SH*T THAT COMES OUT TODAY — THE JANUARY 24TH, 2012 EDITION
Just because this week isn’t as awesome as last week doesn’t mean we don’t have some cool new shit coming out. New releases from Lamb Of God, Lacuna Coil, Dodecahedron, Aborted, Primal Fear and more in this week’s wrap-up after the jump.
Abigail Williams – Becoming (Candlelight)
Another record of sweet black metal from Abigail Williams. Not much has changed since they dropped their last record, 2010’s In The Absence Of Light, which is fine in this case. AW play more on the melodic side of black metal, which isn’t to say this isn’t dark stuff, but the band has mastered adding melodic guitar melodies on top of the rest. The end result works well, and this record should be another great addition to the catalog.
Aborted – Global Flatline (Century Media)
The seventh full-length album from long-running death-grind crew Aborted drops today. The record is the first with new drummer Ken Bedene and guitarist Mike Wilson (both formerly of Abigail Williams) and bassist J.B. Van Der Wal. Changing lineup aside, this album continues in the same path Aborted have always taken: fast-as-shit double bass drumming, and the ferocity of grindcore mixed with the technicality of death metal.
Beyond The Bridge – The Old Man And The Spirit (Frontiers)
The band has been recording this album since 2008, and it definitely shows in the music. The German progressive metal band has woven a story involving an old man recollecting his life through an album of fine-tuned melody and harmonies. The seven-piece band are all professionally trained musicians, and you can tell from the result. This is an incredibly melodic album, which isn’t for all metal fans, but anyone who digs European prog/heavy metal should gie this a listen. Check out the EPK here.
Dead Icons – Condemned (Bullet Tooth)
Not bad, but not really all that good. The debut release from the Kentucky hardcore band is alright, but it’s pretty generic, and that’s why it gets boring. Nothing here is going to really surprise, as this is pretty much by-the-numbers hardcore. Hopefully the band can find their voice on their next release.
Desecravity – Implicit Obedience (Willowtip)
Desecravity are a death metal band who are good at delivering brutal double-bass driven, deathly and evil metal. They don’t do anything too remarkable, but this is some pretty awesome straight death metal. This is the Japanese band’s debut album.
Dodecahedron – Dodecahedron (Season Of Mist)
This is the debut release from this Dutch band, and it slays. Their blend of black/death metal with leads and melodicism more suited for a post-rock band makes for a good combo. The whole record is streaming on their website, so just go take a listen here.
Ghoul Patrol – Ghoul Patrol (Spinefarm)
Ghoul Patrol claim to be a death n’ roll band in their bio, but don’t expect Entombed when you listen to them. The band is pretty much a death metal band that interspaces some rock n’ roll riffs into the songs, but death metal is obviously the main influence here. The band’s debut album is a good listen; the riffs are solid, as are all of the players, and the vocal delivery changes around enough to not be repetitive. The band has been around since 2005, and they released three EPs before completing this debut full-length.
Kells – Anachromie (Season Of Mist)
Now this is strange. Kells’s album teasers online show the band to be a female-fronted band playing a kind of chunky metalcore. The vocalist has some range, and tries her hand at death growls as well, but overall this is pretty awful. This is the French band’s third album. Ow.
Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline (Century Media)
I’ll start this by saying I’ve never been a Lacuna Coil fan. I’ve seen them a few times, I take a listen to their records, but it just doesn’t stick with me. That being said, they do make an impressive tapestry of orchestral gothic metal. Dark Adrenaline will fall in line with what the band’s fans expect from their continued growth: more rich orchestrations, more refined interplay between the band’s two singers and tighter compositions throughout. However, I will still say that the band is more bland than others in their genre (Nightwish, Theatre of Tragedy, Within Temptation, etc.).
Lamb Of God – Resolution (Epic)
Lamb Of God have the potential to be a great band. This is evidenced by their work with Burn The Priest and early works in the LoG catalog. However, over the last few releases from the band, the music has just gotten boring. There’s nothing that really grabs me and makes me want to listen to more. On Resolution, the band’s seventh album, the music continues in the same direction. There’s nothing really terrible here, it’s just boring.
Primal Fear – Unbreakable (Frontiers)
Primal Fear wear their admiration for Judas Priest and other like-minded NWOBHM bands on their sleeve, and their records reflect just how much influence the masters have on their music. The band’s ninth record continues to stay rooted in a style created long ago that’s still as awesome now as when it was new.
-VV
