Under The Floods’ debut record, “The Witness”, as a whole encompasses the coming together of every popular style of modern Hard Rock and takes a slight step further. The sound as a whole is much less squashed and murky sounding than you might normally see on a heavy record, which is something I appreciate; the music is allowed to breathe and carries a more natural dynamic than the others can compete with. The only issue that pains me is that the songs can get a little monotonous at times because they are so solid, but it does nothing to detract away from the fact that Under The Flood is a band that has everything you’d want to hear in modern music.

Between the Buried and Me is an American heavy metal band, formed in 2000 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Efforts to describe this group based on the pretense that they would remind you of anyone else would prove to be futile. One word though, can sum them up; Progressive. BTBAM utilize all the spectrums available that modern music has to offer. Upon first impression you will easily spot that this band may not even have come from a metal background, but classically trained in style ranging from Jazz, to Flamenco and so Eastern and Western European traditions of song craft.

Dirge Within’s ‘Force Fed Lies’ is a slight departure somewhat from average hard metal acts. There are few things that are hidden that make this album much more harmonically complex than many performing the same genre of music. My only gripes lie within the fact that there’s isn’t enough of a release from slash and burn tactics presented on the whole album to make me feel like this album will hold up through the test of time into the realm of the great albums 30 years ago (30 years from now). The lead guitars and choruses are often the saving grace in most of the songs, provided that well needed curve ball among the madness. Without a doubt this album is worth a few listens.

Agathodaimon’s album ‘Phoenix is a culmination of all you might expect from a sort of theatric/operatic metal band. Ultimately, I feel that this is a sour point as well because on much of the record are too many things that might turn off listeners not fond of Goth or fake strings. Also, the excessive amount of sound effects can be realy off putting and cheesy, an album should be carried by its vibe. I tink I wouldn’t be extending myself too far by saying that even if the music isn’t necessarily great, if the vibe is on point..you have a great album. With this record, the music is tight and obviously well thought-out and rehearsed, but it lacks the soul of the albums we truly remember 20 or 30+ years down the line. With that said, I believe this is every bit worth checking out if you like your metal a little on the melancholy side (as opposed to the angry) and can enjoy a night at the opera without having to listen to some chunky dame in a wig scream Italian in your ear for a few hours

Diabolical Figures is classic Death Metal but with a more fantasy twist. The vocals are very typical of what you’d hear among their peers in the genre but instead, Stefano takes a more visceral approach and gets a little more guts out of his, making him sound much less whispery when he goes for it. The high-pitched side of the vocals can get a little agitating, but they definitely fit well and were mixed well with the normal leads. The music is very well thought and rehearsed, as many hard metal bands are in fact and each passage of music is taken as serious as the last, giving the listener the feeling that they put their every ounce of being into what they do. While I’ve never been the hugest fan of Death Metal I must say, I find myself proven wrong and find a very enjoyable experience via Graveworm.

20 years ago Satyricon made its formation all the way from Norway with several line-up changes..most of which within a period of only a couple of years. Initially, their sound was a mixture of Black Metal blast beats in the old sense, but mixed with medieval influences, using acoustic guitars and flute. Since then, much to many fans disappointment, they began to take on a more ‘commercial’ outlook of Black Metal. This may be due to the band’s allegiance to the more rock oriented side, like Venom as oppsed to the more modern style of Black Metal. Let it be said that regardless of fans’ stance of what’s acceptable, Satyricon are the perfect successors of the genre, and can only be accused of doing it better than the hordes of other European Metal groups.

Before There Was Rosalyn is a Christian post-hardcore band from Houston, Texas, currently signed to Victory Records. The band was formed in the last days of 2004 and has toured nationally and extensively since 2006, landing a deal with Nashville Tennessee’s Indie Label Holdfast Records in early 2008.