The Locust - Plague Soundscapes

This album was The Locust's debut album working with Anti Records that was released in June 2003. Contains 24 tracks, you'll get a thrashing anxiety-attack of brutal, in-your-face grindcore, whiplash rhythms and growling, throat scratching screams propelled by reckless, furious guitars. This is a cocktail of chaos and mayhem; an infernal blast of terror and anger put into quick, barely over a minute bursts. The Locust are the band that you love to hate. They are too hardcore for the gay kids and too gay for the hardcore kids. They're not punk, punk is a dead, lifeless horse carcass that kids with tight plaid pants and mowhawks just keep beating with a baseball bat trying to get every drop of life out of it.
This album is an intelligent, cohesive, and overwhelmingly provocative album. The guys can play their instruments incredibly well, the music is wickedly tight and dynamic, it's not rare for a single 45 second song to plow through 10 time signature changes (some excellent drumming can be heard on this record). The guitar riffery is everywhere, ranging from razor sharp thrash cutups to primal sludge from outer space. The keyboards are insectoid and jerky. The tortured singing/screaming from the band members is indeed melodic (if you bother to actually listen) and contains bizarre and surprisingly nuanced rhythmic cadences that flow with the music.
Lyrically, we've got some odd, disjointed post-post-modernist ruminations on bodily fluids, political intrigue, culture, wounded animals, the environment, body parts, war, teenage moustaches, etc. The lyrics are always absurdist, fluctuating regularly between profane and profound. It's amazing how they can write such odd things, but still get the message across. It's some profound stuff.

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Agnostic Front - Warriors

Formed in around of 1980, it's been almost 3 decades Agnostic Front kicking around the worldwide Hardcore/Punk scene. And this "Warriors" CD was their last known full length album released in November 2007 under Nuclear Blast Records. Consist of 14 solid NYHC tracks, the bands message of family and unity has never come across stronger in their music. Warriors is a statement of strength in the face of adversity and few bands make a statement louder than Agnostic Front. This album is exactly what you'd expect from Agnostic Front. It's intense hardcore/crossover thrash with thick, meaty riffs from guitarists Joseph James and Vinnie Stigma. The songs are simple, catchy and groovy and also pack plenty of punch. What I really dig about this album is how furious it sounds. I haven’t heard anything with this amount of anger and hatred in a long, long time. The metal influence, typical of New York Hardcore, is evident, but the tempo has been upped and the riffs are fucking killer. This is hardcore thrash metal and it is good quality hardcore thrash metal as well. "Warriors" explodes right from the beginning with a flurry of double bass drumming.
New York Hardcore still is, and obviously will always be, the cornerstone of this group. If there are two things that define Agnostic Front, it’s integrity and no compromise.

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Six Feet Under - Death Rituals

Last known full length album by these Tampa's Death Metal leading act - Six Feet Under, released under Metal Blade Records in 2008. All that being said, one reason that I like Six Feet Under so much is that they have the balls to keep music fun for themselves. Contains 13 tracks, the music on this album is brutally bludgeoning, I hear it on for the first time and started headbanging. Six Feet Under consistently delivers quality American death metal, and "Death Rituals" is no exception. SFU’s style is very recognizable, and they don’t deviate very far from that path. Mid tempo songs are crushingly heavy, but have ample groove and hooks. It Features a Classics death vocal of Chris Barnes, guitars that are almost always eerie or head bobbingly heavy and drums that are not too busy. My personal favorite track is “Bastard”. It is perhaps the only track that I could attempt to label as “fun” and features the band showing off its Graveyard Classics tendencies. Yes, it is an old Motley Crue cover. They push it through the Six Feet Under machine, slowing it down and sludging it up a bit to better fit their style, but you can still definitely tell it is a Crue song.
Chris Barnes’ death growls seem really high in the mix on this album, and his lyrics deal with the usual topics of death, death, death and murder. What can we say? He is Chris Barnes... :)

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Madball - Infiltrate The System

