THIS WEEK ON ALTPRESS.COM

DR. ACULA
Slander (Victory)

Long Island sextet Dr. Acula have come a long way since the “party grind” of Below Me and The Social Event of the Century. Their music is slower and heavier now, moving into the chest-beating deathcore territory of Emmure, The Acacia Strain and Chelsea Grin. The movie and TV dialogue samples that have riddled all their releases are still there, of course, spicing things up and adding an additional layer of satirical bite—as though an album with a song called “Cocaine Avalanche” needs more jokes. It doesn’t, not when it’s got riffs this potent. Slander is more than just a parade of sludgy breakdowns—the party synths add some texture, but so do the occasional bursts of pop-punk and even melodic death-metal riffage on tracks like “Pure And Immature Goon” and “Who You Gonna Call?!” There’s a passage toward the end of the latter track that could have come from a Black Dahlia Murder album. With Slander, Dr. Acula have grown from a joke band into a group worth attention and respect, without losing their sense of humor. [Link]

THE FAMINE
The Architects of Guilt (Solid State)

It seems pretty clear that Texas-based death-metal band The Famine like The Black Dahlia Murder a lot. That’s fine; lots of people do. But there are a few moves cribbed straight from the BDM playbook on The Architects of Guilt, including but not limited to the screech-and-growl vocals, the melodic solos tucked into death-metal riff-storms and the ability to write songs that are damn close to catchy while staying extreme. Oh, and then there’s the fact that The Famine use the exact same font as The Black Dahlia Murder for their name. But don’t blow this album off just because it has some superficial similarities to the work of another (excellent) band; The Architects of Guilt is the work of an assured and talented group of musicians. Drummer Mark Garza’s playing is particularly impressive, adding unexpected subtlety to “Bigger Cages, Longer Chains!” while jackhammering the listener into submission on “The Crown And The Holy See” and “Ad Mortem.” Bassist-turned-vocalist Nick Nowell’s upper-register delivery is more powerful and unnerving than his death-metal roars, but he’s always a compelling presence, and guitarist Andrew Godwin offers catchy riffs and squiggly solos, as well as chugging breakdowns reminiscent of Demiricous’ excellent, overlooked Two (Poverty). This is the album you want to play for anyone who thinks Texas metal died with Dimebag Darrell. [Link]

THIS WEEK ON ALTPRESS.COM

CHELSEA GRIN
Desolation of Eden (Artery/Razor & Tie)
Salt Lake City-based six-piece Chelsea Grin have all the deathcore basics down. The galloping, triggered double-bass drums; the pinched squeals of guitar at the end of downtuned riffs; the ultra-low breakdowns; the vocals that alternate gut-churning growls with witchy screeches. That's all superficial, though. What's important is what's uniquely theirs, and that's the feeling of ominous suspense that underpins songs like "False Sense Of Sanity" and the album's title track. The rhythms aren't so much blast beats as tribal throbs, and the riffs come in slow like bombers above an unsuspecting city pre-dawn. The guitar solos aren't spurts of fretboard overstimulation; they're almost the opposite, slow-burning interludes of relative peace not unlike those played by Meshuggah's Fredrik Thordendal (minus the brain-crushing technicality, of course). This is an assured debut by six youngsters with bright futures.

OF MICE & MEN
Of Mice & Men (Rise)
Yes, Of Mice & Men were formed by the former Attack Attack! frontman Austin Carlile. You should keep reading, though; they're nowhere near as awful as that implies. OM&M don't break any new ground--fans of overwrought screaming that leads into piercingly shrill clean vocals, ultra-percussive guitar riffing, and breakdowns every 30 seconds or so will find a slot for this right alongside many similar discs by similar acts. But a few of their attempts to stretch out slightly come off well; the piano at the end of "Second & Sebring," not to mention Carlile's softly crooned vocals that nudge into Coheed And Cambria territory, make it more than a typical screamo riff-display. These guys don't have a damn thing new to say lyrically, and they haven't reinvented (or even re-treaded) the wheel musically, but they're not bad.

The new print edition is out, too, and I've got some stuff in there. In the 100 Bands You Need To Know In 2010 omnibus cover story, I write up Circle of Contempt, Parkway Drive and Stray from the Path; and in the review section, I cover the new discs by Dark Tranquillity and Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi.