"Triumvirate"-Black Anvil

I'm really not sure what to write for this. I personally can't get bored of metal; if I have heavy riffs, heavy vocals, heavy beats, it lifts my heavy heart. And Black Anvil has something a lot of metal bands don't: decent vocals. But besides that they sound like most other modern metal bands, which isn't bad, just not particularly interesting. If you like stoner metal, blackened crust, or early black metal (in the vein of Venom and such)then you'll probably be pleased. The first track, "What Is Life If Life Not Now!" is the best track of the album, which unfortunately makes the rest of the album sound kind of mediocre. Maybe I shouldn't be sober when listening to this.

"Gift Horse"-Mose Giganticus

Wow this is weird. So remember how Melvins and Isis went on tour? Remember the travesty of the Melvins opening for Isis (I don't care that it was their last tour the Melvins should never open for anyone)? Mose Giganticus would agree with me, but would've gone to the show and loved every minute of it. This band is seriously what happens when the Melvins fuck Isis and the baby is ripped from the womb. It is really great, and although you could make the outright claim that they're basically a Melvins cover band, that's not the worst thing in the world to be. The band knows exactly what they're doing, all obviously well-trained and passionate about the music they're making. Matt Garfield is a great songwriter, and his lyrics are the opposite of stuff like Kingdom of Sorrow that makes you think metalheads are all brain dead from doing too much meth. "Gift Horse" has one problem in my mind which is it is too short, and I think the world would benefit from a little more material. Not to say that "The Seventh Seal" isn't a solid closer, I just wish there was more in between that and the awesome opening track "Last Resort" which reminds of "The Bit" by the Melvins. Get this album. Saucy's Picks: I'm serious listen to every song. Every single one.

"Behind the Blackest Tear"-Kingdom of Sorrow

Despite the incredibly emo title of this album, (as well as the name of the band), "Behind the Blackest Tear" is a solid metal album. The band classifies itself as sludge metal, but putting fuzz and tuning down your guitar does not make you sludge. The band is more along the lines of early Metallica or Pantera, not so much my cup of tea but I've never been a big fan of the other bands these guys were in, Crowbar, Down, and Hatebreed. It is well-written and features good production, but the lyrics are the epitome of metal stereotypes. I would like to evoke a term invented by a good friend of mine, VAG (Virginia Gentleman), and say this album is the "blurst" or basically a guilty pleasure. Saucy's Picks: "Enlightened to Extinction" is fun, the title track "Behind the Blackest Tear" features some cool, if borderline silly, riffs, and "From Heroes to Dust" invokes a sort of "Enter Sandman" mentality.