Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genres: Melodic Death Metal, Technical Metalcore
Label: Victory Records

I knew I was buying a metalcore album when I bought it. It was brand new and shiny, and it’s adorned with John Baizley’s art, so I needed it.
That’s right, I bought it for the cover art.
But, naturally, I’m not going to buy a CD without at least listening to it once.
And I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t generally like metalcore, but goddamn do Darkest Hour really do it for me. These guys take metalcore and throw in sweep picking, arpeggios, and alternate picking and make it more like melodic death metal (but I guess college for music will do that to you). But, their punk influences are still here and in your face. This odd combo makes Deliver Us really COOL sounding.
Deep bass makes me happy too. It’s heavy like lead.
Plus, for all you haters of metalcore’s clichés, there is no whiney choruses or lame breakdowns, and Devin Townsend was the producer, engineer, and mixer. Have you ever known Heavy Devy to fuck around? Me neither.
I’ll be getting more of Darkest Hour for sure. 7 out of 10.

- General Blaspheme

Genres: Deathcore, Melodic Death Metal, Technical Death Metal
Label: Century Media

Never afraid to be pioneers in death metal, Cryptopsy pretty much creates a new subgenre with this release. When I bought the CD I was more or less expecting Once Was Not II. And it kind of seemed that was going to happen at the start of the album, just with a different singer. And keyboards.
Then the new singer began to sing. With a very nice voice. And it was not forced at all, like too many metalcore bands. It fits the songs, and quite frankly, it kicks ass.
Sorry haters. I know some people are gonna start reading this and say to themselves “Fuck yeah, this guy is gonna bash those sellouts!” No. Not me. I don’t share many people’s views on this album as it being Cryptopsy’s sellout album. I see it as Cryptopsy’s logical growth album.
They’ve done pretty much everything there is to do in death metal, so why not do the one thing they haven’t done? And, while they are at it, show that they are still better than 99% of the people who do this type of thing already? Think about it folks. If they didn’t make this album, and make it better than anyone else could, they would not be leaders in death metal. They would not be The Unspoken King. 9 out of 10.

Genres: Technical Death Metal
Label: Century Media

Beginning with one of the prettiest songs I’ve ever heard as an intro (“Luminium”), a gorgeous classical guitar strums slowly, gradually picking up speed, making you relax yet expectant at the same time while some keys in the background add a bit of ambience.
Then suddenly you get transported into hell itself (“In the Kingdom Where Everything Dies, the Sky Is Mortal”). A crushing, doomy riff hits then gives way to Flo Mournier’s sick drumming, super brutal guitars, and a Metalgasmic scream from Lord Worm at 1:03 heralds the intense destruction of all you thought death metal could be. Beyond technical, the whole album is one giant mindfuck for the uninitiated.
This CD is fuck near perfect, 9 out of 10.