Heavy Metal Superfan Blog

This is another week where there's a ton of new metal landing on store shelves, but only a few releases genuinely worth your time. Here's the rundown:

Alice In Chains, Black Gives Way To Blue (Virgin): I don't remember people loving Alice In Chains all that much during the actual grunge era - they had a couple of minor hits ("Man in the Box," "Would?") and one pretty good album, Dirt, but they were hardly world-beaters, even though Jerry Cantrell could write a good riff and Layne Staley's voice was definitely unique. But something about their blend of fatalistic junkie despair and semi-heavy guitar crunch has really stuck with people over the years, because this is one of the most drooled-over comeback albums in recent memory. And it's not totally terrible. In a way, it's a holding action, because all they've done is replace their deceased frontman with new singer William DuVall. They haven't revamped their sound one bit. So if you liked AIC back then, or have come to like them in the years that they've been absent from active duty, well, now they're back.

The Gates Of Slumber, Hymns Of Blood And Thunder (Rise Above): Me, I'll be cranking this monster. The Gates Of Slumber are an Indiana-based band that plays classic metal - doomy biker-rock riffs not that far from the territory plowed by the Obsessed and Saint Vitus, but with cleaner, more epic vocals and some really excellent guitar solos. They tend to offer at least one really long song per album, and this time out it's the nearly 11-minute "Descent into Madness." But the short, punchy riff-fests like album opener "Chaos Calling" are what they really do best. This is a great American metal album by a band that deserves much more attention than they've gotten to date.

Revocation, Existence is Futile (Relapse): Another great one is the second album by Boston-based progressive/melodic thrash/death outfit Revocation. They mix Lamb of God-style riffing with astonishingly fleet and fluid guitar solos, vocals that are just clean enough to be decipherable, and songs that are actual songs, not just collections of breakdowns and screaming. Every few years a band comes along and reinvents metal in its own image - not by changing the genre radically, but by putting its own spin on classic sounds and proving that metal still has a creative future. Past champions of this have included Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Lamb of God, Mastodon, and some would argue Trivium. Well, add Revocation to that list. They are a great band and this is a terrific album.

Also out this week:

Ahab, The Divinity Of Oceans (Napalm): seafaring doom from Germany.
Austrian Death Machine, Double Brutal (Metal Blade): Schwarzenegger-themed comedy thrash; this is the second volume, and the joke's wearing a little thin.
Dethklok, Dethalbum II (Williams Street): More songs from the Metalocalypse cartoons. Again, second volume and the joke's wearing a little thin.
Hatebreed, Hatebreed (E1): The latest in lunkheaded hardcore/metal. They've added guitar solos this time out, though, so that's something.
Om, God Is Good (Drag City): The bassist and drummer from overrated cult stoner band Sleep get all trancey and spiritual.