Tuesday's Metal Releases

Atheist - Unquestionable Presence: Live At Wacken (Relapse)
Bone Gnawer - Feast Of Flesh (Pulverised)
City Of Ships - Look What God Did To Us (Translation Loss)
Culted - Below The Thunders Of The Upper Deep (Relapse)
Eagle Twin - The Unkindness Of Crows (Southern Lord)
Hail Of Bullets - Warsaw Rising EP (Metal Blade)

He Is Legend - It Hates You (Tragic Heroes Records)

Howl - Howl EP (Relapse)
KISS - KISSology: The Ultimate Kiss Collection, Vol. 2: 1978-1991 (Eagle Vision)

Memphis May Fire - Sleepwalking (Trustkill)
Michael Schenker - Walk the Stage: The Official Bootleg Box Set (EMI)

Skinlab - The Scars Between Us (Stand And Deliver)

Stryper - Murder By Pride (Big 3 Records)
Thornafire - Vorex Deconstrucción (Ibex Moon)
Valkyrja - The Invocation Of Demise (Metal Blade)
Various Artists - Global Metal DVD (Warner)

Voivod - Infini (Relapse)

THOUGHTS:  There is no band here that is going to sell high numbers, its a very underground week.  I actually took the time to listen to all these bands stuff, since I really wouldnt be able to pick a winner for the week without doing that.  EAGLE TWIN.  Where the hell did they come from?  Its always doomy, always metal and sometimes even death metal.... but, it's also bluesy and kind of stoner-ish.  If Eagles Of Death Metal made a doom metal album this would be it.  No, thats not right- if Sunn O))) went pop and hooked up with Monster Magnet this would be it.  No, not that either, but you get the idea.  

The Relapse bands: As for Atheist, I am not sure how high the demand is for an Athesist live double cd, but if you like these guys its a pretty solid set of songs, and sounds fairly live.  There is no doubt there is some studio help going on.  No live vocals sound like that.  Culted is the other Relapse band, and unlike Atheist they sound like a typical Relapse band- down tempo black metal.   Like most of the stuff on this label, I like it.  It actually has a creepier vibe than most down tempo bands, and reminds me a bit of Maniac's (ex-Mayhem) new band, Skitliv.   Last but not least, Voivod- these guys days are over (this is the last album with songs & riffs written by late guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour before his death in 2005).  It's not an easy task to take unfinished material and mix it with their own new ideas, so I gotta give them credit.  The opening track is my favorite on the album.

Hail Of Bullets is pretty cool because is definitely death metal, but it has a lot of change in tempo, and a lot of it is slow. 

Styper- laugh all you want, but Michael Sweet can sing.  

And good God- another unnecessary box set of the same old KISS songs.... that I will buy.