Last known full length by these New York Hardcore veterans - Madball - released under Ferret Records in the middle of 2007. Contains 13 tracks, this album was features more complex structures and compositions than the Madball of the past, while the lyrical content has moved beyond topics of hardcore and family loyalty to far more engaging lexicon. 13 tracks that combine the most tried-and-true and fan-beloved elements of their esteemed catalogue with new depth, renewed urgency, increasing diversity and a near-conceptual approach to new stories about the streets and the world. This album have a new level of control over the cds production and mixing which is great, sound heavier on just about everyway the music is tight, groove ridden, streamlined if you will and the lryics are a little more politally charged then totally personal. Maybe, i will classify this as a metalcore album, in this case, the metal comes from heavier, busier hardcore-evolved riffs to thrash. Breakdowns are riffs played at half-tempo with double bass drum beatings, and thankfully not of the single-note variety. this incarnation of the band is one of the best I loved matt hendersons guitar, will shepler on drum and vinny stigma and every one else in the band but this band simple shares one vision together i think they just click & groove from the sounds of things.
So, here they come the veterans!

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Sepultura - Chaos A.D.

Sepultura's 5th studio album entitled : Chaos A.D. released under Roadrunner in the late of 1993. The four men from Belo Horizonte could foresee a glorious future after Beneath the Remains and the huge Arise in 1990. "Chaos A.D. upped the production values several notches witch rid the band of a sometimes rough sound. The diminishing of their past speed wasn't a bad thing either, as the riffs are some of the most brutal i have ever heard in the Thrash Catalogue. They slowed down a bit and added little more of a tribal, Native American sound on this album. The sound of Max's voice fits in perfectly with the music and the lyrics. Max Cavalera roars with his rage of his country's state, concerning at war and economic decay, songs with serious, informed lyrics about lands being torn asunder by war, greed, and corruption. Probably the most notable thing here is Sepultura's creative use of rhythms. There is a fine balance between heavy, compelling grooves, and corny "brootal breakdowns." This album has better developed vocals and sees the band going acoustic for one song.
I think all of Sepultura's albums are great, but Chaos A.D. is definatley the best.

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Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire

The Second album from these legendary Political leading band - Rage Against The Machine-was achieve their 1996 Grammy Award. Evil Empire released under Sony Music in April 1996, and you'll get a grimy, dark and sinister effort that better showed off RATM's hiphop and punk influences when hearing this album. Contains 11 tracks, there is an unbelievable energy captured on this record. Maybe for the fact that it was mostly recorded live, in the studio. It took me a few listens before I truly recognized the quality of this album. The riffing isn't as repetitive as the first album, and the lyrics aren't quite as juvenile as that release either. I must give Tom Morello some mention, of course, since his solos are interesting and innovative as always. The highlight here is "Bulls on Parade", where his solo sounds like a DJ scratching a turntable; the fact alone that the man has to duplicate this live is insane. All lyrics are some of Zack's best in my opinion and the chorus is the bands all time best, hands down.
RATM, as heard on this album, are no doubt legends in this genre and have influenced bands that have followed. "Evil Empire" is the only Rage album that stands up to repeat listenings, in my opinion.


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Corrosion of Conformity - Deliverance

This was the fourth album by these North Carolina Crossover leading band- Corrosion Of Conformity - released under Columbia Records in November 1994. Formed in 1982, Corrosion of Conformity has retained their ever-so-fitting name throughout numerous lineup and style changes. Corrosion Of Conformity can speed their sound and go mental as in their beginings or either can slow down the madness and be more judgemental, but always they will stand for their ideological and political tougths. Contains 14 songs, this album and the first on which Peeper Keenan was lead singer. By this album, the band had completely shed their punk and thrash influences, instead opting for Black Sabath -inspired heavy metal style. Being dark and positive at the same time, very catchy riffs, excellent bass and drum work make Deliverance a must have for any music fan that enjoys groove metal, sludge metal or even classic Southern rock. There is a host of great rocking tracks, all enveloping that southern swagger and a great bent for melody. My favourites include the grooving opener "Heaven Is Not Overflowing", the slow-burner "Albatross", "Clean My Wounds" which is one of the band's most catchy and well known songs. Enjoy!


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