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’.
Racebannon has always been one of those influential bands that most of the newer kids to the scene haven’t acknowledged or heard of despite the fact that they easily were some of the very pioneers of chaotic post-metal and hardcore. Once again experimenting with the very notion of rock ‘n’ roll with a defiant lack of ‘breakdown’s and clichés, Racebannon returns after a four-year hiatus on their new label Southern Records with a release in “Acid or Blood” that shows up anything Mike Patton or Melt Banana could create. You didn’t think that new singer for Dillinger Escape Plan came up with his style all of his own do you? Well regardless, “Acid or Blood” shows off a band that is unafraid of doing something different on each and every release despite their fanbase. Often compared to the likes of Converge, Racebannon is so much more than that with a firm grip on abrasive, cerebral metal. Distortion-heavy guitars churn and curdle with bouts of noisy anarchy. Drum-wise, I rarely find a band more intriguing and inspiring—it’s not just a bunch of fills and time signature changes but they really use their percussion as an instrument all on its own. This is the most important heavy music release in 2008.
Listen to “Sister Fucker” [MP3]
North Carolina was home to Azazel, one of metal’s underground sensations until their members left and joined such groups as Aria and Between the Buried & Me. Bummer-tron. Their debut EP was released originally by Tribunal Records way back in 2000. The original engineer, whom you’ve probably heard of before, Jamie King found a bunch of their material and remixed it in his studio. Tribunal re-issues it with not only a look back at the original EP “Music for the Ritual Chamber” but also tosses on remixed versions of three of Azazel’s songs that were released on their first demo to create the perfect discography.
After losing members to some of Germany’s finest metal outfits in Deadsoil and Caliban, Six Reasons to Kill regrouped with their twisted and topical opus merely titled “Another Horizon”. Veneers of guitar distortion and sludge fill your guts with crunchy thrash and metalcore sounds. Social issues such as discrimination, racism, human rights, the environment, and other good subject matter are explored on this heady but important album.