THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING!

THE BRIGGS
COME ALL YOU MADMEN
SIDEONEDUMMY
There's a wistful quality stamped on the latest 12-track endeavor by The Briggs usually reserved for the upper-echelon of the punk rock hierarchy. Whether it be the Social Distortion-like everyman lyrical approach or the Hot Water Music-esque choral glory heard on cuts such as "This is L.A." or "Not Alone", The Briggs manage to nail it every time, sometime even going so far to tap into the pub crawl melodies of Flogging Molly on cuts like the stomping "Mad Men". Whether you swinging a beer mug or getting down on the dancefloor, The Briggs bring enough firepower for everyone at the party to get their groove on the right way with an authentic punk rock punch that fits nicely alongside your Against Me and Bad Religion collection.
www. sideonedummy. com -Mike SOS

KNIGHTS OF THE ABYSS
SHADES
FERRET

Using the maligned deathcore template as a foundation for their melodic death metal with tinges of Unearth-esque metalcore strewn in concoction ("Behold the Frigid Realm of Div"), Arizona quintet Knights of the Abyss return with a serviceable if unspectacular 12-track follow-up to JUGGERNAUT. SHADES continue along the same path with similarly sweeping Swedish metal guitar runs and venomous vocal vitriol buzzing through tracks like "Don't Feed the Heathens", "The Penalty of the Tyrant", and the Black Dahlia Murder-influenced "Dis Unveiled". While falling prey to a saturated market, Knights of the Abyss don't stand out as much as they survive the wreckage thanks to an impressive slash and burn start-stop thrash attack and their solid yet done to death majestic take on the deathcore style they choose to follow. www. ferretstyle. com -Mike SOS

ALGHAZANTH
WREATH OF THEVETAT
WOODCUT

Symphonic black metal merchants Alghazanth come blasting out of the gate with regal synth work and blistering guitar and drum interlockings on their eight-track WREATH OF THEVETAT. This Finnish corpsepainted crew channel the evil into swirling movements of melodic death metal majesty on cuts such as the eerie "The Kings to Come", "Twice-Born" and the grab you by the throat immediacy heard on "The Phosphorescent". While their style is unashamedly ripped from the clutches of Emperor and Dimmu Borgir, this quintet's dead-on display of symphonic black metal emits an epic vibe those entrenched in the darkside willl undoubtedly embrace. www. woodcutrecords. com -Mike SOS

TRINACRIA
TRAVEL NOW JOURNEY INFINITELY
SEASON OF MIST

Featuring three members of Enslaved, the septet known as Trinacria can definitely be lumped into the experimental category, as their molten metal menagerie is sprinkled with dollops of oddball noise rock and avant-garde aggression. Originally commissioned for a one-off concert series, these musicians developed a strong bond and decided to forge ahead and make this a running project. Tracks like "The Silence" break in and out of contorted shards of white noise before settling on a rickety tremolo guitar and pounding drum combo while the title track merges haunting female singing with a pervasive percussive heartbeat, culminating into a frantic display of chaos both musically and vocally. Definitely leaning on the progressive side of the spectrum, approach Trinacria with the same freewheeling nature you would a Neurosis or Cult of Luna release for maximum enjoyment. www. season-of-mist. com -Mike SOS

KAMELOT
GHOST OPERA: THE SECOND COMING
SPV

For those that didn't get enough the first time around, prog metal masters Kamelot have repackaged their disc GHOST OPERA with some bonus material, including videos, four new studio cuts, and 10 live tracks recorded from a very loud crowd in Serbia, calling the reissue GHOST OPERA: THE SECOND COMING. While the bonus material is a nice touch, is it really necessary to re-release an album 10 months after its initial release with added footage? That, record buyers and fans of stately metal acts such as this one, is for you to decide. www. spv. de -Mike SOS

