/metalcore. They infuse beautiful guitar riffs with technical drums. The vocals blast in from low to high, and then low and high paired, it's just delectable. At first when i listened to them a couple of months ago i thought i wouldn't entirely get into them; but when i listened to the album the whole thing grew onto me. An amazing sound for a just signed band. I definitely need to get a hold of the album to see what great artwork lies beyond the cover. Overall Rating: 9.7/10
Another odd band. Virgin Black is the kind of band that you don' t know what genre they are; but are amazingly good. They are considered Doom metal but are layered so heavily with gothic, death, dark, black, and symphonic elements; it takes an expert eye to decide what they are. I got the reissue with their EP Trance and it has the black cover (which i prefer over the green). This band is extremely unorthodox christians and write songs about God, darkness, life, hope, and so on. One song they have Rowan sing as if he were Judas Iscariot, the man that betrayed God. The greatest and oddest doom album, they blow November's Doom out of the water. Overall rating: 9.8/10

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster/Death/Vendlus Records

Maylene and the Sons of Disaster-Heavy southern metalcore. Formed with the ex-vocalist of UnderOath. This band to me pretty much was if you gave Lynyrd Skynyrd a kick in the balls and made them listen to some metal. It's a new age where people can play whatever, and i like that Maylene has taken that up and built themselves on it. Sadly their other material after this album were not interesting at all; and basically became a repeat of what this was. Overall Rating: 7.8/10
Spiritual Healing-A compilation of all their good demo songs as a full length album. Back when they recorded their 60 or so demos, Chuck made a whole lot of good songs. Basically every album up to this one were all demo songs and then the last 3 albums (individual thought patterns, Symbolic, and The Sound of Perseverance) were all newly scripted material. This one has all of Chuck's best demo songs and was the heaviest album. They were boldly heavy on vocals having lower, growlier screams by chuck. The drums were constant double bass most of the time (the next 3 albums were more progressive death metal with less straight-up double bass. And of course no guitar line was ever the same. This album and Symbolic are probably the best in talent and are also my two favorites. Overall Rating: 10/10
Vendlus Records Compilation for Patrons of Agalloch- I Pre-ordered Agalloch's "The White EP" and i got this with it. The record was a limited edition 2,000 copy CD and definitely worth what i paid. That album is a collectors CD, which makes this one too. It's limited to 2,000 copies and only comes with The White EP pre-orders that were made through vendlus records' web-store. This compilation has material from bands ranging from avant-garde black metal to sludge metal to technical and atmospheric death metal. Nothing to me was good besides Klabautamann; which was experimental black metal (a hard genre for me to get into). Really the only reason I'm keeping this is due to the fact it is a collectible and in the future when I want to get rid of it, I can make mad bills off of it. Overall rating: 4/10

AKissForJersey-Keep Your Head Above the Water

One of the bands my brother got me into. He's lived in the army barracks in north carolina for a couple years now, and this is the one band in his scene that i like. (There's other bands like Nephilium and Pinebox Destiny, but they suck). AKFJ plays very technical melodic post hardcore in the vein of Emery and Amen. The Animal. These musicians are extremely talented and are worth the cash for other people to go out and buy their recent reissue of this album. Best track to me is "They Carried Me While We Buried You". Beautiful lyrics and strong vocals that go as high as the vocals of Stutterfly. Strong in their religion and strong live, i definitely need to see them when they come up here on their next tour. Overall Rating: 8.3/10

Bradley Hathaway-All the Hits So Far, But Don't Expect Too Much: Poetry, Praise, and Other Sundry Items

I'm not really too much of a reader; But Bradley Hathaway is really inspiring. This book is a compilation of his best poems of that year. They deal with inner conflict, love, conflict with faith, praise, and just random things. It comes with a CD that has all the poems on it, but have accompanying music played by Night of the Wrecking Ball. But personally, i like just the CD of his spoken word. The Meter and rhyme he uses is different. Not always rhyming, never keeping the same meter. It's a bunch of mumble jumble that mixes together to create a perfect work of art. Bradley has a way with words and he has become famous in christian culture touring with many bands on tooth & nail and solid state records. Hopefully when i publish my books, i'll get some recognition like he did. Overall Rating: 10/10

Emery/Six Feet Deep/Nihilist

The Columbus EEP Thee- The coveted underground demo of post hardcore band Emery. The album was actually really great and it didn't matter if the vocals were off a little. The music, different than the first album, the demo was heavily relied on it's keyboards. At this point Josh wasn't a member of the band (keyboardist, guy to the left of the one in the middle), but their singer was using the keys. This was back when they were still in south carolina and then just getting to seattle washington to start their career. Most of the songs were remade, but the 1 or 2 that weren't were the ones to enjoy most. Overall Rating: 9.4/10
The Question EP- A small underground release given out with Emery's second album "The Question". Sadly i never got a hard copy of this CD and it was put on a CD-r with the Columbus EEP Thee EP/demo and a new demo track that was so underground the band doesn't even acknowledge they made it. This release is all acoustic, and includes a song, Anne Marie, which was a cover of  their one of the members old bands Simply Wings. By far As Your Voice Fades is obviously the best rendition on acoustic on this album, and by them in general. (Not because it's my favorite song, but because it's just amazing). The demo i added onto the disk "Negative Nines" is another acoustic track. I'm not sure if it's both singers, or just the back-up singer singing it. It's around 5 minutes and was really worth finding. Now i just need to get my hands on that song they gave away on itunes with the newest album called "Whoa Man!". Overall Rating: 9.7/10
The Road Less Traveled- This is the band that got me into metal. Although metal archives does not regard the band as metal, they play slowed down melodic groove/crossover metal. But still to this day they are regarded as a major influence in christian  hardcore. They were pretty much the first hardcore band, before P.O.D. (they were born in 1991). Sadly they broke up around 1999, by what i remember. My mom gave me a copy (with a different cover on it) of this album and i fell in love with it; thinking it was the heaviest thing i ever heard. It still is a real kick in the head when you listen to it even though i've heard heavier. The singer myk porter and the guitarist are now in a mediocre electronic emo-pop project called Brandtson. (Originally Myk's side project, but later on needed a full on change of pace from hardcore). Only song i like is "Nobody Dances Anymore", nothing good from them. Overall Rating: 8.9/10
1987-1989-A collection of Nihilist's demos and singles. An album that will rip your face off by your nostrils, mutilate you, then drop you in a ditch like a swift hurricane mixed with a rapist. Man this compilation was crazy. Blasting drums, Dismember influenced vocals, crazy guitar solos in every other song. Sadly they never saw a day as a band past these demos. Members went on though to create the band Entombed (very popular Death/Death 'n' Roll) and other member or 2 joined Dismember (Death metal). Both bands quality swedish death. But nihilist will always be remembered to me as a death metal classic which everyone should listen to at least once. Overall Rating: 11/10