Brain Drill
Apocalyptic Feasting
Metal Blade
35:12 – 10 Tracks
Brutal death metal.  Fast and furious.  It makes me want to go into a pit and hit someone.   The guitar work is crazy sick, as well as the drums.  The cookie monster vocals are just right.  The technical chops certainly are present here too.  You will hear this on the Mosh Pit… not to mention they have a cool name too!

Bullet For My Valentine
Exclusive Metal Radio Sampler
Jive/Zomba
15:13 – 3 Tracks
These guys kind of have the Trivium thing going on now, but a bit more on the heavy metal side, and not as polished I guess. Since there’s only one new track and a cover compared to what I had before, there’s not a whole lot to go on. The cover is “Creeping Death” and judging by their sound, and this cover, it does draw some similarities to Trivium and the new polished American Metal. You’ll probably hear a track on the Mosh Pit… more when the full CD is out in a couple weeks.

Catastrophic
Anthology of Murder
Napalm Records
37:47 – 11 Tracks
I always like to mention what sub-genre of metal Napalm records puts on their promo CDs. This is simply labeled as “Deathcore” I guess this is what I have coined the term “brutal-core” to be. But as with the “With Blood…” CD review below, I have to say it’s more death and not as much core. It has it’s driving blast beats in parts, with the growly screaming that you would expect. It does have some cool throwback sounds to late 80’s early 90’s death metal. Either way, you’ll probably hear this on the Mosh Pit!

Electric Wizard
Witchcult Today
Candlelight Records
I actually don’t have this CD yet.   I think it’s stone metal like their last one, right?   So yeah, stoner metal…

Israel Unleashed
Jewish Music Sampler
Jewish Music Group
77:12 – 15 Tracks
This is a compilation of 15 of the best unsigned bands out of Israel.  There’s a little bit of every genre picked up on this CD.  I might pick something from here to play.  Some of this is not really that heavy in terms of “METAL” heavy, other stuff is pretty good and heavy too.

Necronoclast
The Plague
Moribund Cult
44:24 – 7 Tracks
This is some dark black metal.    The mini-bio says it’s “some of the most sorrowful Black Metal ever created”  It is old school sounding and evil of course In parts, it’s a bit doomy, in other parts, it’s fast.  It has a little of everything for the Black Metal fan… except of course that polished Dimmu Borgir stuff.  You may hear this on the Mosh Pit!

Primal Fear
New Religion
Locomotive
54:00 – 13 Tracks
Good ‘ol fashioned Judas Priest influenced Primal Fear. I tell you, if Priest didn’t ever get back together, this CD might be one of the next ones they would have made. While not being all brutal like some other metal that’s out these days, this is an awesome throwback, yet still modern to what true metal is all about. Some catchy choruses, classic riffing, some singalong stuff, it makes me want to go out and get that black leather coat with the snaps on the shoulders and zippers and all that cool stuff, you know maybe throw a Priest or Maiden patch on it. Some tracks are pretty thrashy, some are pretty “singy” and could be skipped, but as the metal radio guy, I can just not play those singy songs! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit. (Look out for track 8 “Blood on Your Hands”!)

Protest The Hero
Fortress
Vagrant
41:15 – 10 Tracks
I wasn’t looking too forward to this, just seeing the name, the picture of the band, etc., but as always, I gotta listen to it, and it’s pretty cool!   It’s recommonded if you like Dillinger Escape Plan, BTBAM, Iron Maiden, Mars Volta.   It had a bit of an experimental vibe here and there, but it’s chunky, heavy, technical and proggy.   Some parts are cool throwbacks to some early 90’s metal stuff too.  This is pretty cool and different, so you’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit.

Seven Witches
Deadly Sins
Screaming Ferret
40:56 – 10 Tracks
This kind of goes along with the Primal Fear, but add more METAL! A bunch more double kick drum, more meaty catchy riffs, and not so polished. Jack Frost is the guitar hero and driving force behind this band, and I have to say, I’ve never heard them disappoint! The vocals are in that power metal scream in parts, but more along the lines of Iced Earth’s Matt Barlow, with many different dynamics. Some CDs I review, I want to just get to the next one, this one, I just want to keep listening! You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!

Warbringer
War Without End
Century Media
39:34 – 11 Tracks
Lately there’s been a lot of new music out there with a HUGE classic thrash influence.  The guys in the band range from ages 17-22.  Someone gave them some good CDs to listen to when they were kids if they can blast out a great thrash record like this one.   It’s heavy, fast, full of some sick solos.  You can compare this to 80’s-90’s Bay Area thrash… you know, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Testament, etc.  This whole CD is full of classic thrash (of course with a modern edge too).  You’ll hear this on the Mosh Pit!

With Blood Comes Cleansing
Horror
Victory Records
31:12 – 12 Tracks
Pretty decent new wave of death metal sound here. Supposed to be for fans of the Job For A Cowboy, Suicide Silence vein of death metal. It’s kind of that brutal core, but leaning heavily on the death metal. Definitely brutal sounding, some heavy breakdowns and all that. It’s pretty good, brutal, great playing, production and all, but there’s just nothing that makes it stand out from the crowd…It’s nice to see Victory Records with a more diverse lineup than back in the day. You’ll probably hear this on the Mosh Pit!