Soilwork-The Panic Broadcast

I am truly amazed at what these guys have done. It would seem as if they couldn’t possibly come up with any more new ideas; that they have used up all of their good ideas, but NO! They proved us wrong! This is a must-buy. I was so stunned by this album that I couldn’t even move to get up to replay the album. This album really introduces sounds from other genres suck as blues rock, alternative metal, and metalcore. This record also has more of a polished production quality; they spent more time on making the sound quality sound nicer.

This album marks the return of the long-time Soilwork guitarist and founder Peter Wichers, who also produced the album. They claimed that they wanted to take more of a technical approach to the album, but still keeping the catchy choruses in the songs, have more guitar solos, and have some more space for drumming. The Panic Broadcast really is where the musicians play at their absolute best performance level. The band thought that the other albums have been lacking the technicality and complexity. Wichers also stated that this album will have more blues elements than the other albums and even said that one of the riffs off The Thrill was inspired by a bluegrass riff.

Every single song on The Panic Broadcast is amazing. The album starts with a strongly blues influenced, melodic song called Late for the Kill, Early for the Slaughter. My favorite songs off of The Panic Broadcast would have to be The Akuma Afterglow, The Thrill, and Let this River Flow. I will never forget this album.

Soulfly-Omen

This is true metal the way it should be. Max Cavalera has once again created an astonishing masterpiece. I got stuck listening to this album for about a week and a half straight. The seven figures in the album art (on the standard edition three figures are on the cover, and four are on the back) are meant to represent that this is Soulfly's seventh studio album. Each of the seven figures, inspired by the Star Wars creatures the Tusken Raiders, were also meant to represent each of the seven deadly sins from what they hold in their hands.

This is where the members of Soulfly really show their full technical skills. All of the riffs and solos are amazing and delectable. The smooth sounding guitar distortions amaze me and give me a very relaxed feeling. The drummer never goes overboard on the double-kicks, but I still feel that he is capable of doing more with his set. Some of the songs have a soft, moving progressive rock sound, like Soulfly VII.

My favorite songs off the album are Mega-Doom and Lethal Injection; mainly for their complex beats and drum patterns. Bloodbath & Beyond is repetitive and towards the end it gets kind of boring, but it’s still an enjoyable song, but not my favorite. Most of the other songs are very extreme, as well as experimental and progressive. Kingdom is one of the more extreme songs, but it also has a very melodic background guitar which surprised me because it doesn’t seem like they would fit if you heard the parts separately, but they fit together perfectly. I am extremely delighted with this album. This gets a 19/20.

Kataklysm-In the Arms of Devastation

This is the first album by Kataklysm that I ever listened to, and it is still my favorite. These guys are one of the kings of death metal. Inspiring many bands, they have come a long way. This is probably one of their most famous albums as well. Since I first listened to this, I have become a good fan of Kataklysm and I am longing to get my hands on their new 2010 album.

This album is one of their most progressive albums, really exploring new realms. The volume of everything is just right; nothing is too loud or too soft. They stuck with the really crunchy guitar sound, which is what their music sounds best with. The drummer did lack in creativity in this album, which disappointed me a bit because I know he is capable of doing more than what he did on this record. In songs like Open Scars, In Words of Desperation, and Let them Burn, the melodies and guitar parts are repetitive and grow boring at times.

The song Crippled and Broken is very delectable. The sound is thick, heavy and crunchy. The song is about how soldiers suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after serving time in military combat. The music video is very good too, uploaded in high quality. This album deserves a solid 16/20.

Deftones-Diamond Eyes

The long awaited release has finally arrived! When I heard that Deftones was releasing a new album, I HAD to get it! I am glad to say that I am greatly impressed by this new release. I am also very surprised by how different this album is from all of the others. This is a new kind of nu metal.

The Deftones official bassist is not featured on this album due to a car accident. An article on Wikipedia says “on November 4, 2008, bassist Cheng was seriously injured in a car accident in Santa Clara, California. As a result of the injuries sustained in the crash, Cheng has remained in a minimally conscious state since that time. Following the accident, Cheng's bandmates and mother, Jeanne, began using the Deftones blog to post updates on Cheng's condition. On December 9, 2008, it was announced that Chi had been moved into the care of an unnamed hospital that "specializes in the care and management of traumatic and non-trauma related brain injuries". Sergio Vega played the bass in this album.

