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!

Unholy – New Life Behind Closed Eyes
Prosthetic Records

(4.5/5)

In the realm of the newer styles of Metal, it’s easy to find tons of bands that sound nearly the same with the same, but there is still hope out there for fans, such as myself, of Metal that still has original features. One of those bands is Unholy, and their Prosthetic Records debut New Life Behind Closed Eyes proves that they are different in their own right and are a force to be reckoned with! This 10 track album is a great reminder to Metal fans that not everybody has to use their music to promote their political views or sit around and piss and moan about what everybody else is doing wrong in the world. The theme of this album is merely that humanity is corrupt and like a cancer that will destroy everything in its path and, ultimately, itself. A tough cookie to swallow, but it’s true and Unholy is putting it in a way that anyone can understand. Music. Now, when looking at the album, I don’t just look for lyrical content, but musicianship and overall sound as well. In looking at that, a few tracks from New Life Behind Closed Eyes come up as ones I like a bit better than the rest. These tracks include “These Wounds Never Heal” (Track 3), “The Blinding Light” (Track 5), “No Faith” (Track 7), and “New Life Behind Closed Eyes” (Track 10/Title Track). Each of these tracks shows how intense this band is whether it be pure musicianship like in the instrumental track “No Faith” or overall intensity and greatness like “These Wounds Never Heal” or any of the other tracks that include Billy price’s insane vocals along with the music provided by guitarists Jonathan Dennison and Steve Caiello, bassist Gary Mann, and the insane drumming of Andy Miller (one of the best new Metal drummers I’ve heard to date). All in all, when you get to the bottom line of New Life Behind Closed Eyes, this album is one of the most intense albums I’ve heard to date and the overall quality is excellent and the message is one that should be heard. It’s a great wake up call album and i suggest it to any Metal fan out there!

Dååth – The Concealers
Century Media Records

(4/5)

Armed with a new vocalist, a dueling pair of guitarists, a solid bassist, and one of the best Metal drummers in the scene, Dååth has recorded their third full length album entitled The Concealers! This album is the first Dååth album I’ve experienced, but I can see right away that these guys bring an aggressive approach to their sound. With a mixture of Thrash metal, Death metal, Progressive metal, and more included, The Concealers has an overall sound that is heavy enough to shake the earth beneath your feet as you listen to it. As heard on the album, this quintet really fuses together well to have the Metal sound unlike any I’ve really heard before. All of the tracks on this album have their individual features that make them great, but some of the ones I really enjoy include “The Worthless” (Track 3), “The Unbinding Truth” (Track 4), “Wilting on the Vine” (Track 6), and “Day of Endless Light” (Track 8). Again, each of these tracks have their individual aspects that make them awesome, but these four provide a great overview of the album. One of these tracks that really sticks out over the rest of the album for me is “The Unbinding Truth”. This song really showcases some of the talents of this great band with the winding fret work of guitarists Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler along with the technical drumming of ex-Chimaira drummer Kevin Talley and the aggressive vocals of Sean Z. Also, the overall song has a really interesting sound to it that you don’t hear much outside of, maybe, Black metal. It’s actually hard to explain; it’s just one of those tracks you have to hear the track for yourself. All in all, this new Dååth album The Concealers is a great metal album that can be enjoyed by Metal fans who really like a variety of Metal styles created by an all-star line-up.

Sylosis – Conclusion of an Age
Nuclear Blast Records

(4/5)

Hailing from the birthplace of Heavy metal, Syolosis has risen and will show the world that the UK still has Metal flowing through its veins! Combining the methods of, more, modern Metal with the methods of old school Thrash metal, Syolosis has released their debut album Conclusion of an Age. Being called “Modern Thrash metal” by Nuclear Blast Records, this band truly does fuse the two different styles of Metal to create an unbeatable combination. Vocalist Jamie combines an excellent screaming technique with singing to fully cover every musical aspect presented by the rest of the band. With the total mixture in vocals, I would normally put this band into the “Metalcore” category, but the actual music this band puts forth quickly changes my mind. Honestly, I thought I’d heard almost everything modern Metal had to offer, but Sylosis has helped prove me wrong. Really, you just have to hear this album to understand how awesome these guys are! To get a good understanding of their musicianship and excellence, I recommend listening to any of the tracks from this album, but some specific examples include “Transcendance” (Track 4), “Conclusion of an Age” (Track 6/Title Track), “Teras” (Track 8), and “Last Remaining Light” (Track 10). Overall, this is another great Metal band that I’m excited to see where they go in the future. With two EPs and their debut album Conclusion of an Age now under their belt, there’s no stopping Sylosis from taking this world by storm!