TOWARDS DARKNESS
SOLEMN
TWILIGHT FOUNDATION

Canadian doom metal mavens Towards Darkness were once called The Mass, who put out an album called TOWARDS DARKNESS. Confused? Allow the slow crawl of "Continuity Errror" to seep through your pores long enough, and your befuddlement will be whisked away by the foreboding sonic heft brought on by this outfit. Strong keyboard work and well-measured tempos give this six-track affair a truly chilling effect, and when the roaring Isis-like vocals kick in, best brace yourself for a maelstrom to crush your soul. Funeral-like in its approach with shards of atmospheric post-hardcore thrown in for good measure ("Despair"), this 63-minute excursion pounds and plods its way through with all of the sloth-like nuances to make for a convincing slab of doom metal. www. twilightfoundation. com -Mike SOS

SECRET DAKOTA RING
CANTARELL
SERIOUS BUSINESS
Bursting with pop music pomp, the latest nine-track endeavor by Secret Dakota Ring finds mainman (and OK Go guitarist) Andy Ross and friends dabbling in giddy '60s rock motifs complete with Burt Bacharach-like compositions and instrumentations, rich vocal harmonies, well-placed string arrangements, and delicate melodies. CANTARELL is a lighthearted affair that wouldn't sound out of place coming through the speakers of an upscale boutique's soundsystem, as cuts like "I Blew Myself Up Over You" and the cosmic "Sell Us A Spaceship" merge a whole lot of The Beatles, the quieter material of Smashing Pumpkins and Big Star to comprise a bevy of naturally sweet pop music treats easily digested and memorable long after the last organ note from the slightly melancholic shuffle of "Still Awake" is played.

www. seriousbusinessrecords. com -Mike SOS

REFLECTION
WHEN SHADOWS FALL
CRUZ DEL SUR

Greek troupe Reflection present a classic metal release with WHEN SHADOWS FALL. Keyboard heavy and operatic, this 12-track's disc's tone falls somewhere between the epic strokes Blind Guardian uses and the sonic bombast of Fates Warning, even going so far to include a full-on orchestral version of "Mistress of Sea" complete with symphonic instrumentation. Calling themselves "Hellenic epic/doom metal" is pretty close to the mark, as this veteran act straddles the line between grandiose arrangements and crushing riffs with the righteous might necessary to get these songs off the ground. www. cruzdelsurmusic. com -Mike SOS

DIVE INDEX
MID/AIR
NEUTRAL

Compiling a chilled-out composite of songs from an array of electronica artists from across the globe, Will Thomas presents his latest project Dive Index with the 11-track release MID/AIR. Recommended for spinning at the lounge or for a quiet evening at home, this soothing mix of shifting vocal viewpoints, smooth digital beats, and electronically subdued rhythms is the proper wind-down music after a tough work week or as a soundtrack to the breakfast after an all-night dance club soiree. www. neutralmusic. com -Mike SOS

THIRD DEGREE
PUNK SUGAR
SELFMADEGOD

Calling the latest offering by Polish powerhouse quartet Third Degree just a grindcore album is a bit misleading despite the vicious velocity of tracks like the Napalm Death-esque "Thoughts", as many other underground metal sub-genres play a large role in making PUNK SUGAR such an enraged and misanthropic monster. Adorned with hearty helpings of crust punk and death metal, songs like the crunchy "Surrounded by Victims" and the sinewy "Dead Will" are twisted into strange yet hulking forms whose sonic heft and snarling delivery provide for an unsettling experience no matter how you classify it. www. selfmadegod. com -Mike SOS

LEMURIA
GET BETTER
ASIAN MAN

Buffalo, NY trio Lemuria play a type of female lead male response vocal rock that takes its cues from '90s indie rock. GET BETTER is a 12-track offering laden with a slight guitar crunch that rocks hard on "Mechanical" and follows the sticky sweet little girl melody on "Get Some Sleep", helping this band shed its innocuous nature just enough to give the group an edge. While at times Lemuria succumbs to Warped Tour-esque pandering reserved for the likes of Paramore ("Dogs"), there's enough of the Sunny Day Real Estate and Jawbreaker vibe permeating through cuts like "Wardrobe" and "Dog" for those who want to rekindle past glories. www. asianmanrecords. com -Mike SOS

