May was another strong month for new metal releases. There were three 4.5 out of 5 star CDs this month. It was really difficult to select the last 2 on the list because there were so many quality 4 star CDs to choose from. Deserving CDs that narrowly missed the cut this month include Enslaved, Keep Of Kalessin, Ministry, Misery Index, Mower, Viking Skull and Zyklon. Here are this month's top 5 metal CDs.
The 2006 edition of Celtic Frost is closer to the 1983 edition of Hellhammer. The songs are dark, plodding and heavy with droning doom metal guitars. Fischer's voice has aged nicely. His baritone is strong and unique, and he throws in some black metal style vocals as well. You'll also hear some female goth style vocals. The songs are flawlessly and painstakingly constructed with layer after layer of music that you appreciate more with each listen.
Vocalist Christian Alvestam is extremely versatile. His melodic singing is strong and clear and his death metal growl is powerful and ominous. He also throws in a black metal style evil rasp that adds even more diversity to the album. The combination of melody, brutality and extremely skilled musicianship make for a nearly flawless album.
Their latest release finds Sadus returning to their thrash metal roots. They still have some of the death metal influences that were very prevalent in some of their '90s albums, especially in Travis's vocals. The keyboard parts mixed in with the thrash guitar riffs give them a little different sound.
Sodom's style of thrash is old school. The songs aren't as fast as their last album [i[M 16, but they are plenty aggressive with thick riffs and Tom Angelripper's trademark high-pitched vocals. Their lyrics tackle serious social and political issues and aren't afraid to take a stand.
This is one of those albums where it sounds like everybody had a great time making it. The songs are upbeat, fun and very catchy. They also feature plenty of Dimebag's guitar riffs, licks and solos. As someone who dislikes country music, I can honestly say I enjoyed this album. Coe's vocals are twangy, but he's closer to Molly Hatchet than Garth Brooks.
