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...

East Of The Wall - Redaction Artifacts

Prog stoner metal dudes East Of The Wall are back with another great headphone album. Get it!You might recall my review of East Of The Wall's (EOTW) preceding effort, The Apologist. That was my first run in with the band and I thoroughly enjoyed their sound, which comes off like a heavier, "less ethnic" version of The Mars Volta - one of my favorite bands in the subgenre of what I call progressive stoner rock. EOTW's sound continues in that vein, though they've added to the vocal layer a bit, expanding their sonic footprint in yet another interesting way.

And luckily, there's more of the same great guitar-based meandering on their new album, Redaction Artifacts, but that's not to say they're retreading old ground - any more than say, Pink Floyd. Still present are the bassy grooves, beautifully restrained percussion, emo scream-vocals, and the great melodic guitar work that holds it all together into what amounts to a musical experience rather than just another album. Seriously, this is great headphone music for those cooler autumn evenings when you find yourself home alone and want to get your mind right, you dig?

The Bottom Line: If you like intelligent grooves but don't need the sharp complexity of Symphony X or even the clever thickness of Mastodon, take a trip on the psychedelic soundscape of East Of The Wall's latest. You do own a good pair of cans, right?

Tracks To Enjoy With A Pair of Marshall Headphones: Solving the Correspondence Problem, The Fractal Canopy, and The Methuselah Tree

- Genghis really could stand to get his mind right like soon...

Ghoul - Intermediate Level Hard-Core

These guys. Silly? Of course. But, if you're looking for goofy fun wrapped in sweaty layers of hardcore, these lads should float your boat.There will always be a place for bands like California's Ghoul. After all, rock and roll is essentially about rebellion and a big finger to The...well, whatever particular "Man" you choose, isn't it? That's the tradition the masked nutcases known as Ghoul proudly carry on playing what they characterize as "splatter thrash".

Their new EP, Intermediate Level Hard-Core, is really just a cover collection of 80s and 90s era tunes from similarly minded non-conformist bands such as GWAR and Fearless Iranians From Hell - with the former representin' by way of an Orderus Urungus cameo in their video for Americanized.

The Bottom Line: This is fairly basic thrash/punk/hardcore type stuff that ideally works well in a live situation much like GWAR's material, but that's not to say Ghoul can't rock a joint, as these well done covers demonstrate. For hardcore hijinks, Ghoul's got your number. Maybe you'll run into them if you're ever in Creepsylvania...

- Genghis has yet to see the legendary GWAR live...

Toxic Holocaust - Chemistry of Consciousness

Now THAT'S a fucking metal album cover. Lace up your Vans, grab your board, and CRANK THIS SHIT UP!I have my own opinion of the whole "punk metal" genre. My take: it's metal. Technically, music experts would most likely excoriate me for my unsophisticated knowledge of heavy music, but that's where I stand. Case in point, Oregonian maniacs Toxic Holocaust's opening track to their latest musical screed Chemistry of Consciousness, Awaken the Serpent, sounds like classic metal in the vein of Motörhead's Ace of Spades. And I would never call The 'Head a punk band.

That aside, Toxic Holocaust has put together another delightfully brutal soundtrack to our modern world, replete with officious pricks, and serves as a fine follow up to their previous effort, Conjure and Command. Founder Joel Grind continues to singlehandedly (he performs all of the instruments) make some of the best classic thrash metal music today like it's as easy as breathing, and I couldn't be more satisfied with this.

The Bottom Line: The usual topics are here, post-apocalyptic imagery and gritty reservation in a world permeated with self-serving politicians and businessmen all looking to make a buck off of the less fortunate or informed. But the real strength here is the breakneck speed riffage and machine gun blast beats that make for some kick ass beer-fueled catharsis.

Tracks To Make You Wanna Dig Your Old Skateboard Out Of The Closet: The whole damn thing!

- Genghis really wishes he had learned to skate back in the day...