Weedeater – Monkey Junction

Sourvein – Uneasy

Alabama Thunderpussy – Dryspell

Graves At Sea – Red Monarch

Hail!Hornet – Goldenwhore

Disclaimer: All downloads are free and legal and can be found online from various legal sources of free downloads.

Post from: Metal Martyr

With a lineup that includes members of Alabama Thunderpussy, Baroness, Beaten Back to Pure and Municipal Waste, BIRDS OF PREY is a vital part of the Southern metal explosion. Sophomore release Sulfur And Semen transcends geographical boundaries by also transcending musical boundaries – it’s too fast for sludge, too grimy for death, too precise for punk and way heavier than the current crop of retro-rock revivalists. One thing’s for certain: BIRDS OF PREY is one super group that lives up to the billing.

Sulfur and Semen preys upon store shelves today, Tuesday January 22nd (January 26th internationally). Hunt it down at your favorite record store or order now at Relapse.com.

DISFEAR – ‘Live The Storm’

D-beat defenders DISFEAR strike back with its long-awaited new full-length Live The Storm. The legendary Swedes, led by Tomas Lindberg’s infamous vocal howl, power through 10 burners with new-found ferocity and intensity captured by engineer Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, COLISEUM, DOOMRIDERS, ANIMOSITY). As “Get It Off“, “The Furnace“, “Deadweight” and their ilk prove, DISFEAR are the undisputed kings of crust-core.

Live The Storm hits stores today (Tuesday January 22 or January 25 internationally) like a hurricane. Don’t delay picking up your copy, order now here!

Post from: Metal Martyr

Baroness – The Birthing Courtesy Of Relapse Records

Bloodbath – Breeding Death Courtesy Of Century Media

Naglfar – The Darkest Road Courtesy Of Century Media

Crematorium – Testicular Courtesy of Prosthetic Records

Post from: Metal Martyr

I have dumped a bunch of money into CDs this past year, probably more than I have in a long time. I have discovered and re-discovered bands that I’ve been missing out on and was even introduced to new music by record labels that sent me CDs to review (Thanks Bob at Prosthetic and Taylor at Dwell). While most of these albums didn’t come out in 2007, 2007 was the year I bought them and therefore; the first list will be my Favorite Buys Of 2007. The second list is a short one. It’s my favorite Debut records of 2007. Lastly is my Biggest Disappointments of 2007. Records I bought and was throughly disappointed with.

MetalMarty.com 10 Favorite Buys Of 2007
1. Lamb Of God- Every Record. After hearing Ashes Of The Wake I fell in love with this band and bought every LOG record this year. I really like everyone with perhaps the exception of New American Gospel. I can’t wait to see whats next from this band and try to see them next time they come around here.
2. Killswitch Engage- Once again, every record. I got into Killswitch when I bought As Daylight Dies and quickly became a fan.
3. Hatebreed- Supremacy. In my opinion this is Hatebreed’s best work to date. Every song on this record is great. If you haven’t been impressed with Hatebreed in the past I say give them a second chance with Supremacy.
4. As I lay Dying- An Ocean Between Us. I bought this album after only hearing the first song and I’m still impressed.
5. All That Remains- Fall Of Ideals. Diverse in every way. From beginning to end it has your attention. The guitar work, solos, vocals and drums all mix well. This is in my opinion the best Christian metal you will hear.
6. Led Zeppelin- Mothership. If your looking for an inexpensive, GOOD Zeppelin Compilation then look no further. For a two disk set it has the essentials.
7. Megadeth- United Abominations. Megadeth’s Best work in a long time. It’s good to see Dave back on track.
8. Yakuza- Transmutations. You have to truly like all sorts of music styles to enjoy this record. It’s not for everyone, but it does kick ass!
9. Mastodon- Blood Mountain. These guys have a style all their own and Blood Mountain shows it.
10. Danzig- The Lost Tracks. This 2 disk set brings out some b-sides and stuff that has been left out on older records. These days Glenn is more into the industrial stylish sound but the older stuff on this set is great!

Honorable mentions: A life Once Lost:Iron Gag, Haste The Day: Pressure The Hinges, Shadows Fall: Threads OF Life

Best Debuts Of 2007

Divine Heresy- Bleed The Fifth. Dino Cazarez did well with this line-up and vocal choice. Sure it kinda sounds a bit Fear Factory-ish, but hell, FF isn’t putting anything out good these days so why not.
Hail!Hornet- Southern Sludge Metal at it’s best. Even coining their own genre as Grime Metal, Hail!hornet keeps it heavy and dirty. With members from Weedeater, Alabama Thunderpussy, and Sourvein, this record will ruin your life as they say.

Biggest Disappointments of 2007
Dragonforce- Inhuman Rampage. I don’t like the singer’s voice, the overuse of synthesizers, and overdone, drawn out songs. It felt like I was stuck in a Japanimation soundtrack or an old Nintendo game.
Ozzy- Black Rain. Sorry Ozzy. Sounds to pop-ish. With over- repetative choruses, Zakks pinch harmonics every other note and the sound as if someone wrote the lyrics for you it just made for an undesirable record. Good effort…bad outcome.

Well thats it. I’m sure I have missed a lot of great metal out there that I haven’t got to check out but I’m kinda picky when it comes to new music and a lot of stuff I sampled just didn’t fit my likings or was substandard to me. I hope 2008 has even more to offer!

—————-
Now playing: Jackyl – I Stand Alone
via FoxyTunes

Post from: Metal Martyr

I enjoy every song on this cd…well right up until the point where Troy Medlin starts singing, if that’s what you want to call it. Troy has his own style that I don’t care for. I’m not saying the band needs a new singer. I’m just saying that my only complaint. I would make some adjustments on the next record or perhaps it will grow on me. If you want my honest opinion it sounds as if someone is taking a power drill to his knee caps and he’s painfully pleading to be put out of his misery. The crazy thing is that I can’t stop listening!

Update 3/5/2009: I normally wouldn’t go back and change a review or make any adjustments to anything this old, but it was brought to my attention that this review sucks and I can honestly agree with that. The fact is that during the time of this review, I really didn’t like the singing on this CD. There were quite a few bands that I didn’t quite like the singing on during this time. My taste in some bands have changed since then but this one didn’t take me very long at all. As that last line in the review above says, I couldn’t stop listening and Troy’s howling vocals really did grow on me fast. I would love to hear another album by this collaboration.

Check them out at Dwell Records Hail!Hornet

Hail!Hornet is:
Troy Medlin-Vocals
Erik Larson-Drums
Vince Burke- Guitar
“Dixie” Dave Collins- Bass

Image Source: Dwell Records

Post from: Metal Martyr