May 2008 Best Heavy Metal CDs

His first solo effort was good, but Angl is even better. There are still a lot of progressive elements, but Ihsahn increases the black metal quotient on this one along with sprinkling in gothic, death and traditional metal. He weaves the varied genres into a cohesive package, and the CD has excellent flow.

Ihsahn's vocals are a combination of melodic singing and harsh growls. Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth's contributions on "Unhealer" makes it a standout and very memorable. In addition to the vocals, Ihsahn's guitar talents are also pretty good as he breaks off some excellent solos. Angl is an elegant CD with a lot of depth and complexity, but it also has a dark underbelly that gives it balance.

Death metal and war go hand in hand, and Of Frost And War is a concept album about the Eastern front battles of World War II. Hail Of Bullets plays old school death metal that's straightforward and crushing. They do a nice job of changing up tempos so the album doesn't sound like one long song. The lyrics are interesting, and if you read them you might learn something about history.

Martin van Drunen's vocals are an acquired taste. They are raspy and a bit higher pitched than the usual death metal vocals. They take a while to get used to, but his emotional style is perfect for the album's subject matter. Of Frost And War is old school death metal at its finest.

Programmed To Consume finds Abysmal Dawn expanding and perfecting their sound. The crushing death metal is there, with pummeling blast beats and shredding guitars. They also infuse elements of thrash and black metal that increase the extremity and diversity of the music. The songs range from lighting fast traditional death metal to mid tempo tracks with a lot of groove and melody. There's even some acoustic guitars and a song that's slower and doomy.

Charles Elliot is the band's vocalist, and he shows a wider range on this album as well. His death metal growls are sufficiently angry and brutal, and he also adds some menacing high pitched black metal scream and some evil whispered/spoken word vocals.

Prevail finds Kataklysm expertly balancing extremity and melody. There are plenty of ferocious riffs and blast beats to keep the music firmly in the death metal genre. There's also a lot of groove and melody and very catchy songs. Diversity in death metal is sometimes hard to find, but Kataklysm varies their tempos pretty well. From brutal fast songs to groovy medium tempo tracks and even a slow song or two, their musicianship is always razor sharp.

I like Maurizio Iacono's vocals. He varies his pitch from deep growls to higher pitched yells, and you can actually understand what he's saying, which is relatively rare in this genre. Prevail is another dose of simple, direct and powerful death metal.

Collision Course: Paradox II is pretty typical Royal Hunt. Their music has a lot of orchestral elements, using strings and other instruments to add depth and atmosphere. There are plenty of guitars, with some pretty good solos as well. The songs are progressive with good musicianship, but also have memorable riffs and hooks.

Mark Boals is a great addition to the band. He has a powerful voice with a lot of range and emotion. There are also some very well done backing vocals and harmonies. Royal Hunt aren't one of the best known progressive metal bands, even though they've been around since the early '90s. With Collision Course: Paradox II they are well on their way to changing that.