THE METHOD TO MY MEDIUM
THE SINCERITIES EP
THRIVING

White bread pop punk from five dudes from Indiana best describes THE SINCERITIES EP from The Method to My Medium. This Indiana quintet sure know their New Found Glory and Starting Line catalog, as they regurgitate it back up across this annoyingly electronically manipulated 10-track affair whose vocoder-enhanced vocals and glitched beats come off as a desperate attempt to be different. There's little here to cheer about, especially if whiny guys singing heartfelt rock songs with the structures you've heard a million times at the mall truly sticks under your craw. www. thrivingrecords. com -Mike SOS

END THE CENTURY
HAMMER AND THE ANVIL
SELF RELEASED

Orange County metalcore quintet, how redundant, huh? Add End the Century's name into the bingo cage of bands whose feral screaming sounds like a rabid animal's revenge, as the six-track HAMMER AND THE ANVIL presents a band full of fire but seriously lacking the compelling compositions to properly get their power across. Tinny guitars, stock arrangements, and overwrought devices are milked to excess here, making this disc a frustrating listen from start to finish. www. blacklodgepr. com -Mike SOS

TED ROSEDALE
HOME
NESTEGG
There's a certain '90s slacker rock quality audible on HOME that would remind you of J. Mascis or Rivers Cuomo at their most acerbic, as the latest endeavor by Ted Rosedale celebrates crunch-ridden malaise on cuts like "Green" and "619" quite a bit on this album. But for all the tasty guitar licks emulating everyone from David Gilmour to Tom Petty to Kurt Cobain to John Mayer ("Alright", "Ice Cream Man #5"), it's the 11-track outing's sharp and smart lyrical wistfulness, served with a shuffle on "Unforgettable", a barrage of nastiness on "619" and with swirling Beatle-esque melody on "Don't Be Long", that sets this disc miles apart from the sea of American Idol-influenced exercise in vanity solo records flooding the market.

www. tedrosedale. com -Mike SOS

ANOTHER BIG MACHINE
ABM
RISING STORM
Louisiana quartet Another Big Machine take the well paved pop-rock route of Nickelback and Daughtry and mix it with dollops of country twang and Warped Tour edge on their latest offering ABM. Successfully soaring with lush instrumentation a la sellout-era Aerosmith should garnish a slew of pop-rock interest for this unit, but there's a side to them that can confidently cruise down the Sunset Strip displayed here as well, showing the band's rock versatility. And even though many will find ABM a bit on the sappy end of the spectrum, to the throngs of people who need a buffer between Goo Goo Dolls and Matchbox 20 (and a few Kleenex), here's your go-to band.
www. myspace. com/anotherbigmachine -Mike SOS

THE JOHN SULLIVAN BRIGADE
A SOUND OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR LAST MUSIC PURCHASE
SOUTH TENTH
It's no surprise that Long Island native John Sullivan takes quite a few cues from a certain famous Long Island piano man on the 12-track album A SOUND OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR LAST MUSIC PURCHASE. However, the five piece The John Sullivan Brigade rounds out the obvious influence with a slew of other classic rock luminaries such as George Thorogood and Jackson Browne on cuts like the wistful "In Control" and the saxophone and guitar driven barroom rock of "Dead End", even going so far as laying down a ballad worthy for a Happy Days sock hop on "Praying For" and taking snippets of "19th Nervous Breakdown" to comprise the cool faded-out "Reflection #203". No frills rock 'n roll played without pretense best describes this unit whose latest offering fits snugly in between your Springsteen and Rolling Stones collection.
www. johnsullivanbrigade. com -Mike SOS

