But the thing is, because I’m a nostalgic poser, I really only revisit those first 3/4 albums. I cannot tell you a single goddamn thing or recall a single song from those latter, recent albums. I sort of know they dropped the tribal/nu metal/ jumpdafuckup elements (go back to my poser comment) in favor of more harsh straight-up thrash/death metal. Then, with more recent efforts like Ritual and their last album Totem (which I have neither heard nor do I own), they started bringing back a little of the band’s early elements.

So, I’m sort of coming at Chama almost as a new experience, and with expectations this won’t be Soulfly or Primitive, but I wanted to see what Soulfly (now just a duo of Max and his son) were up to these days. Especially now, since everyone is friends and has made up since his split with Sepultura.

Well, the answer is yes- as on Ritual and Totem, they are back to mixing their traditional tribal sounds with the Machine Head meets Arise era Sepultura grooving thrash, if the mix is certainly less tribal than the first 3 efforts.

At 32 minutes, Chama is short, and 2 of the songs are the tribal intro “Indigenous Inquisition” and the now requisite instrumental in the continuous “Soulfly” chapters (which I always skip), which take up 5 minutes or so. But those 28 remaining minutes are effective as fuck, and might be the best thing Max has done in the last twenty years or so under the Soulfly moniker.

First off, the production, whereas Totem went for a rawer thrash tone, it appears that Max’s son, Zyon, who handles the production here, discovered Entombed and some HM-2 pedals, as there is a distinct but subtle Stockholm buzz in the guitar tone. And this is cemented by the hefty opening intro “Indigenous Inquisition”, and “Nihilist,” which is dedicated to LG Petrov (RIP), features Tood Jones of Nails, and could have come straight from Wolverine Blues in tone and riffage. But either way, this thing sounds fucking massive throughout.

Other influences are front and center for tracks like “Storm The Gates”, which delivers a stomping jumpadafuck up number reminiscent of the band’s early stuff, “No Pain=No Power”, where Dino Cazares shows up, and the track obviously shows a heavy Fear Factory influence, and “Ghenna”, where Arch Enemy‘s Michael Amott show up in a furiously short blistering number, that shows the band’s prior direct thrash based efforts.

Then there is the massive industrial chug and lurch of “Black Hole Scum”, which has that Stockholm buzz wafting around, “Favela_Dystopia”, a feral hardcore meets beatdown number, with an ending that could be from any recent The Acacia Strain album and the moody “Always Have, Always Will Be”.

The hefty title track buttons the all too short effort up with a little of everything, I just wish there was a little more, as what’s on display here is top notch and sees Max (who sounds energized) and his son truly soaring again with Soulfly.

Despite hailing from the depths of darkest South Yorkshire, in England, you’d be forgiven for thinking the band was from the deep south of America, as since their inception, the band has leaned hard into a groovy, Southern tinged form of thrash and hardcore that has distinct hues of Crowbar, Pantera, Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Kingdom of Sorrow etc.

At the heart of this sound is guitarist Konan Hall, who, along with Alex Taylor’s traditional hardcore bark and snarl, delivers a spot-on, Kirk Windstein-style, gravelly, bluesy croon to almost all the songs. 

The musical influences listed above bleed through in every tune, delivering ample amounts of blustery hardcore, replete with some very tasty, beefy grooves and breakdowns such as “Counterfeit”, ‘Imperfect Picture”, “So Help Me God”, and “In Spite” (where Lamb of God‘s Randy Blythe helps out). They can even thrash it up pretty good, as heard on “If It’s All the Same to You” and “Demonstration of Pain”.

But the material has lots of soulful Crowbar-y, bluesy choruses, like “Heavens Shake”, semi-balladic “Salt The Wound”, and closer “With the Dirt on My Grave”.

Everything is glossed in a beefy, but crystal clear modern production from Josh Wilbur ( All That Remains, Lamb of God, Trivium, etc) and with all these elements in place, even though they are already on a ‘major’ label, these guys appear to be poised for a Bodysnatcher/Kublai Khan international blow up.

