Of the First Born Son – Of the First Born Son EP
Year of the Sun Records

(4/5)

Of the First Born Son’s self-titled EP “screams” Grindcore! Although there are other influences thrown into the mix, the overall sound of the EP is more Grindcore, but whether you want to call it Metal or Grindcore, it’s HEAVY! From the first few seconds of the first song, “The Attack of Doctor Robotnik”, to the last breakdown in the last track, “Playing Dodgeball With a Shotgun”, OTFBS hits you with shredding guitars from Mike Rideout and Rob Falconer, thundering bass lines from Curt Long, and sick drum parts encompassed around the insane double bass skills of Eric Phillips. From a vocal standpoint, vocalist Jamie Schoch absolutely eats this material alive! From screams to growls, Jamie is definitely on top of his game throughout this EP. The one song that really struck me as the best (which I can’t stop listening to) is the EP’s first single, “You Can’t 2-Step in a Wheelchair”. Not only does this song have a clever title, this song DEFINES OTFBS! It starts out slightly mellow, but soon takes off after the first sign of vocals. Throughout the song, Jamie displays his obvious skills in different styles of vocals and even throws in a quick “bree” scream commonly seen in Grindcore music. Again, with the incredible talent and effort put into this song and the other tracks, this self-titled EP truly defines who Of the First Born Son really are and I’m truly excited to see what comes from these guys next!

Dead to Fall – Are You Serious?
Victory Records

(4/5)

You want heavy? Dead to Fall once again provides another HEAVY album with their newest creation, Are You Serious?. To kick this album off, there is a strange sounding, almost hypnotic track followed by 10 tracks of non-stop aggressiveness. Coming off a great album such as The Phoenix Throne, one cannot imagine what would come next, but now I see exactly what this incredible band is capable of and I suggest you strap yourself in for quite a thrill ride with Are You Serious?! Not only is this album heavy in terms of music, but the vocals have an extreme edge to them, taking them from a midrange aggressive sound into a Death metal-like low growl at some points. Going back to the music, the guitar riffs are absolutely incredible and are perfectly layered over intense drums and wicked bass lines! Honestly, this is one of the best Metal albums to come out in early 2008! This keeps me excited for what’s to come over the course of this year and the years to come; especially out of Dead to Fall! Overall, if it’s pure, headbang worthy, and aggressive HEAVY metal you are looking for, pick up a copy of Are You Serious? ASAP!

Bloodjinn – This Machine Runs on Empty
Pluto Records / Listenable Records (Outside North America)

(5/5)

Honestly, This Machine Runs on Empty could, quite possibly, be the best album of 2007! With it’s mixture of insane guitar riffs and squeals by guitarists Kyle Rakes and Jeff Peck, massive drums and sick double bass action from drummer Brian Lewis, heavy backing lines from bassist Bob Pfeiffer, and Joel Collins’ aggressive vocals, this album puts you through one of the most intense thrill rides you will experience through Metal today. Although the entire album is awesome, a few of the tracks that really stuck out to me were absolutely INSANE! They had to be to stick out over any of the others. Some of these tracks include titles such as “Break the Silence”, “Maker”, and “Inhale/Exhale”. “Break the Silence” was the first track to really stand out to me not only because it’s only the second track on the album, but it is the first track to really bring out those squeals mentioned before. They are out of this world!! And if you ever need a great song to wake up to and get your day going, that’s the one. If not, kick it over to “Inhale/Exhale” to start your day with pure aggression and a crazy solo! Not a bad way to start your day if I say so myself. All in all, if you want to experience one of the greatest Metal albums of 2007, go out and pick up a copy of This Machine Runs on Empty.

The Autumn Offering – Fear Will Cast No Shadow
Victory Records

(5/5)

The Autumn Offering has done it again! Fear Will Cast No Shadow is one of the best new Metal albums I have heard in quite some time. Despite having changed vocalists before this album, TAO has once again taken me for a pretty brutal ride that is continuing on the momentum from Embrace the Gutter. Matt McChesney has successfully put his use of clean vocals and screaming together with ingeniously masterminded guitars and the incredible double bass technique used by drummer, Allen Royal. Right now, no specific tracks have come forth to me as being outstandingly better than any of the others, but that just shows how extraordinary and vital every track is to making this such a great album to own. Overall, I’d say that if you’re looking for an album to take you from the feeling of just hanging out listening to some Alternative rock to headbanging with some Heavy metal, this album is for you!

Arise and Ruin – The Final Dawn
Victory Records

(4/5)

The Final Dawn definitely is high on the list of the latest good metal albums I have heard recently. Arise and Ruin not being a name I have heard before, I am now convinced that Victory Records still has good Metal bands putting out good Metal albums. The variation on the genre that AR has achieved is not an unheard of issue. I definitely enjoyed listening to this album, but there were a few things that would have made it a little better for me. One such issue is if the lack of more breakdowns such as the one in the tracks “End of the Road” and “Always the Same”. Although not every Metal band has a bunch of breakdowns, I believe that more in that same style would have made this record score even higher in my books. Overall, I really enjoyed this album and I believe it is a good album for any metalhead out there to pick up. I can’t wait to see what AR comes out with next album!