Two Ton Anvil – Two Ton Anvil
Dark Star Records

Rating:

Written by Niek of Deathmetalbaboon.com

This heavy metal band, going by the name of Two Ton Anvil, formed just a few years ago, in 2007, in Chicago, Illinois. Now, some three years later, they have just released their self-titled debut record. Twelve originally composed tracks and one Alice in Chains cover. I have something to say about both.

Starting with the latter here, the Alice in Chains cover is of the song Them Bones. Admittedly, that’s a pretty cool song and Two Ton Anvil does a good job at playing it precisely right too. That then is exactly the problem, because for a version of Them Bones sounding just like the original, I’ll, you won’t believe it, just listen to the original! No biggie though, as it’s only one track at the back of the pack. Consider it as a bonus that didn’t turn out much of an extra.

There are also twelve homegrown heavy metal tracks packed with kick-ass riffs. No shortage of those really. Unfortunately though, most of the songs stop being interesting after the intro, a verse and a chorus (some make it till after another verse). Songs start interesting, with a variety of cool guitar parts, but all end up in catchy sung choruses tending towards those of the most commercial of hard rock bands, making the whole thing “little girl’s metal”.

A few exceptions to the rule are What We’ve Made (best track on the album), The Wicked and Glass Houses. Tracks that manage to keep me interested all the way to the end. In fact, What We’ve Made is a track that I must have heard at least thirty times by now. It kicks!

The singing is performed by both Brian Ericson and Chris Chubb and they’re not without talent for it. It is a bit of an average hard rock/heavy metal style though. Somehow clone-crossbreed Nickelback’s, Creed’s and Alice in Chain’s vocalists into a pair of twins and you’ll get the same result.

Can’t really say it’s bad music though. It sounds fair. Fairer when you consider it’s a debut release. I would urge the band to search for more originality and variation in their songs though. Make it so it sticks. And I know they can do it, because What We’ve Made, The Wicked and Glass Houses are the proof!

My favorite track: What We’ve Made (by a MILE!)

DevilDriver – Pray for Villains
Roadrunner Records

(4.5/5)

The masters of Groove metal, DevilDriver, are back with their fourth full length album entitled Pray for Villains, and it could be their heaviest yet! With the regular version of the album weighing in with 13 tracks and the Special Edition bringing 17 tracks, Pray for Villains is a great example of why DevilDriver is one of the two main bands that got me into newer Metal. To be honest, I don’t even know where to really begin to describe how great this album is. It really just brings together the perfect combination of classic DevilDriver groove and pure heaviness presented by the great teamwork of the guitarists Jeff Kendrick and Mike Spreitzer, bassist Jon Miller, drummer John Boecklin, and the intense vocals of Dez Fafara, topping everything off. Some great examples that show this combination are “Pray for Villains” (Track 1/Title track), “Pure Sincerity” (Track 2), “Forgiveness Is a Six Gun” (Track 7), and “Another Night in London” (Track 10). These are just four examples, but that killer combo is found throughout the entire album. As far as favorite tracks go, I have to go with the last track from the Special Edition, “Wasted Years”. This song is excellent for anyone, such as myself, who is an Iron Maiden fan as well as a DevilDriver fan since it is a cover of that great Iron Maiden song from Somewhere in Time (the original copy of this cover appeared on Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden). Overall, I love this album and I’d suggest it to any Metal fan despite whether you’re a previous DevilDriver fan or if you’re just getting into them!

Lamb of God – Wrath
Epic Records

(5/5)

The kings of Groove metal are back and they have taken it, once again, to another level! This newest Lamb of God release is titled Wrath and it would seem like the band is taking its wrath out upon lesser styles of music. As mentioned before, this album has proved that Lamb of God is continually stepping their game up from album to album, and presenting different styles in each album along the way. They aren’t one of the biggest bands in newer Metal for nothing! Although I like the overall sound of the album, I would suggest listening to the combination of “The Passing” (Track 1) and “In Your Words” (Track 2) as well as “Grace” (Track 6) and “Broken Hands” (Track 7) to get a good feel for the new record. each of these songs helps show the slightly more raw production of the album combined with the cleaner guitar tones and Randy Blythe’s sick vocals, and how these changes help take this album to that higher level of amazing. Speaking of the guitar tones, Mark Morton and Willie Adler really outdo themselves on this album as far as their riffs and solos go. These two guys are true guitar masters of new Metal and continue to show the world why on each album! Helping push the guitars and Randy’s voice is the combined efforts of the band’s rhythm section that includes John Campbell on bass and Chris Adler on drums. These guys are also incredible musicians and Chris continues to, somehow, step it up every album along with the other guys. I honestly don’t know how Lamb of God keeps outdoing themselves! Overall, Wrath is a tremendous Metal album by an excellent band. This is definitely one of my top choices for any Metal fan’s arsenal!