Public Image Limited – That what is Not. John Lydon = Brilliant Smartass. Bless him.

Autopsy – All Tomorrow’s Funerals (Peaceville). 73 beautiful minutes of churn ‘n romp muck with a killer booklet.

Stormcrow – Enslaved in Darkness (Selfmadegod). This is sick, just friggin’ sick!

Malevolent Creation – In Cold Blood (Pavement). Yep, still ridin’ the MC train.

Malevolent Creation – Warkult (Nuclear Blast). See above.

Malevolent Creation – In Cold Blood (Pavement). See above.

Anwyl – Postmortem Apocalypse (Drakkar). Excellent blackened thrash and an under recognized album from the now defunct Hutchinson, KS unit.

Sleepy Hollow – Skull 13 (Pure Steel). A band with a history that has been resurrected to bring you quality traditional heavy metal with a progressive edge. Also features the bassist from Symphony X whose name escapes me at the moment.

Fomento – To Persevere is Diabolical (Coroner). Not sure what that title is all about, but the Fomento dudes play some hard hitting modern thrash.

Judas Priest – Killing Machine (Sony). As far back as I can remember I’ve always loved this one. “Delivering the Goods” and “Hell Bent for Leather” (title of the U.S. version) are but two of the gems. It’s also part of the 17-disc The Complete Albums Collection box set.

Judas Priest – Point of Entry (Sony). I don’t care what anyone says; this is a cool JP album with some catchy tunes. And yes, it too is one of the 17 aforementioned discs.

Judas Priest – Rocka Rolla (Sony). This is going way back. Remember that 17-disc collection I was rambling on about? This is one of those discs, dude!

Y & T – “Open Fire.” A song that has been in my head as of late. It appears on the Black Tiger album. Great band until “Summertime Girls” ruined it. Well, maybe not ruined it, but it didn’t help.

Abominant – Warblast (Deathgasm) – Kentucky Death!

Abominant – Where Demons Dwell (Deathgasm) – More Kentucky Death!

Pallbearer – Sorrow and Extinction (Profound Lore). It’s a sweet demise.

Confused Little Girl – Southern Gentlemen (Rotten). You see the band photo? Put that together with the band name and album title, and then do some thinking.

Blood Red Throne – Brutalitarian Regime (Sevared). I’d forgotten about these guys until I happened to be perusing the Metalhit.com distro and came across this 2011 release on Sevared. I like it.

Borknagar – Urd (Century Media). May be the band’s masterpiece. The nostalgic be damned!

Manilla Road – The Deluge (Shadow Kingdom). Reissue of an all-time classic.

Manilla Road – Gates of Fire (Battle Cry). Good lord, the guitar work on this one smokes!

Manilla Road – Crystal Logic (Shadow Kingdom). A bloody righteous release as well.

Manilla Road – Playground of the Damned (Shadow Kingdom). Different and more of a grower, but another fine addition to a damn fine legacy.

Unit:187 – Transfusion (Vendetta Music). Dark, industrial, remixed, and out for more blood.

Synapses – Expiation (Deepsend). Italian death metallers’ debut. Embryonic Devourment, Decapitated, Psyscroptic…. Get the picture?

Stonehaven – Concerning Old-Strife And Man-Banes (HPGD Productions). Kansas City USBM howling bruisers. Good stuff, as you’ll one day read when I get around to reviewing this sucker.

Six Feet Under – Undead (Metal Blade). Were you as surprised as I was about the exit of Terry Butler and Greg Gall and the entry of Rob Arnold (Chimaira), Kevin Tally (pretty much every band), and the former bassist of Brain Drill? You’ll also be surprised at the makeover given to that tried and true death groove. I was never an SFU hater to begin with, but this is a step up in musicianship and compositional dynamics for sure.

Fastway – Eat Dog Eat (MVD Audio). They’re back! All hail Fast Eddie and the boys! Clever title too.

Ignitor – Year of the Metal Tiger (MVD Audio). A much, much better effort than its train wreck of a predecessor. Jason McMaster sounds like he’s found a groove with these Texans as well. Shocking how much I like this one, considering how much I hated the last one.

Overkill – Feel the Fire. All-time thrash metal classic. Period.

Overkill – The Years of Decay. See above. Oh yeah, and I’ll finally get to see Overkill live in Kansas City. Can’t believe I’d never gotten the chance over all these years.

Corrosion of Conformity – Corrosion of Conformity (Candlelight). Old is new again, yet it’s not nearly as predictable as you might think. Great stuff.

Nashville Pussy – From Hell to Texas: Love and Loud in Europe (SPV). The studio album rules and the addition of the live disc makes it even better. Got the studio album on vinyl as well. Just thought you should know that.

Venrez – Sell the Life (Monarch). Can’t remember and since I promised the publicist I’d review it I’d better get to listening with a far greater degree of involvement and memory retention.

Lillian Axe – The Days Before Tomorrow (CME). Listened to it a month or two ago and just couldn’t get into it. Listened to it recently and found it to be halfway decent. We’ll see what future spins bring.

Legacy of Disorder – Last Man Standing. Half solid, half mediocre, and very American Pantera-influence metal, even though all but one of the dudes is in New Zealand (the other in Dallas). That is all I can remember and I reviewed the damn thing.

3 Inches of Blood – Long Live Heavy Metal (Century Media). Good damn traditional heavy metal album.

Black Breath – Sentenced to Life (Southern Lord). Is it just me or is what I’m hearing this time around have much more in common with Trap Them, not to mention a more direct hardcore element, compared to the previous masterpiece. Oh yeah, it rips with incisors.

Grand Magus – Hammer of the North (Roadrunner). It is necessary that I listen to this album at least every few months.

Jack Blades – Rock N Roll Ride (Frontiers). Surprised? Don’t be.

Decaying – Devastate (Hellthrasher Productions). Good band, good album, and can’t wait to hear Encirclement. A gnarly Finnish bunch they are.

Decaying- Encirclement (Hellthrasher Productions). As noted above, I couldn’t wait to listen to it. Well, now I have and it’s an even better album than its predecessor. I hear more Bolt Thrower on this one.

Sleep deprived as usual, I bid you a fond farewell. Here’s to upping the hammers, downing the nails, and then upping the irons!