Check out Part 1

Baroness - Red Album
There isn’t exactly a plethora of metal bands in the early 21st century that are eager to mix indie rock sounds into their noise, which makes the Savannah, GA-based quartet Baroness stand out from the overcrowded metallic pack. On their first-ever full-length release (and first for the Relapse label), 2007’s The Red Album, the riffs are quite reminiscent of guitar-driven, post-hardcore bands out of the mid-’90s (a style which would later serve as the basis for emo bands several years later), while singer/guitarist John Baizley only knows one way to vocalize: holler, holler, holler. Read More >>

Deathspell Omega - Fas — Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum
Fas — Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum is the second album in Deathspell Omega’s metaphysical trilogy concerning God, Satan, and the human relationship with and between the two seemingly opposing forces. In fact, one member of this group, which remains shrouded in as much mystery as the band can consciously muster, is the founder of the Norma Evangelium Diaboli satanic black metal scene in Poitiers, France. In the 21st century, the deep underground of French black metal is making its way onto the shelves of shops on the other side of the Atlantic and is garnering fans like wildfire. Read More >>

Dark Tranquility - Fiction
Intricacy, musicality, craftsmanship, and nuance are words that, back in 1989, were hardly ever used to describe death metal — a style so extreme, so ferocious, so intent on annoying parents at any cost that it seemed destined to self-destruct. But Dark Tranquillity and their expansive colleagues in Gothenburg, Sweden, refused to believe that death metal could not be musical, nuanced, and melodic, and that outlook continues to define them on Fiction. This rewarding CD was recorded in 2006 and released in 2007, the year that marked Dark Tranquillity’s 18th anniversary. Perhaps 18 years isn’t all that long compared to the Rolling Stones celebrating their 45th anniversary in 2007; nonetheless, 18 is an impressive number when one recalls all the naysayers who, in the late ’80s, thought death metal would be long gone by the 21st century. But Dark Tranquillity not only survived — they continued to provide highly consistent discs such as Fiction, which, like many of their previous releases, achieves a healthy, coherent, natural-sounding balance of the melodic and the extreme. Read More >>

Ensiferum - Victory Songs
Quite often, bands that are described as melodic death metal are not genuinely melodic. At the Gates, Age of Ruin, and In Flames are examples of genuinely melodic contributors to death metal, but in many cases, the word melodic has been applied to death metallers who — truth be told — treat melody like a mere afterthought and favor brutality for the sake of brutality. Thus, it is important to stress that melody is never an afterthought on Ensiferum’s Victory Songs; it is a crucial part of what the Finnish band does on a death metal/folk-metal album that, for all its intensity and in-your-face aggression, is highly musical and thrives on intricacy and craftsmanship. Read More >>

Jesu - Conqueror
On the second Jesu full-length — following up the critically acclaimed Silver EP — Justin Broadrick, who has worn as many hats (artist, producer, engineer, DJ, etc.) and played with as many sounds as is possible in his career and the man isn’t even half done — does a near 180 at distancing himself from his influential days founding speed metal freaks Napalm Death and industrial forefathers Godflesh and cocks a firm ear backwards toward the ’90s while still pointing his “heaviness” Geiger counter ever forward. There are eight cuts on Conqueror, all of them deeply melodic, ploddingly slow, and emotionally melancholic. It’s no longer about metal that’s punishing nor is being purposely obnoxious and irritating (though the more musically conservative black-clad metal hordes might be offended by this) but rather, about digging deep into the well of the heart for what’s actually true for the songwriter (at least for right now). Read More >>

Sigh - Hangman’s Hymn: Musikalische Exequien
Over the course of 17 years and six incrementally mature and eclectic albums, Sigh have deservedly earned their stripes, not only as most assuredly Japan’s finest black metal band, but easily one of worldwide metal’s most innovative and unconventional acts. Until 2005’s perplexing misfire Gallows Gallery, that is, where childishly simplistic vocals and cornball melodies suddenly conspired with the group’s usual metallic ingredients and supra-technical musicianship to turn up some baffling musical hybrids. Made even more intolerable by a certifiable production disaster, these misfires fell afoul of even their most open-minded fans, and ultimately led to Sigh being dropped by their then record company. Thankfully, its immediate successor, 2007’s Hangman’s Hymn represents an unqualified return to form… Read More >>

Watain - Sworn to the Dark
Sweden isn’t accustomed to playing second fiddle to Norway in very many categories, but black metal has long been one of them, with a strong nucleus of longstanding bands (Mayhem, Emperor, Darkthrone, Enslaved, etc.) wielding such a domineering influence over the genre that few outsiders have successfully challenged their supremacy. That’s not to say that there haven’t been some serious contenders, however, and among them are surely the ghost-faced, blood-drenched Swedes in Watain, who have established quite a reputation over the years, and possess in their third full studio album, Sworn to the Dark, a forceful candidate for true universal acclaim. Read More >>

Witchcraft - Alchemist
Black Sabbath is rightfully considered a trailblazer of the doom metal genre. But the next group in line to carry the doom torch was Pentagram, a U.S. band well versed in their Ozzy and Iommi-isms. While Pentagram never scaled the heights that the Sabs did, they certainly left their mark on countless subsequent bands throughout the world — especially Sweden’s Witchcraft. On their third release overall, 2007’s The Alchemist, the quartet continues attempting to turn the clock back to 1975 — Magnus Pelander’s vocal delivery is an awful lot like Pentagram’s Bobby Liebling, while the music would provide a fine soundtrack to a high school stoner’s basement party — when the folks were out of town, the bong smoke was thick, and the black light posters were proudly on display. Read More >>

Check out Part 1