GIDEON SMITH AND THE DIXIE DAMNED
SOUTH SIDE OF THE MOON
SMALL STONE

Southern space rock? Hell yes, courtesy of Gideon Smith, whose swampy swagger goes galactic on SOUTH SIDE OF THE MOON, this ecelctic artist's latest 13 track endeavor . Meshing down south jukin' with the trippy acumen of Hawkwind sounds daunting, yet Smith and his backing band, The Dixie Damned (consisting of members of Novadriver and Big Chief) get it right, tossing in some '60s psychedelia on tracks like "Shimmering Rain" for added texture. While this one time roadie for Antiseen's voice makes for an acquired taste (think Jim Morrison duking it out with David Allan Coe), the doom-laden blues jamming heard on "Black Cat Road" and the star-saoked Skynyrd gone skyward shuffle of "Feather's Shadow" fit the bill for a fun and futuristic boogie rock rocket ride. www. smallstone. com -Mike SOS

SUIDAKRA
13 YEARS OF CELTIC WARTUNES
WACKEN

The German troupe Suidakara sound as if they could obliterate the whole cast of Riverdance in one fell swoop judging by the title of their latest disc. This clan's collection of songs is a compilation stemming from this veteran act's releases through the years, demonstrating the unit's blend of traditional folk on "An Dudlachd" and brazen melodic death metal on "Morrigan" and the vicious "A Vision's Demise". Meshing their pagan roots with meaty melodic death metal, if you're down for a frolic in the forest with some kick, then this disc delivers. www. wackenrecords. de -Mike SOS

GEVOLT
SIDUR
RENAISSANCE

Yiddish folk metal meets Rammstein on SIDUR, the latest offering from Gevolt. This Sephardic septet's 11-track excursion meshes traditional styles of Israel with an industrial strain of metal chock full of effected keyboards that ultimately leaves an unearthly Gothic aftertaste on cuts like "Liturgia" and the sinewy "Na More". Providing a dose of klezmer with dark intentions, Gevolt's latest release is laden with a dynamic drama that fans of Moonspell and Type O Negative can latch onto despite the language barrier. www. gevolt. com -Mike SOS

THE BLACK GHOSTS
THE BLACK GHOSTS
IAMSOUND

UK electronic rock duo The Black Ghosts truly embody the spirit of the digital age, as these former members of Simian and Wiseguys initially met via the Internet and have only recently met face to face. Nonetheless, they put their best foot forward to place your booty on the dance floor with their hodgepodge eponymous 11-track release. Tracks like "It's Your Touch" and "Something New" take the sunshine '70s pop rock vibe radiated from bands like America and Bread and deck them out for today's hipster crowd while "Some Way Through This" busts out a big beat that wouldn't sound out of place on a hip-hop album. Nevertheless, this British tandem go for the gold with the nuances of projects like Hot Chip firmly intact, demonstrating their ability to rock the clubs. www. iamsoundrecords. com -Mike SOS

TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR
RUINED LIVES
LEVEL PLANE
New Hampshire quartet Transistor Transistor return with a stirring one-two punch of angular hardcore and menacing punk rock with RUINED LIVES. Armed with jagged riffs, malicious yowls, and debilitating rhythms that give bands like The Bronx and Every Time I Die a run for their money, this unit's motive to emote their innermost sensitivities never gets in the way of the like of slash and burn hardcore presentations such as "Pilar of Salt". Taking the avant-garde route paved by such bands as Poison the Well on the twangy "The Ghost Hand", emulating a bastardized hybrid of Snapcase and Modern Life is War on cuts such as "Diet of Worms" and crustily scraping through an abrasive "Celluoid Rats", this squad's latest bundle of sonic explosions grab you by the throat and scream for vengeance. Summoning up the finest elements from hardcore punk's elite while maintaining their own identity, RUINED LIVES and the chaotic yet cathartic atmosphere running throughout renders this disc a modern hardcore classic.

