UTG METAL REVIEW ROUNDUP. This column is exactly as simple as it sounds. Lots of metal albums come out and resident metalhead Jordan Munson is here to give you the skinny on a litany of these albums. No frills, no extra, no nonsense–just the information you need to know.

For Today – Immortal

Forty minutes of nice Christian boys yelling about Jesus or things related to Jesus and playing breakdowns. Taking the blueprint that August Burns Red more or less cemented in 2007 with Messengers and combining it with some Evergreen Terrace type passages, but less interesting. For Today aren’t exactly reinventing the wheel here. Immortal is definitely not recommended to anyone less than a superfan of mosh-heavy metalcore with an extra dose of Christian themes, but you could do worse if that’s the style you’re looking for. At least it sounds pretty good, regardless of the music contained within. Score: 5/10 (Buy)

Stream “Fearless”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/44459856″ iframe=”true” /]

Shadows Fall – Fire From The Sky

This may come as a surprise, but Shadows Fall have ceased to do anything really new or innovative on Fire From The Sky. The good news is that it’s still really good, and still very much Shadows Fall. Very solid standard-issue modern thrash metal with a slight metalcore influence. Quality riffs, quality shredding, and Brian Fair is as consistently solid as always. It’s no wonder that Shadows Fall are one of the most successful modern metal bands–they just do not disappoint, plain and simple. Score: 7/10 (Buy)

Stream “Fire From The Sky”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/41343484″ iframe=”true” /]

Architects – Daybreaker

Following the release of The Here And Now, many fans likely questioned whether or not Architects would ever be the same band everyone fell in love with at one point or another (myself included). Daybreaker is here to prove that Architects haven’t forgotten how to play heavy or aggressive music. This isn’t to say they’ve taken the 180 degree turn away from softer material, but there are some really heavy riffs and grooves on Daybreaker that are really reminiscent of the stuff on Ruin or Nightmares but is mostly closest to Hollow Crown in style. Perhaps the ideal mix for Architects, Daybreaker truly encompasses all of the best parts of Architects over the last handful of years in one very solid effort. Consider my faith restored. Score: 8/10 (Buy)

Stream “These Colors Don’t Run”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/41620941″ iframe=”true” /]

Cattle Decapitation – Monolith of Inhumanity

Finding words that do justice to how absurd and insane some of the moments on this album are is incredibly difficult. The Harvest Floor completely obliterated any expectations I had for it, and somehow, Cattle Decapitation have done it again. Whether it is Travis Ryan’s perfect vocal directions or David McGraw’s interesting and precise drum work, or even Josh Elmore or Troy Oftedal holding it down on the stringed instruments, there’s no denying that Cattle Decapitation create an inhuman amount of noise for four dudes. Somehow, among the pure insanity that is the technical proficiency among these four men, they manage to write truly interesting an engaging songs. Just try to tell me that the chorus of “A Living, Breathing Piece Of Defecating Meat” doesn’t get stuck in your head. You’d be wrong. Top to bottom, everything about this album is something to marvel at. Technical deathgrind done absolutely right. Score: 10/10 (Buy)

Stream “Lifestalker”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/42724052″ iframe=”true” /]

Obey The Brave – Ups And Downs EP

One of the vocalists from Despised Icon has a new band and they just put out a new two-song EP. There isn’t really much to say other than it’s really… moshy? Is that a word? Can we count it just this one time? Real recognize real, or something. No one should be surprised at how heavy and moshtastic this is. If you liked Despised Icon (I know I sure did) you should at least give this one a solid shake. I’m not scoring it because it’s two songs long, and unless you’re Between The Buried and Me, Sleep or Esoteric or something that’s just plain not long enough to score. (Buy)

Stream “Live And Learn”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/47160764″ iframe=”true” /]

Rumpelstiltskin Grinder – Ghostmaker

Do you know who Rumpelstiltskin Grinder are yet? If not, you’re likely to find out, and so are a whole bunch of other people when this album drops. Starting from being a mostly mediocre thrash band in a pretty huge crowd, it would appear that the Grinder have really hit their stride. Somewhat reminiscent of the last three Skeletonwitch albums, Ghostwalker is a really heavy thrash album that features blackened vocals. Unlike Skeletonwitch, however, the Grinder seem to have a few different gears they can play in, and do a good job at not being rather one-dimensional. Ghostmaker is definitely worthy of being a breakout album and, with a little luck, will be exactly that. Score: 8/10 (Buy)

Stream “Fucking Wild” (unmastered)
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/45110592″ iframe=”true” /]

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Jordan Munson

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