Self-released 2 hour + set from the band's first live performance in over 13 years. Band sounded like they never split and tore through a 23 song set spanning their whole career. I honorably admit to fighting back tears during the opening strains of 'Crime Scene Part 1'.

Crushingly heavy, darkly atmospheric, emotionally poignant, and never less than utterly enthralling, Devil Sold His Soul combine devastating force and haunting melody in a unique and involving blend that is as hypnotic as it is moving. In the years since their inception, the band have inspired a passionate and devoted following in the UK underground, touring relentlessly and exercising an extreme level of quality control over their musical output, every release maintaining their signature sound while marking a profound leap forward from that which preceded .

Having rounded out its trilogy of self-titled albums with 2009's Billy III, Toronto's Billy Talent starts fresh with 2012's Dead Silence. Although the band had already explored a mix of pop-punk, emo-rock, post-hardcore, and classic rock on Billy III, Dead Silence seems to further balance these sounds with a deft exuberance. Overall, the sound on Dead Silence isn't that different from the band's previous work, but is certainly some of the best work they've done. This is at least in part due to the strong social and political messages woven throughout the album. The melodic, ‘60s pop-sounding "Stand Up and Run” proves the band has as much of a knack for pop craftsmanship as punk irreverence. Ultimately, if Billy Talent was working through its influences on Billy I , II, and III, then with Dead Silence, the band has finally figured out its own perfect blend.

The lords of Satanic Speed Metal, CHAPEL, have just released their kick-ass album Satan’s Rock & Roll via Invictus Productions, on sale HERE. Every song on this 10-song monster kicks the fucking teeth of authority in! From the first song “Rock N Roll From Hell” till the last tune “Hellrazors,” CHAPEL brings gnarly riffs dipped in murder acid. While blasting this, you will find yourself involuntarily head banging to all of these caustic jams.

Though the band emerged on the fringes of nü-metal, one of metal's more unfortunate pushes into the mainstream, Deftones' steady shift toward a more artful, experimental sound has made them one of the more enduring and influential groups to come out of the '90s. In their continued exploration of the intersection of heaviness and harmony, Koi No Yokan finds the band returning with a warm, dreamy sound that feels more like heavy dream pop or shoegaze than light metal.

While France might not be particularly well known for its post-hardcore, they have assembled one extremely fine export in General Lee. Their third full-length, Raiders of the Evil Eye, is a passionate, possessive record that goes for the throat from its opening seconds. The focus is unquestionably on the triumvirate of guitars that provide both the engine and texture of General Lee’s sound, the disparate tones woven together in a dense, reverberating braid, swooping around each other in counterpoint or drawing tightly together to cinch a sonic knot. Raiders of the Evil Eye isn’t just about manhandling the listener, however; it doesn’t just want to take, it wants you to give in. There is a pleading element to “Medusa Howls with the Wolves” that walks the line between begging and coercion, often swinging back and forth between the two. “Alone With Everybody” is the highlight; it’s a powerful melancholy track that relies on the echoing distance of the relatively sparse drumming and palpable yearning in the strings to draw the listener in. This is a late-flowering gem. (Play The Assassin)

Elizabeth are a fairly new band from Geneva, Switzerland. Elizabeth play a great style of blackened, metallic, and crust influenced hardcore. Elizabeth's debut EP entitled Where Vultures Land consists of eight tracks of blazing, metallic, and crust inspired music that's a definite must for fans of Alpinist, Cursed, Trap Them, Rise And Fall and Victims.

In five albums, Coheed and Cambria have unveiled The Amory Wars, a sci-fi/prog-rock epic following a hero’s harrowing intergalactic struggle to unearth the truth surrounding his parents’ death and overthrow an evil tyrant. Until now, the story has featured dense lyrics crafted by a nerdy F. Scott Fitzgerald, characters with the black-and-white morals and grace of a geek-friendly Harper Lee, and grand, intricate story arcs that would make regular George R. R. Martin giddy. But for album six, The Afterman: Ascension (the first of a double album), the band eschews aliens and spaceships for the most bizarre construct of all: genuine emotions.

Along with being America's hardest-rocking two-man band, Local H deserve a great deal more credit than they get for keeping the rich tradition of the concept album alive. From 1996's As Good as Dead onward, most of Local H's albums have been centered around a particular theme -- small-town losers, a rock band's failed bid for the big time, a relationship on the skids -- and if they don't usually have a proper narrative, the ebb and flow of the songs equals significantly more than the sum of their parts. Most of Local H's albums have involved the travails of frontman Scott Lucas or an unreliable narrator much like him, but 2012's Hallelujah! I'm a Bum finds him aiming for a bigger, more inclusive story. Hallelujah! I'm a Bum is a mordant study of the State of the Union, a snapshot of American life as lived in Chicago, Illinois in 2012, and in Lucas' view, it pretty much stinks. Nearly 20 years into their recording career, Local H are not only still making great music, but have released their bravest, most provocative, and most ambitious album to date, and Hallelujah! I'm a Bum is a powerful look into a side of America that will be uncomfortably familiar to nearly everyone who hears it.

Finnish epic metal band Wintersun’s second studio album ‘Time I’ has been in the making for several years now, and much to the delight of the band’s fans worldwide, it’s now ready for release on October 19th in Europe and October 23rd in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. Vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and principal songwriter Jari Mäenpää had the vision of this enormous concept album, and he kept adding musical layers to it. Straightaway, the vast diversity of instruments and sounds is evident on the first track “When Time Fades Away”. Rather than being a tune of its own, it’s more like an epic intro that’s building up to something spectacular. And as I expected, “Sons Of Winters And Stars” is indeed spectacular. With the beginning of this incredible track, the album explodes into life and the guitars, drums and vocals kick in all at once. The 13-and-a-half minute track is made up of four smaller tracks, with the first two staying relentlessly heavy and fast. Then the track changes course on the 3rd part, with the introduction of acoustic guitars and Jari shifting to soft, crooning vocals. Part 4 is very much like a melodic death metal segment, and brings the track to an end.“Land Of Snow And Sorrow” is a more straightforward tune in comparison to its predecessor, even though it’s by no means simple in itself. But its standout feature is its sheer musical richness rather than its progressive nature. There’s more than the occasional influx of acoustic guitars which is a sound I personally love more than anything else used on this album. “Darkness And Frost” is a beautiful little interlude with yet more acoustic guitar brilliance alongside a variety of other dreamy sounds. The moment when this track ends and the title track “Time” begins, that’s absolutely the highlight of this album, because the part played on the acoustic guitar in “Darkness And Frost” forms the basis of “Time”, but is played on the electric. That transition is beyond amazing. If you’ve stayed with the album till this point, you’ve obviously enjoyed what you’ve heard on the first four tracks, but “Time” really takes your ears and imagination to the absolute pinnacle of pleasure. As strange as it might sound, it took me a while to finish listening to the whole track at once because I kept going back to little parts of the track and repeatedly listened to them. But to listen to the entire track was simply mind-blowing. It gives the apt finishing touch to this masterpiece, and leaves fans eager for the sequel.

did you listen to scott lucas solo album this year TK? i think it will end up on my top 20

Unless I missed it...no japandroids???

elizabeth...now that looks interesting

i'd enjoy an elizabeth full length

i'd enjoy an elizabeth full length

Sell me on this Devil Sold His Soul record. I was listening to snippets on iTunes. Some of it (No Remorse, No Regrets; Sorrow Plagues) sounded right up my alley. Some of it sounded like a record Linkin Park would make if they had just gone on an Explosions in the Sky binge, which was less appealing.