I’m not familiar with their previous efforts, but one doesn’t need to be when exploring The Moral Chokehold. The band is listed as groove metal on Ye Olde Encyclopedia of Metal, and while that may be apt, I would place them firmly in that “New Wave of American Heavy Metal” style. Take any track as an example, but I’ll begin with “Nietzche and the Fall” with its metalcore chorus. What isn’t metalcore is the rest of the guitar lines having a tinge of Gojira to them.

Further on, there is a palpable Lamb of God gallop to the riffing, specifically in “Social War Machine.” The chorus has a massive, meaty hook with another melody approach like Gojira. They don’t skimp on the tasty solos either as the one starting with slightly over a minute remaining delivers the final chorus on a platter meant to be consumed through your mouth butt.

Nothing is stale or all the same, though. Take for example, “The Light.” There’s a buildup for the first minute, but it is the opener. The verse riff is appropriately chunky, and I can’t help but feel as though the furious moments with less than 2 minutes remaining could have made a larger impact with some disgusting, filthy heft. That’s just me wanting everything to have a death metal production when not every album is death metal. Regardless, it’s a great track, and very indicative of the rest of the album.

I’ve listened to a lot of this style over the years and “Noctivigant” immediately makes me think of God Forbid. Does that have anything to do with the fact I listened to Gone Forever not long before this? No comment. However, the clean vocals sound like Doc Coyle, but are different enough to be in no way a copy. The finger-tapping does recall another band I’ve mentioned earlier. The final minute is where the track truly shines, though.

There’s something to be said for an album that’s not reinventing any steel but accomplishes its goal with exuberance. There are earworms for days if you’re into that kind of thing (No RFK, I didn’t say “brain worms”). If you listen to The Moral Chokehold, I believe you’ll be humming at least one track after as the hooks do get embedded. Maybe a new metalcore, or at least metalcore-adjacent album, isn’t going to get the loins tingling for a fair amount of our readership, but for those who dip their toes, check it out, and I think you’ll like what you hear.

They arguably peaked with 1997s Weed Out the Weak, when James Murphy joined the band (who didn’t he join in the 90s?), spots on Head Bangers Ball, huge tours, and deals with Nuclear Blast. Admittedly they were basically a Death Metal Machine Head at the time, but then, it was fire. I still have a soft spot for Weed Out the Week, with songs like “Crown of the Empire” and “Through My Veins”, but as more brutal death metal made a comeback ( Thanks Nile!), they fizzled out with a few more albums, that I doubt any of you recall (Come Down Cold, Reality Check).

The band never went on a lengthy hiatus and remained active with albums in 2009 (Nothing is Sacred) and Alpha and the Omega in 2019. But if you are like me, you probably had no idea they were still around. Well, founder Anders Lundemark, and some of the original chaps are back at it again with The Sad Plight of Lucifer, and I decided to check the promo out with a sense of nostalgic curiosity, probably the same reason you clicked on this review, am I right?

So, thankfully Sad Plight of Lucifer isn’t bad. It’s not fantastic either. It’s solid, bordering on pretty good. It is probably an album that no one was really clamoring for, but it does have a few tasty riffs strewn around as the band still plies a form of groove-based Machine Head-ish Danish death/thrash metal. Lundemark has a gruff shout, the production is clean and heavy, and the grooves are still pretty entertaining, but they won’t be recreating their peak era with any of the songs on Sad Plight of Lucifer.

Early on, the Machine Head hue is immediately apparent when the title track kicks in and for the third, Middle Eastern-styled track “Seven Plagues”. “Revolution” is sandwiched in there with a more urgent thrashier number that’s pretty fun as are standout tracks “Nothing Can Save You” and crunchy ‘The Fourth Key of Solomon”.

