Metallica
Hardwired to Self-Destruct (2 CD)
Blackened
Well, they’re baaaaaaack.  And it’s good!  We’ve all heard the first few singles and they’re probably the highlight.  The others are a mix of mid-tempo-ish black album era type stuff.  Overall, good release, nice to see these guys put something out that’s kind of undisputable on the good side with no major flaws.  (even though it could have all fit on one disc)

Lamb of God
The Duke
Epic
We’ve heard the title track on here, pretty cool with mostly clean vox.  The other track is called Culling and that’s classic catchy heavy LoG.  The other 3 tracks are live at bonnaroo and Rock Am Ring… goood stuff.

Diamond Head
Diamond Head
Dissonance Productions
Well, without Metallica, I never would have heard of this band originally… and here we are, a week where there’s new albums by both bands.  This release is classic metal at its finest.  Good stuff.

Weapons Of Anew
Killshot (Single)
Independent
How do I say this… it’s classic modern metal.  Just a decent groove, pretty accessible, with a little bit of a heavy feel while being melodic.

DEAD HORSE TRAUMA
“LEFT UNSAID”
New Ocean Media
This is similar… more of a modern metalcore type thing though.  Clean vox, then kind of a breakdown thing with almost emo-ish vox.

DRESCHER
Steinfeld
Napalm Records
and…
DRESCHER
Erntezeit (Reissue)
Napalm Records
Kind of a thrashy melodic death folk metal

DIABULUS IN MUSICA
Dirge For The Archons
Napalm Records
Epic female fronted metal.  Some symphonic stuff, some death metal growls, so a bit like Epica.

Devilment
II – The Mephisto Waltzes
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Kind of a blackened goth metal type thing with Dani Filth handling vocals.  So you’ll have a little similarity to Cradle of Filth, but this is a bit more straightfoward extreme metal  Good stuff.

Band: Natvre’s
Album: “Wrath”
Label: Argento records
Classic Black metal.  good production, kind of brutal but with that good creepy melody that black metal is known for.

Band: Karma Rassa
Album: Talks To Innerself
Label: Sound Age
Atmospheric rock/prog. Approaching a little bit of metal from a doomy side of things, and yeah, definitely fits solid into the prog genre.

Science of Sleep
Hellmouth
Bastardied Recordings
Full on Death metal, but maybe more of a brutalcore type thing.  There’s a pinch of melody and just a little feeling of that sumerian type sound.

Scorched
Echoes of Dismemberment
Unspeakable Axe Records
Classic grooving death metal with a black metal feel.

Master of Cruelty
Archaic Visions of the Underworld LP
Blood Harvest
Some raw blackened death metal

Bloodride
Planet Alcatraz
Inverse
Deathy/thrash metal.  Thrashened Death Metal?  Yeah.  Mostly death metal, but a thrashy feel.

Band: Violblast
Album: Conflict
Label: Suspiria records
Brutal thrash, big meaty riffs, a classic thrash thing, but a heavier full brutal feel underneath.  Great stuff.

KHAOS DEI
Opus II: Catechism
Osmose Productions
French melodic death metal.  Good groove, heavy kind of grindy stuff, but yet good melodic death type stuff.

Solitude
Beneath The Sky
Test Your Metal Records
Heavier than typical classic metal.  Good groove, good edge, has that German “Accept” metal type feel.  (from Japan!)

Red Cain
Self-Titled
Self-Release
Gothed up standard metal… decent stuff.

Heavydeath
In Circles We Die DLP
Iron Bonehead
Doomy blackened metal, decent groove

Defiant
Time Isn’t Healing
Self-Release
Keyboard heavy proggy power metal.  There’s a great metal edge here, so it’s not just boop boop raise your fist and sing-a-long.  Good stuff for a power metal fan.

Bölzer
Hero CD/LP
Iron Bonehead
Blackened death metal with a groove… Kind of melodic death musically actually… vox are a bit of deathyt black metal too.

LIBER NULL
I, The Serpent
Osmose Productions
Kind of a blackened doomy metal, some parts getting into ambient post-metal too.  the heaver stuff is decent.

Leprous
Live at Rockefeller Music Hall
InsideOut
Live album… prog band not quite getting into metal, but it’s good stuff if you’re into more melodic prog stuff.

Primogenorum
Damned Hearts in the Abyss of Madness
Forever Plagued
Raw blackened metal a bit doomy, production a bit mushy… realllly underground stuff and not really my thing.

Entrapment
Through Realms Unseen
Pulverised Records
Melodic death, with a bit more doom going on for the pace/feel.  It’s got a headbanging vibe, good riffs and brutal-ness.   Some parts are just classic death metal, some have more a doomy pace to them.  overall pretty good.

Krepitus
The Eyes of The Soulless
Self-Release (asher)
Thrashy and kind of technical/melodic death type stuff.  Great riffs, catchy, and yeah, brutal in parts too.  Great stuff.

Witchery
In His Infernal Majesty’s Service
Century Media
Classic Witchery… melodic blackened melodic death metal.  Catchy and heavy, brutal and a bit raw too.  Great stuff!

BOLESNO GRINJE
GRD
Label:  Grindpromotion, Hecatombe Records, Sumoggu Records, SKullhouse, Fucking Kill Records, Rest Of Noise, SM Musik, Blackout Brigade.
Kind of deathy grind… good stuff, wall of brutal sound!

VOODOO TERROR TRIBE
The Sun Shining Cold
Label:  VTT Music (Indie)
Metalized industrial alt-metal.  Kind of along the lines of a Static X but maybe more melodic (clean vox)

DEVAST
Apocalyptic Human Extinction
Gore House Productions
Brutal death metal, no fucking around, maybe a pinch of grind in this brutality.  good stuff.

Tactus
Bending Light
Self-Release
Melodic death, but quite proggy… reminds me a bit of the heaver side of that band Fair to Midland.  Pretty cool stuff.  Clean and harsh vox.

SpiritBell
Guided by Evil Light (EP)
Label: Witches Brew
Old school sounding doomy metal.  A bit raw, throwback metal sound.  A classic doom thing

Samsara
Bloodlines
Self Released (High Road Publicity)
Kind of melodic death, a bit of a moderm metal feel, a little math metal and heavy riffs, a bit of a grooving death metal thing too.

Sirens Over Sumeria
Omelas
Imminence Records
This is some proggy metalcore.  You have all that chugga chugga metalcore stuff with the harsh vox, but some good proggy guitar work… maybe throw in some djent too.

DEGREES OF TRUTH
The Reins of Life
Label:  Underground Symphony
Progressive symphonic metal from Italy, operattic female vox going on for most of it. The heavier proggy stuff gets pretty cool, but there’s a lot of slower parts too.

Band: MorphiuM
Album: The Blackout
Label: Mass Productions
Melodic death, catchy heavy and deathy in parts, and in other parts, it kind of sounds like a laid back Sevendust song.  Good mix of heavy and melodic.