Portishead
Third
Mercury
Street: 04.29
Portishead= jazz + Glitch + Witchcraft
Expectation and anticipation either can kill an album before the first note, or in this case, sample plays. Could anything ever live up to the hype? No. Taken on its own, Third is a sleeping work of wonder. Compared to the two previous Portishead releases, it fails to achieve the heights of what came before, but does nothing to tarnish the band’s reputation. Third comes complete with the genre-bending that you’d expect and hints towards the more rustic solo adventures that came before it. It downplays the sci-fi soundscape for a more traditional mix of jazz and distorted electronics, if in fact such a mix of ingredients could have a tradition. Coming in third this time around isn’t so bad; it’s better than most could produce and nearly what I hoped for. –Ryan Michael Painter

Prostitute Disfigurement
Descendants of Depravity
Neurotic Records
Street: 05.27
Prostitute Disfigurement = Decapitated + Malevolent Creation + Suffocation
With Prostitute Disfigurement’s (cool name by the way) Descendants of Depravity, there is a great blend of modern grind, old grind and Florida-style death metal. The songs aren’t overly technical or differ much as far as standard death/grind goes. But hell, I’m a sucker for this shit. Admittedly, there are some songs that come and go without any “wow” factor at all. “Killing for Company,” although it shows the band at the top of their game (riddled with speed, great lead work and blast beats a-plenty), it still seems as if the (good) shit starts hitting the fan a few songs in from “Killing for Company.” The band then sort of leaps from mediocrity status to something a bit better more technical, and most importantly, a hell of a lot more interesting. All in all, in the end, the record is a great death/grind romp. –Bryer Wharton

Rage
Carved in Stone
Locomotive/Nuclear Blast
Street: 06.10
Rage = Dream Evil + Freedom Call – a little less lyrical cheese
German power metal troupe Rage have been around for over two decades, and admittedly I’ve only heard their last album Speak of the Dead. Just comparing the two Carved in Stone kicks some butt in comparison. The whole album is just a great guitar showcase with wailing solos and great thrashing style riffs, which actually set this long-time power metal act above the pack, it’s not wimpy at all except for a ballad track or two everything is heavy and thick in its guitars. Then there are the vocals, Peter “Peavey” Wagner, has an astounding range and lyrical concoctions that will get you singing along even when you don’t quite now the lyrics yet. 2008 has seen some great power metal albums, add this to the pile and rock on! –Bryer Wharton

Rockabye Baby!
Lullaby Renditions of The Pixies
Rockabye Baby!
Street: 06.10
Rockabye Baby! = Mike Baiardi + The Pixies – Rock!
Lay your head down, sweet baby. You’re getting drowsy off these soothing tunes. Your innocent mind doesn’t associate these melodies with what I do: a sweaty Black Francis, a mane-a-shakin’ Kim Deal, a shirtless David Lovering bashing on skin and metal and Joey Santiago spitting lit cigarettes into a crowd of mangy college kids. My imagination replaces the mellowed harp solo of “Alec Eiffel” with razor-sharp, head-wrenching guitar notes and images of the guy who stage-dove and lit on my head. And I’m forcing myself to not howl “caribouuuuuuuu!” Googoo, you are my little “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, just like the song you’re snoring to suggests. The most important thing right now for you my child is sleep, and these arrangements, grounded in vibes, glockenspiel, the aforementioned harp (realized by Mike Baiardi) and otherwise soft keyboards, will ensure this – and plant the right seeds so you don’t later find affect with fucking High School Musical! –Dave Madden

Sam Champion
Heavenly Bender
North Street Records
Street Date: 07.15
Sam Champion = Cold War Kids + Mooney Suzuki
Throw some pints of beer at the young kids and see what happens. Really, that's probably how Sam Champion got started, and (if we're lucky) that's how it'll probably end as well. This NYC-bred foursome really wants to write nothing but 60s rock classics, but their continual adherence to convention and formula prevents most of their songs from taking off and going, well, anywhere. Fortunately there are a few songs that stand out amidst the hackneyed guitar extravaganzas: the "Incense and Peppermints"-affected "Dead Moon" settles for being just a regular pop song (thereby making it sound like the least-forced track on the record) and the very singer-songwritery "Lorraine" actually synthesizes all their influences into a pleasant excursion that doesn't reek of wannabeism. Unfortunately, that's all there is to recommend off of Heavenly Bender, and album that fades from memory only seconds after the disc stops spinning. Evan Sawdey