After a mid-album interlude on “August.6 1945”, “Artificial Sun” delivers the album’s most furious pure death metal track and “Magic” a thrashy/groovy number that hits pretty hard. “Resurrection Machine” brings back those Machine Head vibes with a mid-paced bruiser before the thrashier “Gates of Paradise”, which could be a Dew-Scented song. The album ends with the varied and moodier, but forgetful “Tentacles of Madness”, and I am at the point where my attention is waning, and wondering what the long-term prospects are for the album even with some fine tunes here and there.

I selfishly wanted this album to be terrible so I could shoehorn in a smug ‘Sad Plight of Konkhra‘ reference in the review, but as it stands the album is actually pretty decent and has some good moments that remind me why they were almost a huge deal in the 90s.

10 songs in 46 minutes “The Truth” erupts in those Sepultura/ Soulfly beats, mentioned above.  Gruff vocals, mixed with melodic spoken word moments, and immediately the catchiness is on high display.  The polyrhythms are exceptional as are the use of bongos, alongside the drum moments.  This mid-paced groove heavy song is scorching.  The atmospheric moments towards the end, are excellent before the song kicks back into that groove heavy beat.

“Not Getting in Line” starts with a fast thrash beat, before slowing into a groove moment, then quick little blast beats, then slow down and back and forth until the thrash beat comes back in.  Some excellent guitar work and the isolated vocal lines at the 1.15 part before the harsher vocals come in with the song title yelled out, is a thing of beauty.  This song has pinch harmonics and a super cool guitar solo, towards the end.  The band has a variety of tempo changes, however they return to the main riffs/vocal lines multiple times during the song and throughout the album making this a very memorable album.

“Walk With Us” has a very old-school Fear Factory sound to it, think the Obsolete album.  Extraordinary catchy vocal tones and choruses run throughout this song, from the gruff to the actual singing and spoken word moments erupting in a 360 degree experience.  The 2.40 moment with the excellent spoken vocal moments, then right into the heavy groove with the multitude of sounds and tribal instrumentation is breathtaking, as it is heavy.

“Home” really brings in the West African influence, and this has a strong Sepultura Roots flair to it.  Heavy groove with beatdown riffs and pinch harmonics.  About halfway through the song, the tribal moments take center stage with the beautiful vocals.  This moment is excellent and of course the band gets back into the heavy moments with all the band chipping in with the vocals.

“Asrafo” is a relentless display of Meshuggah djent style polyrhythms and thrash moments ready to split your head open.  This song is chaotic and never loses its catchiness.  The song even takes pauses to bring in those tribal musical and vocal moments.  Excellent drum work and nods to early Soulfly are highly evident in this song, with a ton of originality to boot.

Dzikkuh is a highly ambitious and forward-thinking metal album from Arka’n Asrafokor.  I am mesmerized by how catchy this album is, as it is brutal and beautiful at the same time.  The variety of vocals, tones, instruments, tribal sounds/beats, and atmospheric moments all gel perfectly together.  This will definitely make my year-end list.  If you are looking for something pretty darn original, heavy and tribal, that is beyond catchy, you must check out Arka’n Asrafokor immediately.  Brilliant album!!

–Frank Reynolds

In this case, the egg is the 20^th Anniversary edition of one of my favorite albums of all time, the seminal Ashes of the Wake. Wait, wasn’t there a 15^th anniversary reissue? Yes, yes there was. As for the “trying time,” just look around you. Shortly before finishing up this review, what many sadly consider a legitimate POTUS candidate in the good ol’ US of A literally trampled the graves of servicemen and used them as props for a campaign ad. It’s easy to draw parallels between gripes of “Dubya” and the war on which this album is based to Rumple Thinskin himself, but after this paragraph, I will try my best to not mention it again.

Of course, the burners are still here with fan favorites “Laid to Rest,” “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For,” and perhaps my favorite song in the band’s entire discography, “Omerta.” There’s not much to say about those tracks that hasn’t been. So that is going to take us into the bonus content, which begins with a pre-production demo of “Laid to Rest.” I really enjoy this version because of the subtle differences. Ashes of the Wake was never in need of a remix or remaster, so it’s nice to hear one of its most popular tracks in this early form. Specifically, the production on the demo is a little dirtier, and it sounds vicious. Randy was clearly still working out his vocal patterns and cadence, which gives the track a different feel. If anything, I recommend checking this out.

