By BRENDAN TENAN
Welcome back to another edition of “Bang Your Head with Brendan,” the only column in The Chronicle that celebrates, critiques, and assesses everything that rocks. My last column featured some of the celebrated veteran bands who have recently released new music. This week’s column features some of the newer, popular acts that have hit the airwaves and conquered the rock and metal charts.
Generally I’ll try to keep this column pretty eclectic to represent the myriad sub-genres of rock and metal that we all listen to and enjoy. However, this week will be different. This week I’ll be looking at albums released by a group of bands that are not only from the same era, but are also grouped into the same sub-genre.
The dawn of the 21st century saw the emergence of many promising hard rock and heavy metal bands in the United States, so much so that critics and fans began referring to these groups as “The New Wave of American Heavy Metal.” These bands all have one other thing in common: despite (or perhaps because of) their popularity, they are all groups who tend to elicit a divisive reaction amongst fans. It often seems that people either love or hate these acts, with very little middle ground. So, without any further delay, let’s get in the pit and take a look at the latest slew of metal albums.
Lamb of God, As the Palaces Burn (10th Anniversary Edition): At the forefront of this “New Wave of American Heavy Metal” (or NWOAHM) is Richmond, Virginia’s Lamb of God. While their brand of metal may not be everyone’s cup of tea, there’s no denying that they are one of the biggest and most respected bands to hit the scene in the last ten to fifteen years. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the album that put them on the map and helped launch them to stardom, As the Palaces Burn. The album was one of the first from the metal world that took a strong stance against the policies of the Bush administration in the wake of the September 11,2001 terrorist attacks. Fortunately, the lyrics penned by the band have aged well and don’t sound dated. Producer Josh Wilbur wisely decided to not tinker with the aggression and rawness heard in the album’s tracks, instead looking to present a more “hi-fi” version of the classic album. The twin guitar attack from Mark Morton and Willie Adler, aggressive beats played by drummer Chris Adler, and singer Randy Blythe’s trademark guttural growls and primal screams are still heavy and mosh-inducing. If you already have the original version of the album, it isn’t really necessary to get the special edition. The only added incentive are the demo versions of “Ruin,” the title track, and “Blood Junkie.” For those of you who don’t own the album yet or are unfamiliar with Lamb of God, this is a great place to start. 9/10
Trivium, Vengeance Falls: Another prominent band from the NWOAHM that has recently released an album is Trivium. Their latest effort, Vengeance Falls, largely follows the well-established thrash metal template. This is especially evident with the excellent guitar work from Corey Beaulieu and guitarist-lead singer Matt Heafy and the double kick drum propulsion courtesy of drummer Nick Augusto. What helps separate Vengeance Falls from many other recent albums put out by bands who owe much of their sound and structure to thrash legends like Metallica, Slayer, and Exodus is the vocal delivery and style of Heafy. While Heafy is more than capable of doing the rhythmic screams and growls that are commonly heard in thrash metal, he also is just as adept at singing in a clean, melodic voice. This versatility helps give the band some extra dimension that many of their peers simply don’t have. (Heafy credits David Draiman, the lead singer of bands Disturbed and Device and the producer of Vengeance Falls, for much of his vocal approach on this album.) Some fans have expressed frustration over the band’s change in direction from their earlier metalcore and melodic death metal sounds (a sentiment that will be seen again later in the column with another band), but what fans need to realize is it’s unrealistic to expect the same exact product with little to no room for growth, especially from a band like Trivium that’s still to expand their musical horizons. 8.5/10
Avenged Sevenfold, Hail to the King: Without question, the most popular, successful, and divisive band to emerge from the NWOAHM is Huntington Beach, California’s Avenged Sevenfold. This is truly a band where there seems to be no middle ground whatsoever when it comes to what people think of them; you either love them or hate them. Fortunately for the band, plenty of people love them. Their last two albums have debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, they’ve sold close to 10 million albums, and have toured relentlessly around the world in order to make their fan base grow. While starting their careers in the late 1990s as primarily a metalcore band, A7X (as they’re commonly referred to by fans) have largely dropped that style and adopted a more mainstream, classic hard rock and heavy metal sound. This, along with the frequent use of melody and harmony in their vocal arrangements, is one of the biggest points of contention haters of A7X have against them. Another complaint frequently heard is that the band is trying too hard to sound like their heroes and do not have their own sound, especially on their latest album, Hail to the King. To this, I respectfully disagree. Avenged Sevenfold is a band who has always proudly shown their musical influences, both in the t-shirts they wear and in the way they construct their songs. That said, they’re not ripoff artists; they have managed to take elements from bands that influenced and inspired them and craft it into their own sound. You can debate the silliness of their stage names (M Shadows, Zacky Vegeance, Synyster Gates, etc.). But with a mix of ready-made arena rockers like the title track, “Shepherd of Fire,” and “This Means War” and slower tempo ballads like “Acid Rain” and “Crimson Day,” there’s no denying that A7X has found a winning formula that will continue to bring them continued success in the coming years, whether everybody likes it or not. 8/10
That’s all for this week, folks. Be sure to check back next week, as I’ll be giving my two cents on the latest albums from a more eclectic collection of bands. If you want me to review a specific album, email me your idea at tenanb400@strose.edu. Until then, crank the volume up to eleven and keep rocking out to your favorite bands!
