Reviews of the latest heavy metal, extreme, hardcore and hard rock CDs in 50 words or less from Chad Bowar.
Scoring
95-100: One of the best albums of the year (A+)
90-94: A (excellent)
80-89: B (good)
70-79: C (average)
60-69: D (disappointing or below average)
59 and below: F (sucks!)
If you have a CD you'd like reviewed on this site, contact the editor.
Ten 33 is a Christian hardcore band that mixes old-school with punk and a little bit of metal. Shout-a-long choruses, breakdowns and metal riffs abound. It's all intense, but they vary the tempos to avoid monotony and bring in the 11 tracks at just over 20 minutes.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 9:39 AM
The Southern California metalcore band This Moment have released a solid debut album. It has parts that are brutal and intense with hardcore-style vocals, but other parts that are melodic with clean vocals. The songs are varied in tempo and style, and is more interesting than the usual mosh and scream metalcore album.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 9:25 AM
A Perfect Murder is a whole new band, with 3 new members added since their last album. It's more thrash and metal than hardcore with a Pantera-like feel. The vocals are mainly screaming with a few clean parts. They even throw in a Metallica-esque instrumental. The vocals aren't great, but the guitar work is excellent.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 9:09 AM
Very few bands mix hardcore and Southern rock. Kids Like Us, from Tallahassee Florida, are one of the few. They also add thrash and punk to that mix. Their brand of hardcore is straightforward, angry and intense, with traditional hardcore style vocals and attitude. Not groundbreaking, but a solid effort.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 8:49 AM
Listening to this album, you'd think Barcode was from New York, but the Danish group proves Europeans can do hardcore, and do it well. T production is crystal clear, but the rawness of the music and the lyrics keep it from sounding too polished. This is first-rate old school hardcore.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 8:46 AM
Dave Grohl and company have released a 2 disc set. The first is electric, the second acoustic. The acoustic disc is far more interesting, featuring collaborations with Norah Jones, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Josh Homme from Queens Of The Stone Age. . Disc 1 is straight ahead alt rock, good but pretty much what you'd expect from the Foo Fighters.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 5:35 PM
You definitely get your money's worth with Cipher. Their debut full-length clocks in at over an hour. And it's not filler, either. It's a passionate album with very political lyrics and unique song constructions. You'll hear a variety of styles and influences from metal to hardcore punk to hip-hop.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 12:33 PM
Darkane is a Swedish band with a lot of different influences and a unique sound. They combine thrash, death metal and symphonic metal into a very appealing package. The songs are mainly up-tempo utilizing different vocal styles. Their music is a great combination of the brutal and the technical. Highly recommended.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 10:08 AM
Their name is completely misleading. Dew Scented are a brutal, intense German death-influenced thrash band. They combine shrieking vocals with catchy riffs and skillful solos and have enough variety to avoid sounding monotonous. Their musicianship is excellent, especially the guitar and drum work. A powerful album.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 9:57 AM
Since Megadeth is one of the best metal bands of the past 20 years and this is a collection of their best songs, simple logic would indicate this album would be outstanding, and it is. Dave Mustaine and crew have written great songs throughout their career, so the most difficult thing was to pick which ones to include.
posted by Chad Bowar @ 12:19 PM
Bowar is a freelance music writer and the heavy metal editor for About.com, a New York Times company. He has written for Outburn, Amp, Loud Fast Rules, Caustic Truths, Snaggletooth, Explicity Intense and many other print and online publications.