www. level-plane. com

MOONSPELL
NIGHT ETERNAL
SPV

Thanks in part to an exceptional production by metal guru Tue Madsen, Portuguese metal giants Moonspell have struck the perfect balance of clarity and brutality on their latest endeavor NIGHT ETERNAL. This nine-track descent into darkness yields an intense ride chock full of dastardly black metal chord progressions, ethreal Gothic rock passages, and the authentic warmongering spirit of bands ranging from Celtic Frost to Dimmu Borgir on tracks such as "First Light" and "Shadow Sun". Add in the trademark venomous vocal delivery, whose scornful array of evil highlighted on tracks such as "Moon in Her Mercury" fits beautifully with the blackened melodies, and this veteran act's latest metallic maelstrom is a must have for those entrenched in the catacombs of despair. www. spv. de -Mike SOS

RUBY Q
FASHION FEVER MUSIC PITCH
RENAISSANCE

Most bands wait until they make it big before they start their own clothing line, but don't tell the shape-shifting quintet Ruby Q, as they've jumped the step and coincide their latest release with a line of new clothes.They also walk the musical tightrope with the grace necessary on the catwalk, letting everything hang loose on the 11-track FASHION FEVER MUSIC PITCH. Changing styles from track to track with a bold-faced cheekiness that makes it hard to tell if this collective is in on the joke or not, regardless how serious you take this shining example of hodgepodge, there's no denying how talented this unit is. From the lifted crunchy guitars and booming bass from QOTSA heard on "Fever Pitch" to a rebellious "Fuck 'N Roll" that single handedly offends every rock fan with its vitriolic lyrical roll call of rock 'n roll royalty and the piano and chanteuse-like vocals cooing on "Chocolate", this slickly-produced journey through pop music 101 has enough musical money moments to help this band go beyond the boutique circuit and into a subset as sizable as their grandiose musical output. www. myspace. com/rubyqmusic -Mike SOS

TRAGIC ORANGE
TRAGIC ORANGE
SELF-RELEASED

Long Island alternative metal troupe Tragic Orange remember the time when melodic hard rock bands didn't deprive the music of its balls by watering down their output with sappy ballads. Firing on all cylinders while implementing the old school attitude into their modern metal paradigm, this unit isn't just another MTV-fed mall rock band despite prominently showcasing those influences. Coming off as a mixture of Our Lady Peace, Taproot and Chevelle, this unit's eponymous debut showcases a band whose sweeping choruses and hard as nails hard rock histrionics sound ready for extreme sports soundtracks and WWE pay per views on cuts like "Pure and Simple". Yet the durability of the band's powerhouse rhythm section, who smoothly steer the disc through trouble spots while accentuating the album overall with a sparkling array of deep bass grooves and lush yet driving percussion, sets Tragic Orange in a good position to jump onto the radar somewhere between Staind and A Perfect Circle. www. tragicorange. com -Mike SOS

ALL SHALL PERISH
AWAKEN THE DREAMERS
NUCLEAR BLAST

Spreading beyond the confines of the deathcore genre, California's All Shall Perish return with AWAKEN THE DREAMERS. This 12-track release demonstrates the merging of the quintet's savage brutality with a bevy of surprises which renders this offering as a well-textured entity that can still provide its share of crushing moshpit moments. While ardent supporters of the group will be relieved that the breakdown-heavy death metal style on scorchers like "Stabbing to Purge Dissimulation" and "Never...Again" is still a major part of the outfit's arsenal, tracks like the melodic instrumental "Until the End", the traditional metal-esque shred and scream tactics on "Black Gold Reign" and the melancholic Opeth-like "Memories of a Glass Sanctuary" display All Shall Perish's penchant for bold experimentation and disdain for complacency without compromising a shred of their dignity. Retaining their bludgeoning foundation while showcasing a slew of progressive tendencies, All Shall Perish have morphed into a monstrous metal hybrid geared for forward thinking fans of modern heavy music. www. nuclearblastusa. com -Mike SOS

