Corrosion of Conformity
Corrosion of Conformity    
Candlelight
http://www.coc.com/
First album in about seven years, and they picked up right where they left off.. big meaty riffs, catchy parts, and a nice large bottom end to the sound.  These guys have been around for a while and this album shows that they still know how to rock!

Iron Mask
Black as Death
AFM
http://www.iron-mask.com/
A pretty decent power metal band.  (Actually the third in 3 weeks with “Iron” in the band name)  There’s a good heavy side to the music, yet there is still some cool epic power metal type stuff too.  It’s not quite up there like Mystic Prophecy for all out metal, but the catchiness and virtuosity of Iron Mask makes it worthy.

Beyond Dishonor
Travesty
Thorpe
http://www.myspace.com/beyonddishonor
This is generally a hardcore sort of thing.  Lots of shouting/growling, chugga chugga, a bass drop/breakdown or two… there’s a little bit of a Pantera feel to it also.  While it’s not anything new and groundbreaking, it’s probably one of the better if not only decent hardcore release of the year so far.

Martyrd
The Mortal Coil
Maniac Records
http://www.martyrd.com/
I’m not really quite sure what category to put these guys in.  I think “Metal” is a good category.  I’d say it’s almost prog-metal.  There’s some virtuous guitar work, lots of layers of things going on… it’s thrashy, and catchy too.

Hope Dies Last
Trust No One
Standby Records
This is an Italian metalcore or “post hardcore” band as they call it.  It’s kind of typical for this type of band… brutal heavy parts, then more happy singy choruses with more happy sounding guitars.  I think I’m too old for this stuff, that or I’m not into skinny jeans.

Asphyx
Deathhammer
Century Media
http://www.myspace.com/officialasphyx
Kind of a doomy black/death metal thing going on.  They’ve been around since the late 80’s, so obviously they have been a bit pioneering in the genre (after taking a break in the early 2000’s)  While not all super fast and full of blast beats… this just has a big heavy sound that crushes you.  A little bit catchy with some of the riffs… the vocals are nice and abrasive, and while parts are doomy, there is a heavier payoff on most of the tracks.

Spock’s Beard
The X-Tour Live (2 CDs)
Mascot
http://www.spocksbeard.com/
While not really all that metal, it is some awesome Prog rock.  One of my favorite prog bands.  It’s amazing that this band can pull off what they do live… especially with as few shows they play each year.   Disc one is the whole album “X” and disc two are other songs from their history.  A must have for the Spock’s Beard fan!

Zeroking
Kings of Self-Destruction
Vanity
http://www.myspace.com/zeroking
A hard rock/metal band with a tiny bit of a 80s/90s sound.  The riffs and some of the vocal styles make it sound like it’s right out of the early 90’s… almost like one of those great bands that everyone forgot about thanks to grunge.  However, they do have a little bit of a heaviness

Caliban
I Am Nemesis
Century Media
http://calibanmetal.com/
One of the better modern metalcore bands… they kind of have that New Wave of American metal sound going on, even though they are an established band from Europe.  The music seems to be a little more edgy and while they have some clean parts, the music and heavier parts more than make up for it… it leans more towards the melodic death metal side of things.