The thing that surprised me the most about this album is that the vocalist sings! It’s not all yelling and screaming! I would like to say that his singing voice isn’t really that bad, I’m impressed. Deftones really got experimental on this album, trying to create a new realm of music. My favorite songs off the album are Diamond Eyes and CMND/CTRL. The overall sound of the album is less noisy, has cleaner distortions on the guitar; it’s something completely new. I would score this album 16/20.

Hellyeah-Hellyeah

Hellyeah is an amazing mix of Pantera, Mudvayne, and Damageplan. Hellyeah introduced me to a new genre of music known as sludge metal. Sludge metal has a really thick, heavy sound with really down-tuned, dark guitar distortions, a really crunchy bass sound, and usually yelled vocals with occasional singing or screaming. Some other well known sludge bands include Down, High on Fire, Black Label Society, and Superjoint Ritual. Hellyeah combines the traditional sludge metal sound with heavy metal, some thrash and some groove metal (due to Vinnie Paul being from Pantera).

My favorite musician from this band is without a doubt Vinnie Paul. Vinnie Paul was the drummer for Pantera (R.I.P.), and is the current drummer for the band that he founded called Damageplan. This album was recorded in a homemade studio in the backyard of a friend of the band in roughly one month. It was very successful and received mostly positive reviews (including this one). Bassist Montano left the band about a week after the album’s release due to personal differences. He was then replaced with the current Damageplan bassist.

Listening to this album was really an enjoyable exploration of territory I hadn’t uncovered yet. My favorite song off the album is the title song. This song really describes who these guys are and that they are not the band that you want to mess around with. The single of the album, Alcohaulin’ Ass, was a huge success and was played on satellite radio stations around the world. I honestly like every single song off the album. I am extremely impressed and cannot wait for their new album. I’m giving this one 19/20.

Attack Attack!-Attack Attack!

Two tours after the release of their debut, the lead vocalist for Attack Attack! was kicked out of the band because of personal differences. I didn’t get the chance to hear their new vocalist until a couple of weeks before their sophomore self-titled album was released. I watched a couple of videos on YouTube of them performing Stick Stickly from various tours like the 2009 Warped Tour, and their most recent headlining tour. The first scream that left his mouth made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair. I saw comments saying he sounded like a dead cat puking up a hair ball, I honestly think he sounds worse! I am still amazed by the fact that they replaced one of the best screamers ever by one of the worst!

He also screwed up the band. They’re not nearly as tight as they used to be, yes, they are still great musicians (especially the drummer), but they’re not a band anymore! Even all of the editing in the studio wasn’t enough to make them sound good, which failed. Their singer’s “singing” is basically 98% auto-tune. The overall band’s creativity has completely disappeared; the sound quality of the album is very low and cheap.

The only songs on the album that are at least descent and actually have some creativity are A for Andrew, Smokahontas, and AC-130. My favorite would have to be Smokahontas, which I think was written before their original vocalist was kicked out of the band. Overall I will give this a 8/20

Augury-Fragmentary Evidence

This band has taken extreme music to a completely new level. Augury is one of the best progressive death bands ever. Not only are they signed on to a record label that only accepts the best of the best (Nuclear Blast); they also have one of my favorite bassists. I got temporarily addicted to this album; I listened to it over and over for about a week and a half. Canada has produced only a few good metal bands, and Augury is one of them.

The giant explosion on the first song is amazing, you can tell right then that their sound is going to be powerful. In most death metal albums, the emotion is primarily uncontrollable anger and violence. But Augury gives you a relaxed feeling at some points. This music filled me completely with multiple emotions, it was amazing.

Their bassist is one of the best in the entire metal genre. He plays a fretless bass (as I do as well). In songs such as “Orphans of Living” and “Simian Cattle”, he takes his bass parts past the limits of complexity and creativity. I have heard from others that when he plays live, he plays each song completely different than the studio versions.

