It's that time again, folks...

Uh, baby, I think you maybe need to touch up your lipstick a little bit, m'kay?Time for Genghis & Ragman to do their part to keep you safe from the shambling undead that threaten your existence each year. This go around, we've gotten reports from listeners about strange goings on near an abandoned hospital in Baytown.

It's all the usual stuff about ghostly images of people in hospital gowns soaked in blood, and even the occasional spirit child, a little girl, showing up out of nowhere with ominous warnings for the intrepid urban explorer.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure this won't be any trouble at all...The weather report says it should rain all dang night, but that's never stopped the lads before. They're loaded for bear with John and Bane in tow (including calls from our fellow zombie-hunting, celebrity correspondents from around the country), and - assuming they survive the night - they'll return soon with a recording of their adventure to thrill and rock you like...some sort of natural disaster.

So, keep listening and keep those horns up!

- Genghis is not thrilled about this ghost kid stuff (creeeeeepy)... 

Onslaught - VI

Crimeny this is some bad ass thrash metal from across the pond. There's apparently a strong surge of thrash bands kicking ass and taking names in the merry old land of England, but fuck if I've heard of them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they aren't any good. Case in point, Onslaught and their sixth studio album, simply titled VI. If this is the sound of the modern thrash movement across the pond, then holy shit!

Their name couldn't be more appropriate, as their music is well described as a hardcore onslaught. This is great, brutal thrash metal as you might expect from Europe: heavy and fast, but with a certain working class grittiness that makes you want to instantly down several beers and start moshing in your Doc Martens. Hard.

To their credit however, it's not all just blast beats as tracks like Children Of The Sand break up the attack with atmospheric vocals that add just the right touch of exotic sophistication to these down and dirty proceedings. And 66'Fuckin'6 begins with a suitably creepy, horror movie music box intro that quickly gives way to an anthemic chorus that should play huge in a club show. With any luck they'll make a US tour soon.

The Bottom Line: If you like headbanging and moshing like there's no fucking tomorrow, this is the album for you, hands down. The energy Onslaught puts out on this brutal thrash masterpiece could fuel a fucking rocket to Mars. 'Nuff said.

Tracks That Present A High Risk Of Neck Damage: Chaos Is King, Slaughterize, 66'Fuckin'6, Dead Man Walking, and Enemy Of My Enemy

- Genghis wonders if these guys play guitar all classy with their pinkies extended...

Stryper - No More Hell To Pay

The boys are back, minus the bumble bee leathers, and they brought some seriously great old school metal with them.It's been about 4 years since Stryper's last original studio album, Murder By Pride, but Michael Sweet and company haven't been just sitting around since then. After an album of covers and a re-recording of their classic songs, their latest full blown studio album No More Hell To Pay is here - and it sounds amazing.

First off, Michael sounds amazing. His voice is as good as ever, and the guitar work on this album is just fantastic. This just sounds like classic metal from back in the day. Michael himself said that this "is the record we needed to make as a follow up to To Hell With The Devil" and I'm inclined to agree. Every track on here is a great example of an old school band that still has the goods to rock with the best of them today.

Of particular interest was the cover of Jesus Is Just Alright, made famous by The Doobie Brothers. The band managed to take an old 70s freak out song and make it sound like a friggin' rock anthem. Seriously, it sounds amazing, and you gotta check out the bridge (2:03) where they get into slow jam mode. It's like a heavy Allman Brothers thing that simply rocks. Kudos to the lads for making this song sound so awesome.

The Bottom Line: Fans of classic Stryper should be pretty excited with this release. The energy on this album is palpable and the performances all around from vocals to guitar work is just so impressive. It's just the kind of thing you hope to hear from bands of old. To know that they can still make and play great music thirty years after their start is nothing short of inspiring.

Tracks To Make You Wish You Still Had Lots Of Hair To Soak With Aquanet: The whole darned thing

- Genghis really did his best not to curse in this review...

Dark Age - A Matter Of Trust

These Hamburg lads know how to make some raging modern metal, tell you what.According to the Dark Age, their latest album represents a new direction for the band in 18 years. Being a popular modern metal band in their native Germany, they were concerned about their sound becoming stale and allowed themselves to let newer musical influences seep into the writing process. The result is their seventh studio effort, A Matter Of Trust.

The title is wholy apt as the music has a fresh feel to it, something they would say has to do with their giving into these influences with complete trust in their own abilities to work together to form a cohesive - and more importantly, listenable - musical result. The final product does in fact sound fantastic. There's an energy here that seems to lack in a lot of metal bands, especially ones that have been around as long as Dark Age has. The groove of Afterlife and Fight! are good examples of that energy with a dirty main riff that twangs its way through the song while the blitzkrieg drums bash it out. 

The Bottom Line: Dark Age succeeds quite well in their attempt to bring their modern influences into their songwriting. And that makes for a groove-centered, contemporary metal album that keeps things fresh without losing that all important heavy edge that rockers desire.

Tracks To Crank On The Car Stereo Next Time You're Cruising The Highway: AfterLife, Out Of Time, Fight!, and Dark Sign

- Genghis thinks getting some leather pants would be a pretty bad idea...

Prospekt - The Colourless Sunrise

Them Prospekt blokes know how to make some tasty prog metal, even if they can't spell so well.The boys from Oxford known as Prospekt are easily my favorite new progressive metal band. In a genre that feels like it may be at the saturation point it's rare to find a new band come out that makes you stop and take notice like Prospekt's impressive full length debut, The Colourless Sunrise.

One of the first things I noticed was the subdued keyboard spot that normally trades leads with the band's guitarist - which isn't to say there's no such instrumentation. The music at large, however, is aggressive guitar driven progmetal that doesn't screw around; these guys can rock like nobody's business. In particular, Lee Luland is an absolutely amazing guitarist in that he's not only incredibly fast, but soulful and melodic as well. The other standout musician in this outfit so far is vocalist/keyboardist Richard Marshall, whose clean, powerful singing reminds me of Gregoor van der Loo of Lemur Voice (one of my favorite progmetal bands of all time). My only nitpick is the usual complaint of a muddy mix that makes it hard to distinguish keyboards from guitar solos amongst the other driving beats, but future releases will no doubt provide a chance for this band to make a name for themselves. I can only imagine the energy of a live show and how it could hurtle this band to success.

The Bottom Line: Prospekt has put together a highly impressive debut that stands out in a genre replete with similar-sounding bands. If you're a progmetal fan, keep an eye on this group of amazing musicians and get. this. album.

Tracks That May Cause You To Sprain A Wrist While Air Guitaring: Dissident Priests, Shroud, Visions, and Hunting Poseidon

- Genghis had no idea that England had progmetal acts like this...