Karnivool is Australian for Tool. Yeah ok that was an easy pun but “Sound Awake” is an exact replica minus some of the narrative and talent of Tool – hell they even go by a nickname of “Vool”. Don’t get me wrong, they’re extremely talented but their sound is so cookie-cutter of Tool that it’s almost laughable. Their singer is great and their guitars deploy more melodies than their darker idols but the undercutting bass and percussion are very similar as are their song structures (and song lengths), textures, and bleak atmospherics. Regardless people will soak this up…

Yet another notch in the holy belt of engineer and musician Kurt Ballou (Converge), “The God Complex” was recorded in his den of awesome, God City Studios in Massachusetts and boasts annihilating aggressive hardcore that strays from conventions. Another Breath was formed in 2003 by a bunch of friends that grew up in “The City with a Future”, also known as Fulton, New York – yeah I know, that’s a misnomer, no one has heard of it…but maybe in the future? Anyway, this eleven-song masterpiece churns out perfected lyrical writing by singer Ted Winkworth (doesn’t his last name sound like some Golden Ticket winner from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”)? Okay I digress. The guitars are aggressive blending harmony with dissonance. Each song seems to build off the last and by the end of the LP, you feel like you just experience a 12-round slug fest with the best boxer in the sport. Isn’t it awesome that at this point in the realm of hardcore, there are still bands reinventing the genre?

Check them out on MySpace.

Plus peep some footage of their record release show:

Monotonous melodic metallic hardcore fear not, Germany’s Zero Mentality is on the case. “Black Rock” turns in a rousing and churning militant version of the over-hyped genre with smashing harmonies and crushing dynamics. Drumming is steady while the vocals sound like a blunt Blitzkrieg of tortured emotions and liberating lyrics. Steady guitars fuel the energy while the bass undercuts the rhythm with stabbing efficiency. This album has so many surprises in store for anyone willing to give it a good honest listen. Perfect soundtrack to a sweaty workout too by the way!

As if co-founding Manowar wasn’t enough to put pen to paper on a budding musician’s resume, Ross the Boss has now perfected the art of the solo album – though don’t go telling him that. Despite the self-titled band moniker, Ross assures all that this is indeed a full-fledged band outfit. “New Metal Leader” conjures forth the same naughty fist-pumping anthems of metal that Manowar was made famous with such crucial albums as “Battle Hymns” and “Kings of Metal”. Ross the Boss punctuates his glorious choruses with punchy guitar licks that are bound to enable even the most lackadaisical metal maven into a maniacal frenzy. The Metal McCain would shout to the heavens, “Horns held high on this one, friends!”

Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta co-produced this debut album along with legendary hardcore giants Zeuss (Throwdown and Shadows Fall) that will finally be unleashed officially in the beginning of 2009. Sounding very similar to the debut of Hatebreed, “Confess” has over-distorted guitars that wail in the darkness of the lyrics and dankness of the screamed vocals. Furious drumming and heavy metal guitars combine for a sound that is more metalcore than late ’90’s hardcore metal. Too Pure to Die is a sultan of hardcore onslaught with a fashionable song structure and lyrics that employ real-time exploits to a ‘t’.

Album opener “When Sun Comes Out” is an awesome dance-oriented rock song that blows your mind with phat bass lines and a kick drum that blasts through walls like the Kool-Aid Man. Stomping rhythms and dynamic melodies coalesce into a twisted new form of pop music that is fit for kings and ladies. Complex song arrangements and infinite sound spectrums numb your ears while the sick rhythms that only someone from Austria could build together mash your guts inside out. Humorous lyrics, crunchy distortion, and industrialized beats aren’t the only attraction with Bulbul, they blend their own uniquely weird take on electronica, hard rock, indie art-rock, and bass-oriented thick melodies for something just outside of the Jesus Lizard and Mr. Bungle. Damn good combustible rock that is impossible to put into any subcategory–unless that subcategory is ‘awesome’.

A one-man show of old-school black metal and doom, Hellveto likes to play with odd atmospheres and build upon that ambience for something truly bruising. The guitars can range from lo-fi garage noise to something right out of a 40-man orchestra. An odd combo but one that seems to work for Hellveto pretty damn well. While “Neoheresy” is nowhere near as menacing as the album title might suggest, it does strike a nerve. I would appreciate it if more blackened metal folks would focus more on the melodic side of death and gloom than always striking for the juggular with rough distortion, screaming wails and shrieks, and grinding blast beats.

Reunions are often poo-pooped because of their high school conotations. Well Cynic’s reunion damn well is welcome, needed, and an absolute must-have. These impressive progressive metal juggernauts unleash a storm of flashy prog-metal that dominates with large guitars and even bigger drumming. All the while their vocalist stomps the vocoder pedal hard and never unleashes except for a few dozen growl belches. Niiice.

Ask yourself what happened to the honey bees, and inevitably Beehoover will never enter the conversation. But ask yourself who is doing the best job of creating the next generation’s Black Sabbath and they most certainly would enter the Top Ten List. Crunchy guitars noise their way past over-amped speakers that are cracked with so much distortion it would make the Pope an athesist. “Pain Power” and “Iron Horse” are perhaps the most enigmatic songs with their intriguing 8-bit videogames and like-minded keyboard-esque sound effects. If you like less gloom in your doom, then crash with this duo of progressive-minded underground rock stars. Guaranteed to please the distortion pedal worshipper.