Forgettable name, but Slave To The System turns out to be a cool bit of rock star marriaging in the Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, Brides of Destruction oeuvre.
Top-notch sobbing male vocals matched by strong anthemic female vocals belted out like Lullacry, Heart, and Drain STH. The guitars chug hard but melodically.
If you like your Blind Guardian-esque metal without the swooping highs and lows and feats of derring-do, then look to the cheeky audacity of Savage Circus.
Like the accessible Six Feet Under of artcore, the band birthing cogent, logical metal nuggets, like slowed-down Meshuggah with a rich, full-bodied recording.
If you don’t mind Stratovarius going rock ‘n’ rollsy, or Alexi’s hair metal covers, Edguy’s edging toward mainstream metal may come off as unselfconscious fun.
Bolt Thrower have always served up their unflagging war metal with a sense of unhurried, unforced charm, and Those Once Loyal continues in that tradition.
Finns playing prime’n’bloody U.S. death metal is weird in itself, but on their second album, Torture Killer have a new vocalist: Six Feet Under’s Chris Barnes.