Uli Jon Roth
Scorpions Revisted
UDR
Melodic metal, live songs and other studio “re-imaginings” (re-recordings) of old scorpions songs.  Sounds great, new production, different vocals… breathes great new life into these old classics.

Europe
War of Kings
UDR / JVC Victor
Sounds like some good hard rock, a little bit along the lines of some Dio type stuff

Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz
Spinefarm
Catchy driving hard rock with a fun attitude.  Not quite as over the top as Steel Panther, but seems simliar musically, but with a bit of a metal edge… So it’s an 80’s/90’s metal mixed with modern sound with a little bit of Finnish fun!

Secret Of Boris
My Ghost
Cabo Records
Catchy hard rock stuff. Almost a little pop metal-like, but more just good ol rock with no gimmicks, whiney emo vox, or anything like that.  Just cool hard rock.

Enslaved
In Times
Nuclear Blast USA
Melodic black metal, they’ve been around for quite some time… This album has some more dynamics… kind of like the pre-non-growly Opeth… some heavy growly stuff, some cool melodic clean vox stuff, all in the same track.  good stuff.

Melechesh
Enki
Nuclear Blast Records
Wow… these guys just keep churning out brutal, yet catchy blackened death metal. They still have that middle eastern influence, yet still all on metal. They are firing on all cylinders and this might be one of the tops of the year.

BERRI TXARRAK
Denbora Da Poligrafo Bakarra EP
Planetary Digital
There seems to be some attitude here, and it gets a little bit heavy, but really it’s more like some alternative rock that maybe fringes into metal territory for a minute in this 2 song EP.  eh.

EVIL INVADERS
Pulses Of Pleasure
Napalm Records
Raw old school thrash, heavy, catchy and great screamy over the top vocals.

Cancer Bats
Searching for Zero
Metal Blade Records
Punky metal, quick songs, attitude, good mix of hardcore, metal and punk (and I’m not a fan of punk)… so this all works pretty well.

GOUGE
Beyond Death (CD, LP)
Hells Headbangers
Grindy, raw death metal.

DEVAST
Into Decimated Reality
Gore House Productions
Fast, brutal crazy death metal. This is some of the fastest stuff I’ve heard in a while, drumming is crazy, vox are just cookie monster brutal and it’s all just a wall of metal sound.

Lonely Robot
Please Come Home
InsideOut
Prog rock progressing a little into some prog metal in parts… more or less like a Porcupine Tree which has its heavy moments but generally stays in the rock realm.

THE HAUNTING PRESENCE
The Haunting Presence 12″ MLP
Hells Headbangers
Black metal, death metal, METAL METAL!  Fast, blast beats, screaming, crazy guitars, this is living up to its name too.

Nocturnus
The Science of Horror
Nuclear War Now! Productions
Vinyl Reissue of their 1988 album.  It’s my first time hearing it, and it’s pretty cool stuff, a bit like some old Morbid Angel, a bit thrashy, but darker… I could only imagine that in 1988 (when I was in high school and full on into Led Zeppelin) how brutal this would have been then.

SATYRASIS
…Of The Dead
Seventh Door Records
Thrashy metal, proggy and techical with a pinch of folky stuff here and there.  It’s mostly progressive death throughout.  Good stuff.

IRON KOBRA
Might & Magic
Dying Victims Productions
Traditional metal.  A bit thrashy, dual guitar attack, so there’s a bit of a Maiden/Priest feel.  Vox have a bit of an accent

CONCLAVE
Breaking Ground
Self-Released
Sludgey stoner metal.  3 tracks, vocals sound a bit like Oderus!  hah.  but the music is just some good stoner/doomy stuff.