You know when your band name has become a rallying cry for an entire genre that you must have done something right. In Slayer's case, they've done quite a bit right – and they've been doing it for awhile now. It seems as if none of the members have any illusions that they will top the insurmountable Reign in Blood, as their album progression has been largely free of a forced and overdone sound. Why try to top it, anyway? Both albums that followed, South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss, were considerably slower and more…

Hopefully there are plenty of bands that come to mind when the term “unique metal” is tossed out; otherwise, much needs to be done to keep the genre out of stagnation. North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me is just such an act for the occasion – a group thrust into the heavy metal consciousness with 2005's Alaska and given even more attention with the critically acclaimed Colors two years later. Progressive metal is often a vague and unwieldy descriptor of a band, but BtBaM combine so many genres in their music—metalcore, death metal, technical metal, non-metal, etc.—that a blanket…

Scar Symmetry emerged in 2005 as one of the forerunners of a new wave of Swedish melodic death metal, progressing from the Gothenburg titans of the mid-90s into a new sound that emphasizes epic choruses and layered songwriting. Just a year later, they followed up their debut with the astounding Pitch Black Progress, and in 2008, made even more of an impact with Holographic Universe. While the transition from debut to acclaimed sophomore album took only one year, would they be able to repeat this success with 2009's Dark Matter Dimensions? It might not be a fair…

If hype thrives in the passage of time, then Alice in Chains' first album in 14 years will be a prime target for the cynic in all of us. Sure, some bands have returned from a long hiatus with their excellence still intact (like Cynic, in delicious irony), but others have faltered in their pursuit of resurrected glory (Guns N' Roses, for example). So when one of the most popular rock acts of the early 90s decided to give it another shot in 2009, skepticism couldn't be avoided. Perhaps the most pressing issue, however, wasn't time,…

Like it or not, hardcore punk and heavy metal have been mixing since the 1980s with the advent of crossover thrash. The unity of two aggressive, uptempo musical styles paved the way for other blends – most notably the rise of metalcore around the end of the millennium, and recently, the emergence of deathcore. Canada's Despised Icon has been running with this new subgenre since 2002, making them one of the more respected practitioners of deathcore. 2007's The Ills of Modern Man defined how a genre treading on thin ice could actually transcend trendy mediocrity and become something much more.…

Despite all of frontman Dave Mustaine's grumbling, Megadeth has actually become one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time. Sure, the fact that he's second to Metallica gets under his skin, and perhaps rightly so, but the musical juggernaut he's managed single-handedly for over two decades is nothing to balk at. It's not just financial gain, either; Megadeth, like all members of the Big Four of Thrash, is a key band in the history of the genre. 1986's Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? joined Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood in one of the best years…

Line-up changes happen all the time in metal music, and for a variety of reasons – not all of them need to be negative. But every time a band that's established themselves loses a key and seemingly irreplaceable member, the situation starts looking bleak. When vocalist Christian Älvestam announced he was departing from Scar Symmetry after four years and three albums, fans of the melodic death band were understandably disappointed. Here's one of metal's best vocalists, able to harness a powerful grunt and then effortlessly switch to a beautiful singing voice in a split second, and he's no longer a…

Upon the release of their 2006 debut Under Reprisal, some hailed Threat Signal as the second coming of Fear Factory. The Canadian quintet certainly packed the same visceral punch in its melody-infused sonic assaults, and quite a few tracks were memorable, but Demanufacture it was not. Of course, it's not entirely fair to expect a band's first album to be the pinnacle of a genre, and literally "When All Is Said and Done,” Under Reprisal is actually executed rather well. Now, three years later, we have their sophomore release to scrutinize. Vigilance is, at best, a…

If tragedy hadn't befallen Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, then August might have been the month for Polish death metal. Still, even without Decapitated's technical finesse, Behemoth's Evangelion and Vader's Necropolis are more than welcome additions to careers already proven by time (in Vader's case, more than 20 years). Speaking of Decapitated, Vitek's brother, Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka, took over guitar duties for Vader just last year. Likewise, frontman, founder, and only remaining original member Piotr “Peter” Wiwczarek recruited a new drummer and bass player around the same time. He's the Dave Mustaine of death metal, minus the Christianity. Line-up…

By their penchant for corpse paint, you might mistake Poland's Behemoth for a no-frills black metal quartet or a KISS tribute band. Neither would be entirely accurate, but their aesthetic is certainly tied to their roots in Norway's favorite metal genre. But Behemoth has come a long way from the straight-up black metal of 1995 debut Sventevith (Storming Near the Baltic); the ninth studio album in their catalogue, Evangelion, is another example of solid blackened death metal with more death than black.

Note: Please read the rest of my review at my Examiner.com page!