The Dears
Missiles
Dangerbird Records
Street: 10.08
The Dears = Serge Gainsbourg + The Arcade Fire + The Stills
Seasoned veterans of Montreal’s illustrious rock scene The Dears took a more relaxed (if not miserable) approach to making their fourth album, losing most of their members in the process. Missiles caught me off guard. I never expected a beautiful, mature and complex album like this to be made in our day and age. They eased back on orchestral, cinematic sounds in exchange for a warm, intimate breed of ethereal pop. Vocalist Murray Lightburn (dubbed the “black Morrissey”) is honest and melancholic, with the epically dysphoric “Lights Off” earning my highest praise. Lightburn and his wife, keyboardist/vocalist Natalia Yanchak, sing a bittersweet duet on “Crisis 1& 2” before the album gives way to more profound songs that seem despairingly in search of something dire, before ending with the transcendent 11-minute “Saviour.” A rocky album, I pray that this is not the last time we hear from The Dears. –Ryan Sanford

Dillinger Four
CIVILWAR
Fat Wreck Chords
Street: 10.14
Dillinger Four = Off With Their Heads + The Lawrence Arms + Screeching Weasel
After six long years, Dillinger Four are back with another batch of alcohol-fueled pop-punk tunes about how much the world sucks. However, CIVILWAR doesn't hold up to the legions of D4-influenced bands (D4-core?) that have popped up since the release of 2002's Situationist Comedy. A lot of the songs on CIVILWAR don't feel finished, and the slick production makes these formerly rambunctious Minnesotans sound entirely tame. It ain't all bad, though—once you get past the super-clean sound, “Contemplate This on the Tree of Woe” has a pretty killer chorus and the gruff dual vocals on “parishiltonisametaphor” are pretty cool. The album does get better with repeated listenings, and at least the song titles are pretty funny, but if you're aching for something that sounds closer to the D4 of yore, you'd be better off buying the new Off With Their Heads album. –Ricky Vigil

Dir En Grey
Uroboros
The End Records
Street: 11.11
Dir En Grey = Tool + Evanescence + Sigh + Ackercocke + Fantomas
The End Records favors metal music leaning towards the lacy, experimental and progressive. While their discography is not always to my liking, I respect the label as an outlet for musicians pushing their own boundaries. Unfortunately, Dir En Grey is too sour a cocktail to swallow. This Japanese band apparently has five previous full-lengths, and I have to wonder if they’re all a hodge-podge of current trends. While balanced and well-composed, overall, Uroboros is just a pastiche of vapid, romantic, neo-goth, nu-metal breakdowns and dashes of technical death metal, the entire affair as carefully styled as the member’s frosted hair. Jonesing for romantic metal with goth influence? Break out the Amorphis, Borknagar, or Cradle of Filth and skip this mallrat bullshit. –Ben West

Ereb Altor
By Honour
I Hate Records
Street: 05.08
Ereb Altor = Enslaved + later Emperor + mid-era Ulver
By all rights, I should be raving about this record. It’s slow, it’s heavy, and it’s dissonant, almost to the point of being an excellent doom-metal record. The problem is that, rather than letting the doom flow freely, Ereb Altor tries too hard to be Enslaved minus blastbeats. Granted, they never stray into cookie-monster territory with the vocals, instead relying on Viking-metal-style singing, and the music is rock-solid, but goddammit, it’s more Enslaved than Enslaved. I can easily see this record growing on me with multiple listens, but that could prove to be an interesting feat, since I’d honestly just rather listen to Enslaved. Heh. Enslaved. –Gavin Hoffman

Fall From Grace
Sifting Through The Wreckage
Bunk Rokk
Street: 12.16
Fall From Grace = AFI + Poison + Offspring
Fall From Grace are the biggest posers of all time. I hate when bands dress up in all black and try to look all tough and depressed. These guys probably were the biggest doofuses when they were younger. Then one day they all got together and they figured people would think they were cool if they started a bogus pop-punk metal band. The thing that is probably most disturbing about this album is that Terry Date (Deftones, Pantera, White Zombie, Dredg) produced it. He must be doing a favor for somebody because this band is horrible and Date usually picks really good bands to be involved with. It’s sad to see one of the best producers tarnish his reputation and have his name associated with these dorks. Bad form, Terry. –Jon Robertson

Fall of the Idols
In the Seance of the Spirits of Grief
I Hate Records
Street: 05.08
Fall of the Idols = Centurions Ghost + Black Sabbath + Ereb Altor
I couldn’t resist … so much of the latest Fall of the Idols release reminds me of what Ereb Altor is attempting to do with their latest release that I just had to throw it into the equation. The difference is that Fall of the Idols has their own identity and does a masterful job of presenting their brand of Finnish doom to the world on this release. Plodding guitar riffs made ever more dreary by a steady, heavy and slow backbeat, and vocals that are set just right in the mix, In the Seance… is a release that demands multiple listens, and something new is easily discovered during each one. Worthy. –Gavin Hoffman