Rating: 3.5/5
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While Nephelium should ultimately devise a more unique attack with creative weaponry, this is still a deadly first strike.

Zebulon Pike, Morkobot, Animals as Leaders, and Abnormal Thought Patterns!

Patterns, yay! I think the end of the year is making me crave shorter albums and greater efficiency—so yes, expect more of these in threes. Here’s “Evermore Darkly”, “Carbon-Based Anatomy”, and “Dromomania” for intensifying your holiday season.

Reviews for “Time Never Lasts”, the eponymous Hammer Fight, and “Solar Plexus: Part One” …all more or less self-released, too!

Rating: 3/5
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Scythia…have the potential to grow more fun like Korpiklaani or get serious like Eluveitie—the choice is theirs. But if mainman Dave Khan wants to continue, he has to find the right party for the quest who wield formidable weaponry, and learn the ancient roots of his Vancouver homeland.

Rating: 3/5
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All things considered, I’ve never seen a band quite like Fallstaf, and the possibilities of ‘Brass Metal’ present an bright alternate path for misfit horn geeks with a heavy edge.

Rating: 4/5
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Experiencing Lord Silky firsthand is a lot like banging a cheap hooker: dirty, dangerous, and aided by alcohol.

Rating: 4/5
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Buy and listen to “City of Steel” now, and get in on the ground floor with this savage Saskatoonian thrash.

Rating: 5/5
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Does “Fables of the Sleepless Empire” hold up to “In a Flesh Aquarium”, a nigh perfect opus? I like the guitar and violin work better, though the production feels slightly weaker or overdone in parts, but the compositions are quirky, complex and ultimately awe-inspiring. The answer: yes, they still hold the torch.

Deadfall is the brainchild of Berkelee smartypants Eddie Kim, who wrote, produced, recorded, performed guitar, programmed drums, engineered, mastered, and — I dunno — catered? Man, good of him to get bassist Sean Dusoe in there for balance. Control much? I know the feeling….