ARCH ENEMY
War Eternal
Century Media
Honestly, I’m a huge fan of this band, so this review is a little biased… but with a new singer in the fold, what’s it gonna be?  Well, it’s awesome, a rebirth… all the same stuff you love about Arch Enemy, monster riffs, drumming, melodies and all that stuff.. and now new brutal female vocals.  You also have some symphoninc stuff showing up and it actually really works well to fill out the sound even better… adding a great new dynamic. Great stuff.

Vader
Tibi Et Igni
Nuclear Blast
Quite the one-two punch of new releases this week. New Arch Enemy, and now new Vader… wowza.  10th Album, first in 3 years and first with the new Drummer.  It’s the same ol great brutal, technical death metal that they’ve always been good at.  No fucking around. again, great stuff!

BEARTOOTH
Disgusting
Red Bull
This band is on Warped tour all year, that should be an indication of what direction this band goes… metal-coreish.  Seems like some pretty neat “extreme” stoner metal… you know, kinda stoner-ish, but with more extreme vocals, but then it takes a turn to the singy “emo-ish” vocals.  Sigh.  Overall it seems pretty decent, but you put that vocal style in there, and then my age kicks in.. “i’m too old for this stuff”  ugh.

THE AMITY AFFLICTION
Let the Ocean Take Me
Roadrunner
This is almost the same as above, it’s pretty cool heavy melodic metalcore and brutal type stuff, then it just gets all clean happy singing with some two-step beats…. again with the “i’m too old for this”

Bloody Hammers
Under Satan’s Son
Napalm
A sort of standard stoner metal with a doomy feel.  SOme slower-mid-tempo type stuff.  Big meaty riffs, some clean creepy 70’s sounding vocals and the music has a good groove.

Miasmic Theory
Miasmic Theory CD
Inverse
A catchy heavy thrashy melodic death metal.  It’s brutal and heavy and has good production… while it’s not breaking new ground, it’s cool stuff!

THE CHANT
New Haven
Lifeforce
Kind of some prog/melodic rock…. maybe some doomy metal feel too. A little bit like Porcupine Tree.

URIAH HEEP
Outsider
Frontiers Records
Classic rock type stuff, you know that 70’s throwback sound, but oh, wait, these guys have been doing it since then, just not some new band trying to sound like they’re in the 70’s.  This stuff rocks, they’re still rockin’ the organ and have a proggy hard rock feel.

Falconer
Black Moon Rising
Metal Blade Records
I always remembered these guys as a heavier power metal band… I could be remembering wrong, but yeah, these guys are still basically power metal, but it sounds to me like there’s a bit of a stoner metal and folk feel too. The folk feel mostly just comes from the vocal style, there aren’t any hurdygurdys or accordions or anything.