That pre-production demo is not worth the price for buying it, though. Unfortunately, the other two demos don’t do much for me. Unlike your mother.

That brings me to the remixes. The first one is of “Another Nail for Your Coffin,” remixed by Kublai Khan and Malevolence. Randy’s vocal parts are replaced in spots by each band’s respective frontman. I am a huge fan of Randy and particularly the power of his vocals, so I’m perplexed as to why someone would want to take this on and insert their own. However, the track sounds excellent, and the vocals work well, so it’s a winner.

The next one is “Laid to Rest” remixed by HEALTH. They essentially turn it into a dance/house music number. Being that I’m not into this style, despite people constantly telling me I would love it as if I have no idea what it is, I’m indifferent on this one. This is an instance of “why mess with a good thing?”

The last remix is Justin K Broadrick’s remix of “Omerta.” The original is perhaps my favorite Lamb of God track, but it’s Justin Broadrick, so this should be fun. If you immediately get images of Godflesh, this isn’t far from it. The guitar tone is a lot deeper and perhaps even warmer, but also maintains that industrial machine sound. This is a completely different song in many ways. While it’s cool on its own and as a novelty, I can’t find myself returning to it over the original.

See who gives a fuck, shall we? Honestly, I can only see diehards getting into this or purchasing it. There’s just not much here if you’ve already heard the album. The bonus tracks could have just been released digitally or as an EP. I also understand a reissue if an album has been out for a while to introduce new fans, but there was also one 5 years ago, so meh. The bonus tracks are worth a listen, but I don’t recommend rushing out and buying it, which is a rarity for me.

All I can say is that cover is the most metal cover I’ve seen in a while, and the music contained within is just as fucking good. But now I want some want Rumple Minze now….

Somewhat accurately promoted as a sort of Southern metal/death metal version of Pantera, meets classic Sepultura,  I AM certainly fit that bill a little. But, while they do imbue a sort of Swampy, Southern take on hefty death/thrash metal, where they truly shine, and I mean REALLY fucking deliver the goods is grooooooove. I mean a metric-fuckton of groove- sweaty, hefty, pummeling, head snapping grooves for days.

Seriously, the first two songs alone, “The Primal Wave” and fucking killer “Surrender to the Blade” have enough killer lopes and grooves that the plate in my neck came loose. And not just due to the Randy Leboeuf (The Acacia Strain, Kublai Khan) mix and master, though it helps.

The third song “The Iron Gate” slows things down a bit (as does the disgustingly swampy “Queen Infernal”) with a moodier but still hefty lumber before the title track delivers a more high octane, beefy thrash number. “Vicious Instinct” enforces the Pantera vibe a bit, but I could also hear some of these riffs on a faster Crowbar tune like “Infernal Panther”, “Eye Candy” or slow-burning “Heaven of Earth”.  But it’s the opening duo and tracks like “The Price of Pain” and “Manic Cure” that will get you moving, and those are the surefire highlights of Eternal Steel.

With Crowbar, Bodysnatcher, Malevolence, Noctem, and now I AM being released this year, MNRK (formerly eOne Entertainment) is having, if anything, a fucking heavy fucking year.

So, allow me to explain. There are certainly choices with which I do not agree on this album, but I didn’t write it. However, if you don’t like Robb, and think his other work is pretentious, you’ll find several reasons to support your opinion here. However, I’ve never disliked the guy and love some of his output. He’s polarizing, therefore making his band as such, and that will likely continue.

Let’s finally talk about the music. The opener isn’t bad. The intro and build is slow before “Slaughter the Martyr” gets moving. It’s standard Machine Head in several ways. There’s a decent vocal hook in the chorus, heavy riffing, and outstanding lead guitar work with a couple of minutes left. However, it begins slowly, ends slowly, and is slightly over 10 minutes.

