1. Gojira - 'The Way Of All Flesh' (Prosthetic)
Prosthetic Records
The Way Of All Flesh is a complex effort that takes a few listens to fully unravel and appreciate. Gojira's sound blends death, progressive and thrash metal, and they add a few industrial parts on this CD as well. Some tracks are dense and technical, with waves of riffs and pummeling blast beats that are brutal and intense.
Other songs leave more room to breathe, with mellower progressive sections and groovier riffs. There's a lot of diversity in tempos, textures, intensities and song lengths that helps keep the listener fully engaged. Vocalist Joe Duplantier has a distinctive sound, and his death metal vocals are both intense and understandable. He's brutal, but also uses excellent technique that makes it a bit more accessible.
2. Enslaved - 'Vertebrae' (Nuclear Blast)
Nuclear Blast Records
Norwegian veterans Enslaved once again masterfully mix the brutality and harshness of traditional black metal with progressive and experimental elements. Fast and driving guitars and blast beats give away to dreamy and spacious mellowness. There's more atmosphere and less of the Viking metal sound than on some of their previous albums.
The vocals on Vertebrae are also very diverse. They range from black metal rasps to melodic singing, and are a combination of subdued talking and whispering on "Center." The harsh vocals are as solid as ever, and I'm not sure if it's better production or a better performance, but the clean vocals are stronger on this CD compared to Ruun.
3. Abigail Williams - 'In The Shadow Of A Thousand Suns' (Candlelight)
Candlelight Records
Their 2006 debut EP had a lot of metalcore influences, but on In The Shadow Of A Thousand Suns they’ve traded the ‘core for synths. It’s symphonic black metal in the vein of groups like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth. It sounds very European, but the band hails from the good old U.S.A.
The songs on the CD are filled with classically influenced symphonic and orchestral parts, but there’s also plenty of brutality. Cutting guitars and frantic blast beats give way to melodic hooks and majestic atmospheres. The music is painstakingly constructed to blend bombastic synths with more extreme elements. Sorceron is Abigail Williams’ vocalist/guitarist, and he delivers black metal style rasps that are dark and dynamic.
4. Cradle Of Filth - 'Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder' (Roadrunner)
Roadrunner Records
Gilles de Rais is the perfect person for Cradle Of Filth to develop a concept album around. His story is a compelling one, filled with twists and turns, good and evil, controversy and lingering questions about his life and crimes. Musically Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder is right in line with what Cradle Of Filth has been doing on their recent albums. It's symphonic black metal with a lot of gothic elements.
The songs are melodic and symphonic, but also are a bit heavier than Cradle Of Filth's last few releases. Dani Filth is a really diverse vocalist, transitioning from growls to screams to yells to melodic singing. Longtime backing vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva also lends her skills to a couple of songs.
5. Holy Moses - 'Agony Of Death' (Wacken)
Wacken Records
Agony Of Death is typical German thrash, straight ahead and powerful. The tempos are fast, with fine guitar work from Michael Hankel and Oliver Jaath. There's a ton of guest musicians on the CD. Ferdy Doernberg (Axel Rudi Pell) adds keyboards and samples, as well as intros and outros.
Ralph Santolla (Obituary, Deicide), Trevor Peres (Obituary) and Janos Murri (Demolition) lend guitar solos to the mix. Guest vocalists include Henning Basse (Metalium), The Wolf (Darkside) and Schmier (Destruction). Female vocalists in thrash aren't very common, but Sabina Classen is no novelty. She delivers powerful screaming vocals that are aggressive and range from low pitched growls to high pitched screeches.
