July 2008 Best Heavy Metal CDs

Max Cavalera likes to travel the world to get inspiration for his songs, and for Conquer he journeyed to Egypt. In addition to Soulfly's thrashy guitars and tribal rhythms, there are Middle Eastern sounds utilized on the album. It's a furious and intense release, with dark and angry songs. But Soulfly also manages to infuse melody and groove, and this batch of songs is really memorable.

Cavalera is a peerless frontman and excellent vocalist, and his prowess is on full display. But guitarist Marc Rizzo is just as important to Soulfly's sound, and his creative riffs, fills and solos drive the music. Their rhythm section of Bobby Burns (bass) and Joe Nunez (drums) is also rock solid and provides a really strong foundation.

Sagas is an 80 minute epic that display several different genres. Some songs are intense battle metal with thick guitars and an angry black metal attitude. Others have grand symphonic elements. A few combine thrash guitars with a movie soundtrack feel. You'll also hear traditional folk metal that's a bit mellower with flutes and instruments of that ilk. The album has a lot of ebbs and flows. Fast and aggressive songs are tempered by slower sections or mellow instrumentals.

Helge Stang is Equilibrium's vocalist, and he has a raspy style. His delivery isn't the happy drinking song type of folk metal. It's a lot more intense and edgy, more in the vein of black or death metal. The lyrics on the CD are all in the band's native German.

Even with a couple new members, The Thin Line Between continues Neuraxis' technical death metal sound. This time around the precise musicianship and technicality are there, but there isn't as much delving into the experimental. Instead of veering into unknown territories, the songs are more focused.

Alex Leblanc does a solid job on the vocals. He doesn't have as varied of a delivery as their previous vocalist, but his death metal growls are powerful and effective. The guitar interplay between Rob Milley and William Seghers is good, as they showcase everything from basic riffs to creative fills to highly technical solos. Neuraxis' brand of metal also has progressive elements, which are on display on songs like the 8 minute title track

Ot Serdca K Nebu (which translates to "From The Heart To The Sky) blends traditional and Russian folk instruments with harder edged metal. Arkona's brand of pagan metal runs the gamut from peppy acoustic folk to epic battle flavored songs to dark and harsh tracks. Adding lighter progressive touches and darker black metal influences helps give them a distinctive sound.

Frontwoman Masha "Scream" Arhipova is an excellent vocalist. Whether she's singing melodically to a soft acoustic part, belting it out over layers of instruments or screaming and growling, she's always compelling and stands out.

The songs on Iron Will are generally fast and intense, not the slow, dirgy stereotypical doom metal. Grand Magus are able to slow down the tempo, as “Self Deceiver” proves, but for the most part their music is mid to up tempo. In addition to doom metal, they incorporate psychedelic and classic rock along with a melodic sensibility in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal tradition.

Another thing that sets Grand Magus apart is their vocals. J.B. Christoffersson sings with a melodic NWOBHM or power metal style. He has a lot of range and emotion in his voice. Instead of gruff vocals used a lot in this genre, Grand Magus’s approach is more of the Dio era Black Sabbath.