The next one, “Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate,” balances out the length of the first by being about 1/3 as long. This could be described as a bit of a throwback to the thrashy side of the band, with some death metal bellows, and an excellent solo section. It’s not bad but shows a problem.

That problem has nothing to do with the music itself, but when one looks at the album title, as well as the song titles and sees the appearance of the letter “o,” you’ll probably notice it like I did and sigh.

On that note, if you thought you might get away from Robb’s clear liberal politics (which doesn’t bother me since I also lean hard left), “Kill Thy Enemies,” proves that you will not. After listening, I’m not sure how to take the chorus, but the lyrics throughout make it clear he’s speaking about a certain cult in the United States. Other than that, the clean vocals are excellent in the bridge, and of course the guitar leads are excellent. Despite mixed messaging, this is one of my favorite tracks on the album.

“Rotten,” however… is… fucking… not.

I bet you’re thinking; “Wow, I didn’t expect a positive review.” Neither did I. I said it was “not good” to our teethofthedivine staff group chat, and I feel like I need to eat some crow because this is good. In fact, it’s the best album from the band since Unto the Locust. It’s full of dynamics, heavy riffing, and great hooks. The album’s pacing is also terrific, considering it’s 13 tracks in an hour. What I’m saying is that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. It’s probably not going to change your mind about Machine Head or Robb, no matter on which side of the fence you stand, but if you have ever liked them in the past, I’m willing to bet you’ll enjoy this as I have.

As for me – oh, there’s still plenty to work on… But I like to think I’m going in the right direction! For example, when I was a kid, I liked to tell myself I wasn’t a judgmental person… but of fucking course I was! This was especially true when it came to the world of metal. If a band had the wrong look, followed the wrong trend, I wrote them off almost immediately, giving them absolutely no chance to provide any kind of joy in my life. It’s one thing to have personal preferences – that’s normal and fair – it’s another thing entirely to just write them off as having no merit as musicians. That’s shitty and dumb!

I bring this up because Sweden’s The Unguided are a pretty good example of a band that, for too long, I completely disregarded for idiotic and superficial reasons. Featuring former members of Sonic Syndicate, with their stupid hair and mascara and Monster-Energy-everything, there was no way my UBER METAL SELF could ever find joy in such lame ridiculousness. FUCKING POSERS! 

Ugh.

If you are a better person than I and have avoided such personal and trivial trappings, good job! You’ve then likely had more time to embrace and enjoy what is genuinely a fun, upbeat band creating a highly accessible and catchy-as-all-fuck blend of modern Melodeth and Metalcore that, if you’ll allow it, will put a grin on your face and easily get your head banging. I’m glad I finally did.

To those of you already familiar with the act – rest assured you’ll certainly be pleased with this one. Though I was late to embracing them, a look at their back catalogue shows the band hasn’t really strayed far from the formula over their near-decade: A good dose of Scar Symmetry or Engel, with some more modern In Flames and Rise to Fall thrown in the mix, and some good ‘ol American Metalcore ala’ Still Remains or even As I Lay Dying adding some more heft as well. We’re not talking a super original sound here, but it’s delivered with the confidence of musicians who’ve been doing this thing for quite a while now. The band is still employing a healthy dose of synth orchestration as well to give the whole package an epic, grandiose feel that certainly has a lot of impact. “Childhood’s End” gets the album started with a full helping of what the band has going for them: a nice mix of speedy and chunky riffs, infectious and melodic choruses, and a nice little buildup to a simple but effective lead before launching into a sweet breakdown. Nothing earth-shattering here, but fun! It actually gives me a little bit of a Blackguard vibe, which I’m more than happy to indulge in.

