Brigitte Handley and the Dark Shadows
Identity EP
Collector’s Choice Records
Street: 10.2006
Brigitte Handley = The Damned + The Distillers
I searched high and low for a decent biography of this band, but all I could find anywhere was the crappy press-kit write-up, which boasts that they have toured with and supported the likes of The Quakes and The Meteors. That’s a downright dirty trick. The reason they mention that stuff is to get fans of those bands to listen to the band they’re writing about. Those are two of my favorite bands, and if you’re a fan as well, I can tell you that there’s nothing for you here. Misleading bios aside, these girls are definitely talented. The problem is that this EP displays severely limited creativity. “Sleeping with a Vampyre” (cue eye-rolling) is the best track on this thing. Unfortunately, the lyrics are totally clichéd. The content of the title track (“Individuality is everything to me/I don’t wanna lose my identity) is rather ironic being on this record, because there isn’t really anything unique or original about this EP. I think this band is capable of something much better than this. Here’s to hoping that they can bring together something more substantial for a full-length in the future. –Aaron Day

Canvas Solaris
The Atomized Dream
Sensory Records
Street: 06.10
Canvas Solaris = instrumental prog-rock; need I say more?
Well, Canvas Solaris definitely attempt to go outside the box of your typical instrumental progressive rock with The Atomized Dream. The album’s most redeeming quality is its keyboard/synth usage; it does a great job at creating strange, spaced-out atmospheres and actually makes some of the songs unique. There are moments with some great guitar work using lots of tempo changes and some crazy scaling of notes. This is just probably where my tastes lie, but after repeated listens, the record gets old and starts to grate on you, giving you that feeling of—is this it? Can’t they do something more? The songs blend together with one exception, “Chromatic Dust,” I’ll give the guys that. This record is good for one thing: having some chill background music or something to just plain calm the nerves. Yes, the jazz tempos are nice; the beats are inventive at times, but if I’m going to listen to some instrumental rock, I’ll take Don Caballero. –Bryer Wharton

Carnifex
The Diseased and the Poisoned
Victory Records
Street: 06.24
Carnifex = Bury Your Dead (pre-new vocalist) + Dying Fetus + SkinlessBefore even giving Carnifex a fair chance, I made judgments from the band’s bio. Victory Records is selling the band as death metal, which is a huge mistake, mainly because Victory Records is known for releasing screamo and hardcore bands, not death metal. Secondly, Carnifex is not a death-metal band; they’re deathcore, and for all the death metal homies, that is a huge difference. That said, Carnifex do what they do extremely well. There are other deathcore acts that implement a lot of breakdowns in their music, but none that I’ve heard so far do it with the tact and originality that Carnifex do; there are plenty super-terrific breakdowns on this new offering; the style has a clean yet brutal edge. There is no guitar-soloing, but plenty of lead work, thrash-metal rhythms and blastbeats, all with some killer guttural growls and high-pitched snarls. “The Nature of Depravity” is downright heart-stopping. Carnifex do the deathcore style great with this new record; the songs are repetitive in nature, but they manage to keep you listening without getting bored. Looking for some good, slickly produced and sledgehammer-heavy deathcore? Break it down with Carnifex. –Bryer Wharton

Cryptopsy
The Unspoken King
Century Media
Street: 06.24
Cryptopsy = Kataklysm + The Black Dahlia Murder + one of the fastest metal drummers ever
Cryptopsy early on in their career were considered in the top tier North American death metal bands with albums Blasphemy Made Flesh and None so Vile, they moved to a more metalcore style when vocalist Lord Worm left the band and Mike DiSalvo joined in many fans lost interest extremely quick with the bands two albums with DiSalvo. Lord Worm returned to the band with the bands Once Was Not album and seemed to reinvigorate the bands old fans as well as new ones, Lord Worm’s presence in the band did not last and now there is a new vocalist and a very different style for Cryptopsy, which undoubtedly will alienate the bands hardcore death metal followers. It is hard to outweigh the good versus the bad on The Unspoken King while renowned drummer Flo Mounier does an amazing job at what he always does with the speed of his playing and with his many tempo changes. Though the new vocalist is bland and sounds like every run of the mill metalcore singer and even worse when he implements his clean singing style. There are moments when the lead guitar sounds amazing and technical as hell then there are moments that sound like Korn or the growing in boringness of The Red Chord or The Black Dahlia Muder. To put things simply fans of the new breed of metalcore or deathcore will enjoy this without end. Fans that hold Blasphemy Made Flesh and None So Vile in their hearts as great death metal albums will hate this new offering. I understand a bands need to change and progress but they could have done it differently and better with The Unspoken King there are just to many mediocre moments in the vocals and guitars to hold this album in the regard it could be. –Bryer Wharton