My favorite song from the album is “Brimstone Landscapes”. I absolutely love the song from the first to the last seconds. The beginning reminds me of the rocky, icy parts of Mount Rainier. It’s awesome! Towards the end, there is a small twist of something completely different with the female guest vocalists. Fragmentary Evidence is clearly and unarguably a milestone in the metal genre.

Annotations Of An Autopsy-The Reign Of Darkness

I've been listening to Annotations of an Autopsy since day one. I have always considered them one of the best deathcore bands of all time. I bought this album on pre-order, so i got a shirt with it too. Anyways, I still am stricken with complete surprise on how much this band has changed! They have made some major and minor modifications to EVERYTHING in their music! Everything from the style of music to the logo is very different than what they used to be. And I love it.
The change that they made that stands out the most for me is that the vocalist completely changed what he does! Before, he was doing inhales 90% of the time, pig squeals and everything. But now, it's all exhale growls, and a little bit of screaming here and there. One of the things that Steve (lead vocalist) has been known for is for his near perfect inhales, so I'm very surprised that he made the choice to change.
Second, they've completely changed their music style. They have more of a brutal death sound more than a deathcore sound. You can still hear a lot of deathcore bits here and there, but the deathcore sound is topped off with a heavy layer of brutal death metal. Personally, I still consider them deathcore, but with a heavy twist of brutal death. I'm saying that they have a brutal death metal sound for several reasons. First, Steve is doing almost all exhale growls. Second, there are not many breakdowns in their music. Third, they don't alternate speeds as often as they did in The Throne of Infection.
A last remark that I would like to make is, I miss the logo that they used in The Throne of Infection. That logo was one of the best death metal logos of all time. I can't see any reason why they would replace it with a new logo! (let alone that it doesn't look nearly as cool and professional as their previous one)
I would give this an 18 or 19 out of 20. I have yet to see this band in concert, and am looking forward to doing so.

Soilwork-Sworn To A Great Divide

This is without a doubt Soilwork's best album yet. These guys are like no other melodic death band. Having a small twist of thrash and a hint of metalcore in their sound, it fits in perfectly, especially in this album, which is a tad bit more on the melodic side, but still pretty thrashy. Speed described their sound being mainly influenced by Meshuggah, Pantera, and Carcass. The members claim that Dark Tranquility and Killswitch Engage inspired the new sound for Sworn to a Great Divide.
First off I would like to compliment the sound of the guitar distortion. It's not very crunchy, but it's still very rough, and I love it. I've always loved their amazing drummer. Dirk drums like a wild animal, with amazing skill and deep creativity. Once again, Speed's ability to go from a very dirty yell, to one of the best male singing voices is still utterly impossible for anyone but him.
The first song (the title song) off the album is very heavy and shows strong shades of thrash metal to get your heart racing. But up until As the Sleeper Wakes, the album gets very calm and melodic. I love it when a band shows off how many different sides they have with the different sounds. I would have to say that Silent Bullet is my favorite off this album. Great drums, it has both speedy and melodic parts to the song. Overall I would give this perfect album 20/20. I can't wait for The Panic Broadcast.

Soilwork-Natural Born Chaos

This is Soilwork's fastest album. Soilwork started a European tour right before this album was released, obviously the tour was to support it. For the first time, they toured the United States with Hypocrisy, Scar Culture, and Killswitch Engage. This was also the first album with their current keyboardist. Although this is not my favorite Soilwork album, it is still pretty astonishing.
The way everything was tuned sounds amazing and fits together perfectly. The guitar is relatively low distortion, but with a very crunchy sound. The bass stands out, but not in a way to where it gets annoying. The drums aren't in the background, they are almost one of the loudest instruments, but again, it's not loud and annoying. My favorite musician in this band would unarguably be Speed. He is the only vocalist I know of that can change almost instantly from a yelling vocal, to singing beautifully. That has always amazed me.
My favorite songs off this record would have to be Follow the Hollow, As We Speak, Mindfields, and Soilwork's Song of the Damned. This is a completely new sound for Soilwork, I am giving this an overall 15/20 and would recommend it to ALL Soilwork fans.