Demon Hunter - True Defiance (2012)

Returning after 2010's relatively disappointing The World is a Thorn, Demon Hunter have comeback with a new album, and it might actually be their best. True Defiance showcases everything you would expect from a Demon Hunter album, namely: groovy riffs; vicious growling; melodic chorus; dark & sensitive hard rock & heartfelt ballads.At this point you may go, meh I have Storm The Gates of Hell & The Tryptych I'll pass thank you, but that would be a mistake. Although every album claims to take the bands style & refine it & make it more potent, True Defiance actually makes good on the claim. The opening seconds of Crucifix are pseudo-Black Metal mixed in a way that prompts one to assess the speaker connections to make sure they are plugged in fully, & just when you think that DH have gone Lo-Fi the real song kicks in. Heavy & devoid of a sung chorus Crucifix is brutal from beginning to end. Other standouts are Wake which hearkens back to their early Nu Metal tinged days; the monstrous war cry Someone to Hate & the pure DH anthem Resistance. The deluxe edition is a must, as bonus tracks What is Left & I Am a Stone drip with the solemnly haunting beauty that DH do as well as they do bone-cracking Metal. Download it. Love it. Buy it. I am currently placing my order for the Deluxe Bundle.

Best Tracks: Crucifix, God Forsaken, Someone to Hate, Resistance & (bonus track) What is Left

Legal Fingers - No Time For Tenderness (2012)

With a name that in itself is an innuendo & a interesting album cover, as well as some dirty sounding song titles No Time For Tenderness immediately asks you for a listen. But not "nice" asking, like say a Folk album, Legal Fingers pinches your butt (if you're a girl) & says "when & were ???". Pretty much all the songs are about Sex, with slight forays into Drugs & Rock 'n' Roll, but who ever said lyrical focus was a bad thing. Titles like Downtown Prowler, Fuck City & Meat Candy indicate that Legal Fingers aren't taking themselves too seriously & just want to have fun, all the time. If I were to call them a Sleaze Rock band (which I think they are), it would complete the image of another Motley Crue wanna be band, however Legal Fingers are far more unique than that. Whilst Glam/Sleaze Revival bands like Hardcore Superstar & Backyard Babies have their own place & are good, their kin are a-dime-a-dozen, Legal Fingers aren't. Rooted more in what they call "Good Old Fashioned Rock 'n' Roll" influenced by (in their words) "Strippers and booze". A timeless drunken Saturday night party committed to tape, with more tongue in cheek posturing than most bands are brave enough to exhibit. (I Just Wanna Get All Right) Tonite!, which is ULTRA catchy, is an excellent example of their mostly unique, alcohol drenched sound. An underground band, so support them if you can, they are living the dream, so help it stay afloat.

Best Tracks: (I Just Wanna Get All Right) Tonite!; Top Off, Rocks Off, Hop Off; Meat Candy

Bandcamp (help them out, they deserve to not work day jobs with monstrous hangovers)
P.S. their Facebook, is great for a laugh too

Celtic Frost - Monotheist (2006)

The final effort of Swiss Metal titans, the ever evolving Celtic Frost, Monotheist is heavy, heavier than a mammoth, possibly the most heavy album ever. Pummeling & frankly traumatizing, Monotheist barely lets up, & when it does, the calmer & more beautiful sections only serve to "soften" you up for the ensuing death. Lyrically it is stark, blasphemous & very, very negative, but as a piece of art they fit in & even enhance the masterpiece. Musically it is an ever changing deathscape. Opening with Progeny, the album starts with pace, the following 2 songs are slower & very heavy. Drowning in Ashes is a more melodic & beautiful break followed by three more slabs of insanely destructive, hellish Metal, Incantation Against a second melodic break. After the break a further two which are heavy enough  to crush whole planets... & Then Triptych: I. Totengott, which sounds like the voice of the devil, by far the most traumatizing passage of music ever, it can & will disturb you. The last two tracks are one heavy beast & a closer of lighter melodic orchestration, just to calm your mind for the exit of your own sonic hell. A thrillingly hellish ride, which is both Soul challenging & rewardingly enlightening. Listen to it & allow the death rattle of true titans to caress your mind with its blackened claws. Magnus Oppus ??? Dominus Opus I say.

Best Tracks: A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh, Os Abysmi Vel Daath, Ain Elohim & Triptych: I. Totengott (ofcourse a listen-through adds perspective to the master work)