The band has certainly continued to embrace their electronic leanings as well, letting the synths shine through on the very Christian Alvestam-inspired “Never Yield” and “War of Oceans.”  After an almost anime theme-like open to “Fate’s Hand,” guitarists Jonathan Thorpenberg and Roger Sjunnesson break out one of the record’s more hadbang-y, heavy riffs, before a super-catchy, soaring melody breaks in and leads the way to a sing-along chorus that’d been lodged in my brain since first listen. After another nice breakdown sees that song out, follow-up “Stand Alone Complex” keeps the heft going – chuggy riffs, layered with some cool synth overlays – it’s a recipe for a good time. The song is one of the album’s best, complete with a huge anthem of a chorus.

And of course, this band is still more than happy to slow things down and break out the ballads. “Where Love Comes To Die” wears it’s bleeding heart on it’s sleeve, and while it understandably might not by every metalhead’s cup of tea, does serve nicely to break up the proceedings. “Lance of Longinus” on the other hand, strikes a much more balanced approach of emotion and strength, providing one of the albums more epic tracks and surprising me by being one of it’s strongest.

The bottom line is this – The Unguided know what they’re here to do, and on Father Shadow they’ve, once again, done it very well. My ridiculous refusal to give this band the light of day is now a thing of the past. There’s a whole lot to like here, and I’m going to thoroughly enjoy it without any shame. Chances are I’m not changing anyone’s opinion of these guys – but if you’re like me and haven’t allowed yourself to even give them a chance… just do it. It’s 2020 and we’ll all be dead soon anyway, so what can it hurt?

Not only am I (probably) incorrect regarding their origin story, I am also a fool for thinking they’re a new band as this is their third full length. Upon first listen, I received some Gojira vibes mixed with Engel. Remember those guys? No, you don’t. Wait! One of their albums was reviewed here? What the hell…?

If that comparison turned you off, keep in mind I said “upon first listen.” After a while, like love in a lengthy relationship, that feeling fades away.

As for the music, opener “At The Front” has a pretty good hook and groove, as well as an all too short solo near the end. I’m more reminded now after several listens of a combination between Fear Factory and Strapping Young Lad.

The SYL comparison really takes hold on “Open Eye.” . The groove itself is very reminiscent even though the vocals aren’t necessarily. If you’re hard of hearing, you may mistake them for Hevy Devy himself. Once again, these guys know how to write a hook.

Throughout its runtime, there are many standouts. If you’re looking for groove, go with the tracks mentioned above. You could also listen to “Mirrorslave,” which has a Gojira mixed with radio rock vibe because of the mostly clean vocals. The only growls in the track come with about a minute left, which maximizes their impact.

If for some reason you’re thinking; “I need a break from all of this groove,” first of all, you’re a moron, but if that’s truly what your heart desires, you can sink your little baby chompers into “Rebirth.” Do you see what I did? “Baby chompers…?” The song title? Of course, this track is the slowest on the album and pretty close to what one would call a ballad. At least for the first couple minutes. The chorus may be the best one on display here. This track still goes through many movements and changes throughout its nearly 6-minute runtime where you may ask yourself if you’re still listening to the same song.

Well, Orbit Culture certainly took me by surprise. This is definitely metal of the more accessible variety. The influences are displayed out in the open for all to see, but what they do, they do very well. I’ve heard albums with Gojira influences and I’ve heard some which sometimes sound like blatant rip offs. Despite how good it is, Irist’s Order of the Mind from this year, they’re more in the latter category, whereas Orbit Culture is in the former. Orbit Culture forges their own path here. I recommend picking it up because it’s well worth your time and money. If you’re like me, after listening, you’ll probably make it a point to pick up their previous releases, too. I enjoy this one from start to finish.

I have never been happier to be dead wrong. I’m going to buck the norm here and give you my conclusion up front, then explain why. Take that, society! This is their best album since Sacrament. It may be better, in fact. This is Lamb of God re-energized. It has the production of their latter era albums, the speed and sense of urgency of New American Gospel/As the Palaces Burn, and incorporates a lot of new tricks. Is it the new blood of Chris Adler’s replacement Art Cruz or is it something else?