GRAVE
DOMINION VIII
REGAIN

Veteran Swedish band Grave returns with another installment of sinewy death metal that blends high-speed velocity and doom-laden crunch on the nine-track DOMINION VIII. This devastating affair demonstrates the band's ability to go from slow crawl to rapid-fire pace in the blink of an eye ("Annihilated Christ") in addition to displaying Grave's unwavering attachment to the darker side of the spectrum on cuts like "Stained By Hate". 20 years in and still as extreme as their early days, this truculent crew returns in fine fighting form, ready to go into metal combat with the vitriolic virtue and fortified firepower that has rendered them one of Swedish elite death metal's forces. www. regainrecords. com -Mike SOS

HEAD ON COLLISION
RITUAL SACRIFICE
BEER CITY

Personifying a true thrash metal throwback, Missouri outfit Head On Collision channel the early periods of heavyweights such as Kreator, Nuclear Assault, Exodus, and first few Slayer records for influence on the 11-track RITUAL SACRIFICE. These dudes are pretty well-versed in doling out hyper-speed riffs and blistering solos ("The Flames of Aggression") and while there's nary a sign of originality apparent (is that riff from the title cut lifted from Slayer or what?), the band's stone-faced delivery, spot-on precision (especially on the drums) and brash bravado propel tracks like the chuggingly good "Electrocutioner" and "Retaliate" away from the pack and into territories reserved for newer retro acts such as Municipal Waste. If you're a thrash enthusiast, picking this disc up is essential. www. beercity. com -Mike SOS

MOTORHEAD
MOTORIZER
SPV

Motorhead is not just a band anymore, they are an institution of all things rock. Unlike many bands in their direct peer group, Lemmy and company can still can kick your ass with explosive and raucous rock 'n roll, as their latest 11-track release MOTORIZER reassures in the usual pounding fashion we'd expect from this venerable trio. From the super-catchy "English Rose" to the grindhouse blues of "One Short Life" to the all guns blazing delivery of "Rock Out", Motorhead proudly present another fine slab of their patented tongue in cheek balls to the wall hard as nails rock, showing no signs of relenting. Long live Motorhead! www. spv. de -Mike SOS

NEVEREVEN
NEVEREVEN
SELF-RELEASED
NYC quartet Nevereven strike an intriguing middle ground between pop-punk, hard rock, and progressive rock on their eponymous seven-track offering. The dextrous and crunchy guitar work ("Dreamcatcher", "Midnight") really stands out, as their Coheed and Cambria meets Incubus mix goes down smooth yet manages to pack a kind of unassuming yet welcomed punch to the head. Thanks to solid chops and ears to the ground for the last 15 years of rock music, this band is able to take meaningful musical breaks containing the crisp solos and passionate twists found on "Naive Crush" and "Cloud Nine" without sounding overblown or unskilled. Nevereven's genuine delivery and impressive songwriting prowess bolsters this unit's uniquely slanted rock amalgamation enough to warrant repeated listens and rounds of air guitar playing.

www. myspace. com/nevereven -Mike SOS

DEADBIRD
TWILIGHT RITUAL
AT A LOSS
Creepy and doomy, the sophomore six-track sojourn from Arkansas sludge metal quartet Deadbird is a viscous Southern-fried delight whose massive rhythmic rumblings give the band the sheer heft to properly obliterate all in their wake. From the menacing slow-churned intro on "Into the Clearing", this oppressive unit takes you through a grueling 47:23 journey steeped in sonic excess and draped with eerie vocal harmonies and dazzling acoustic interludes ("The Riverbed"), descending down through the deepest recesses to unearth the sleeping Southern rock giant ("Feral Flame") to unleash thick waves of metallic lava for tortured souls to bask in. If you dig Mastodon and love Crowbar, prepare to meet your new favorite band.

www. atalossrecordings. com -Mike SOS