Praetorious – Taste Death
Heaven and Hell Records

(4/5)

New Wave of British Heavy Metal fans, it is time to rise again! With the style being New Wave of BRITISH Heavy Metal, you would think that this band would be European, but it’s about time we started looking in our own backyard. Praetorius is actually from North Carolina and man am I proud to have a band like this here at home! The old school styles of Heavy metal have been pretty scarce in recent years, but Praetorius is proving that it’s not dead with the release of their debut album Taste Death. Although the song themes may not be the same as the bands of yesteryear, the style and skills are still there. One aspect of this band I really like is vocalist Elliott Madre. He may not have the total range of singers such as Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson, but he definitely has the voice to fit this style of music. Musically, this band is very sound with the style, but it makes it that much better that the vocals fit as well! Getting back to Taste Death, I would certainly recommend listening to “Pirates of the West” (Track 1), “March of Praetorious” (Track 3), and “True Colors” (Track 4). Although the rest of the tracks are just as crucial to this album, I believe these three give a great representation of the overall abilities of this great band. Overall, Praetorious is an excellent band and I would recommend their debut album Taste Death to any old school Heavy metal fans out there and anyone who likes to keep their ears to the underground. I can’t wait to see what comes from this band next!

Enslaved – Vertebrae
Nuclear Blast Records

(3.5/5)

Norway’s own Extreme metal band Enslaved is still alive and kickin’ in 2008 and they have released another album! The new album is entitled Vertebrae and it definitely proves why this 17 year old band is still around. Although Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson have both grown up quite a bit since they formed Enslaved back in 1991, they are still hangin’ in there and are still making Metal the Norwegian way. Even though I’m not a huge Extreme metal fan and this is the first Enslaved album I’ve heard, I definitely have to say I like it. The biggest downfall for me is the growled vocals, but apparently someone likes them since the band is still around, so I can’t argue too much with the results. I don’t really hate the growling here, they’re just not my favorite growled vocals. Getting past that, I do really like the clean sung vocals and the music quality is definitely worth listening to, so the pros outweigh the cons here. When looking into the technical aspects of the album, it’s hard to really pinpoint any tracks that stand out over the others, but the lyrical quality is certainly worth mentioning. Some of the lyrics obviously have deeper meanings while some are “surface level” lyrics that have a bit of a fantasy style to them. The combination of lyric styles is really interesting and adds that much more to the overall quality of the album. All in all, I would recommend this album to any Metal fans out there looking for more good music coming from Norway in the Extreme metal genre.

Meshuggah – Contradictions Collapse [Re-Loaded Edition]
Nuclear Blast Records

(4/5)

Ok Meshuggah fans, it’s time to experience the beginning of an era…again. This Reloaded Edition re-release of the very first Meshuggah full album Contradictions Collapse also include their 1994 EP None. Altogether, this album is a great buy for any new Meshuggah fans or old fans looking to get the first album. Just as you see in any other albums or EPs produced by this extremely talented Experimental metal band, Contradictions Collapse provides an intense mixture of the heavy hitting force that this band produces. I am still amazed every time I hear any of Meshuggah’s material. This obscurity of the time signatures and intricate work that goes into the music is is absolutely top notch. By listening to this re-release of these two pieces of work, it is easy to see that the talent and musicianship has been there since the beginning through line changes and anything else that this band has conquered over the years. Two constant factors that have been a part of Meshuggah since the beginning are the intense vocals of Jens Kidman and the frivolous guitar work of Fredrik Thorendal, but with original release of Contradictions Collapse brought about the introduction of Tomas Haake’s sick drum skills and the original release of the None EP brought about Mårten Hagström’s contribution as rhythm guitarist. Fortunately, these four individuals have continued to work together since then and the two guitarists have been able to cover the bass recording for the albums when needed. Getting back to the technical aspects of the album, any of the tracks are great examples of the early work of Meshuggah and are crucial to these two albums. The overall product for the Re-Loaded Edition re-release is just incredible and I suggest it to any Meshuggah fans who do not own either of these albums.