The opening track begins with some spoken word by Randy, which I have heard compared to Pete Steele of Type O Negative fame. I don’t really hear it since I’m a massive fan of Type O Negative and Lamb of God, but I can understand the comparison. The child’s voice whispering “wake up” foreshadows a bit as those are the first words Randy screams when the riff kicks in. It’s a pretty good riff, too. Standard for the band? Sure. It also includes a good chorus. There’s a breakdown, too, which happens with a little less than 2 minutes left. There’s a significant build towards it as well. I can see this going over well with the crowd whenever the hell we get live shows back…

I want to skip ahead a bit and talk about the hardcore “BLECH” at the beginning of “Resurrection Man.” In fact, let’s just talk about the song itself. Upon first listen, I loved it. In my opinion, it’s the best song they have written since “Walk with Me in Hell” or “Redneck” from Sacrament. The vocals at the beginning are some of the deepest I’ve heard from Randy in a while. The guitar riff itself isn’t dissimilar to the aforementioned “Walk with Me in Hell,” but it the deeper guitar tone on this recording shines through. With about two minutes left, that’s where this song really kicks you in the teeth. There’s a slow breakdown, followed by a fast riff, then another heavy breakdown to end the track.

Then, we get to the guests’ area of the album. After “Resurrection Man” comes “Poison Dream,” which includes a guest appearance from Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed. The track after that is called “Routes,” which features Chuck Billy of Testament. In the digital download, the track featuring Chuck mentions that he is, the one with Jamey doesn’t mention him, so take that for what you will. Jamey is, however, only featured in one part of his track, while Chuck appears throughout his. Maybe that’s the difference. Out of the two, I would say “Poison Dream” with Chuck is superior as his voice is unmistakable and of course makes one think of his primary band.

I want to mention track 9 as well, which is called “Bloodshot Eyes.” I wanted to bring up this track because it includes those clean vocals Randy employed for their last album. Perhaps it’s because it is no longer new, but Randy sounds more confident and they also don’t sound forced. On their previous album, I like them and felt they fit, but, yes, they did seem a little forced. In this instance, I feel they carry the track quite well.

As I mentioned from the beginning, this is not just another Lamb of God album. This is a great Lamb of God album in a world where we all need one. Is it perfect? Of course not. However, if you’ve not ever cared for them, this won’t bring you in or change your mind. If you’ve liked them even just a little in the past, I would bet on you enjoying this, too. I have had trouble pulling myself away from it. At the end of the day, a great Lamb of God album in this colossal, wet bag of garbage year makes it a little more tolerable.

So 3 years later here is a short, 5 track, stop-gap follow up EP, and now that I have a bit more of an appreciation for the band and especially for Shmailyuk’s vocals. Smartly, the band has realized that Shmailyuk should be front and center, and allowed to be more diverse and use more of her stunning clean vocals along with her impressive, Gossow- like bellows. Truly, she is a star in the making.

That said, there isn’t a “Pisces” ish track amid these 5 songs. Standout “Perennial” comes the closest with a nice clean late song break, but isn’t quite as enchanting as “Pisces”. The 0ther 3 songs (closer “Micro” is a short instrumental), are much more of a combination of the band’s now more developed tech, djent, groove metal that’s far more intricate and skillful as well as memorable than before.

There’s a sort of Fallujah meets Taproot,meets Opeth texture that’s truly elevated by Shmailyuk’s evocative croons and powerful death metal growls, that makes tracks like “Ape”, “Dreadful Moments” and “Teacher, Teacher” more than just modern metal, as you wait to see what Shmailyuk will do next (though I could have done without the rap start to “Teacher, Teacher”).

While  bigger bands like Arch Enemy and In This Moment are putting females vocalists front and center, Shmailyuk has the makings of the next great metal front woman that as a similar duality as Courtney Laplate formerly of Iwrestledabearonce, but with an improved, more digestible, palatable metal delivery and could be the next star in the scene.