"Through the Eyes of a Dead" is a demo release by Swedish death metal act Torture Division. It was recorded during the winter of 2010 - 2011, mixed by Dan Swanö and made available for free download on the band´s official homepage in 2011. Torture Division was formed in 2007 by Jörgen Sandström (vocals, bass), Tobias Gustafsson (drums) and Lord K. Philipson (guitars). Three prolific Swedish death metal musicians who have been or still are involved with acts like Leukemia, Grave, Entombed, The Project Hate MCMXCIX, Vomitory...etc. It is the group´s declared goal that they will not charge their fans money for their music, so all the band´s releases are available for free download on the band´s official homepage.

...so don´t expect this to be a "regular" demo. This is a fully professional product and could well have been released as an EP through a label. In fact we are talking a very high quality release with some very catchy and brutal death metal tracks. The music reeks old school death metal aestethics, but it´s not limited to sounding retro. The sound production is really powerful and is another factor that propel "Through the Eyes of a Dead" to a higher level than most death metal releases reach. It´s obvious that all three members are very seasoned musicians and the musicianship is as a consequence impeccable.

I think it´s obvious that Torture Division are three guys with a great love for death metal and that they enjoy playing together. It´s not like the 3 tracks on the 9:50 minutes long demo will revolutionize the death metal scene, but they are played with fierce intensity and come off damn convincing all the way through. The fact that they include Swedish language lyrics in "Clark the Monarch" is brilliant too. To my ears this is pure death metallic joy and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

"In Waves" is the 5th full-length studio album by US metalcore act Trivium. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in August 2011. Trivium are one of the most commercially successful metalcore act in the last 10 years and "In Waves" again prove why that is.

Trivium play a combination of metalcore, thrash and more traditional heavy metal loaded with catchy hooks and chorus lines. The tracks are in general structurally simple and easily accessible. Matt Heafy´s vocals are the focal point in the music and he masters quite an arsenal of different vocal styles from clean singing, more raw thrashy singing (still clean) and shouting/screaming metalcore type singing. The instrumental part of the music is very well played but at times the riffs work more as backing to the vocals than as a punchy and memorable part of the music. The music also feature quite a bit of melodic lead work. Either as themes under the vocal parts or as solos. "In Waves" is produced by Colin Richardson (Fear Factory, Carcass...among others) and it´s powerful and clear.

While I feel that "In Waves" could have prospered from a bit more grit and edgy songwriting, it´s a great album for what it is. Fans of the metalcore genre are pretty sure to find this one a greatly enjoyable album and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is fully deserved.

"Wolfmother" is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by Australian hard rock act Wolfmother. The album was released through Australian label Modular Records in October 2005. Australia has a proud hard rock tradition spearheaded by AC/DC and this album sees Wolfmother delivering music according to that tradition with balls and fierce conviction.

...and what better way to start a hard rock album than with an attitude filled scream like Wolfmother do on "Colossal". Lead vocalist/guitarist Andrew Stockdale has to be mentioned right off the bat, as he is quite the skilled and at times also raw vocalist. His voice and vocal delivey mean a lot for the music on the album. Wolfmother are a trio which in addition to Andrew Stockdale also feature Chris Ross (bass, keyboards) and Miles Heskett (drums). This is one of those cases where the "power-trio" format works wonders. Wolfmother are a tight playing unit but also skilled composers. They know exactly how to write a memorable and punchy chorus, hard rocking riffs and pounding beats. But they also understand that you won´t go far if you don´t write varied material, which is probably one of their biggests strengths. The way they touch psychadelic and stoner rock territories without compromising hard rocking power is brilliant to these ears. Paired with a powerful and not too polished sound production all mentioned elements make for a highly enjoyable listening experience.

While the main instrumentation are guitars, bass and drums, the occasional use of keyboards/organs provide an extra dimension to the album and much of the above mentioned psychadelia comes from the addition of especially organ.

Usually I listen to an album and either think that "this is not something for me" or "I´ll give this one more spins because it sounds interesting", but with "Wolfmother" I was hit with one of those rare moments where you like an album right away. A high energy level, a rock´n´roll "Fuck You" attitude and some really well written and memorable tracks result in a fully deserved 4 star (80%) rating.

"A Dramatic Turn of Events" is the 11th full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Dream Theater. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in September 2011. This is the first Dream Theater album not to feature drummer and founding member Mike Portnoy who left the band in September 2010. He is replaced here by Mike Mangini (Annihilator, Extreme, Steve Vai).

Despite the quite significant lineup change (In addition to his drumming duties Mike Portnoy was active in the band´s songwriting as well as co-producing several of the group´s albums) not much have actually changed since "Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009"). Dream Theater still produce top notch progressive metal involving outstanding musicianship and well written material. What they fail to do on this album and actually haven´t done for a while is challenge their audience. "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is more or less Dream Theater by the numbers and at this point I really wish they would break out of the stylistic monotony they´ve been in for now too long. There are literally no surprises on this album and frankly I expect more from the world´s leading progressive metal act. After all the word "progressive" (in this context) means that you push boundaries and create something new/unheard of.

With that out of the way "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is of course still a high quality release on almost every other parameter and as such the album opens pretty strong with the trio of tracks "On the Backs of Angels", "Build Me Up, Break Me Down" and "Lost Not Forgotten". But from "This is the Life" and onwards my attention begins to wander. Especially some of the longer tracks like "Bridges in the Sky" and "Outcry" are rather tedious to my ears, but of course things aren´t helped along either with the inclusion of the saccarine and forgettable ballad "Far From Heaven". I don´t know why they keep insisting on including tracks like that on their albums ("This is the Life" also falls under that catagory).

The sound production is decent but the drums have an odd sound. Maybe they are not high enough in the mix or something like that. I can´t put my finger on it, but there is some kind of issue with them. Regarding the drums it´s interesting to note that Mike Mangini more or less completely imitates the playing of Mike Portnoy. I´ve read somewhere that the drum parts for the tracks were already written when Mangini entered the lineup, so maybe it´s not so strange. It´ll be interesting to see if he can bring his own style to the table on the next release if he decides to stay with the band.

Now I can understand that hardcore fans of Dream Theater find "A Dramatic Turn of Events" to be a great release but I simply have to point out what I see as weaknesses and potential signs of a band that have given up developing their music. To me "A Dramatic Turn of Events" is a kinda "middle of the road" album by Dream Theater and it´s far from the best output by the band. Sometime in the future when talking about Dream Theater´s discography this album will not be mentioned. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

"Celestial Lineage" is the 4th full-length studio album by US black metal act Wolves in the Throne Room. The album was released through Southern Lord Records in September 2011. Wolves in the Throne Room consists of the two brothers Aaron Weaver (Drums, Synth) and Nathan Weaver (Guitars, Vocals) and are widely regarded as one of the leaders of the atmospheric US black metal scene.

The music on the album is atmospheric black metal with harsh raspy vocals (and occasional female vocals by Jessika Kenney) and nature based lyrical themes. The album features seven tracks. Two are shorter instrumentals but most of the other tracks are pretty long with three of them hitting the 10 minute mark. The tracks are adventurous and epic sounding with grand walls of synths and guitars. The band successfully vary pace and dynamics throughout the album making "Celestial Lineage" an album with a nice flow and also an album where my attention never wanders. Add to that a powerful and detailed sound production and we have a quality product and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.