Rikets - "Anything For The Devil" (EP, Corporate Punishment)

These guys know how to tear it up. The opening bars of "Useless" are so groove-laden and... dirty. It's a wonder these guys haven't caught the ears of all fans of metal, seeing as their sound is commercial while retaining the metallic sheen that will ensure your parents never listen to them.

Mixing deep grooves, industrial sounds, harsh and gruffly-melodic vocals, and metallic guitars, Rikets are like a less goth Marilyn Manson, with more Fear Factory in their music and more Hard Rock in their vocals. The southern-sounding backing vocals and harmonies (not unlike Full Devil Jacket's sound) make the mix more interesting than your average metal band. Another nice different is there use of fewer d-tuned guitar riffs, so they have a piercing quality to them.

With melodic vocals playing more of a role in the background, and as complementary harmonies, rather than as obviously separated as Metalcore bands love to do oh-so-very-often, songs like "Hollywood" and "Blister" would sound awesome coming over the speakers in a rock club, and in a live setting would bring the place to it's knees.

Powerful, angry, abrasive, yet catchy.

www.rikets.com / www.myspace.com/rikets

Shenoah - "Bleeding In The Red" (EP, Corporate Punishment)

Perhaps a little odd reviewing this, as two founder members (Jason Hager and Ben Hollowell) have started to focus on another band, Years Of Fire. Nevertheless, this EP is definitely worth a listen!

Coming from the increasingly noteworthy metal label in America, Shenoah are another band blazing the return to proper hard rock - there's no "-core" in here, there's nothing "nu-" about it, but there's plenty new.

Formed from the ashes of a number of bands that fell victim to the great music cull of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Shenoah have every quality necessary for a band who want to succeed, not to mention the skills to do so.

Soaring melodic choruses, low-end guitars, hard-hitting vocals, hooks to drag you along with the music. Sure, it's nothing completely new, and a lot of Corporate Punishment's bands are in the same genre, but this doesn't mean they're all copyists or devoid of original ideas. Shenoah are possibly at the heavier end, incorporating harsher sounds and verses than labelmates Allele and Switched.

Bleeding In The Red is only a short EP, a brief introduction to the band. As soon as they get their first complete album complete, there's no reason these guys shouldn't make a dent. It also means that, when the albums comes, they should have ironed out all the creases to their sound (just as Switched managed for their second album).

The only criticism is the spoken-word jolt in the middle of "Age Of The White Dove", which ruined the flow of an otherwise soaring, blood-pumping song. On the other hand, "Ashes To Ashes" is an incredibly emotional song, and one that could easily tear up the charts on either side of the Atlantic.

www.shenoah.com / www.myspace.com/shenoah

Satyricon - "Now Diabolical" (Roadrunner)

This is how black metal should be made! I've never been much of a fan of Black Metal, but if everything was this good, I'd be a major convert.

The perfect production and huge sound make this stand above lesser Black Metal bands, who often suffice with sub-standard production because it is more underground - despite sometimes making their records sound like complete garbage, regardless of initial song-writing quality.

The variation on this album is another facet of its greatness; from the pounding opening bars of "Now, Diabolical" to the delicate piano and clean and choral vocals on "The Pentagram Burns".

Ferocity and speed have been pared back a little, Frost (drums) claiming that it doesn't have to be fast to be heavy. He's spot on. Take just the first two tracks "Now, Diabolical" and instantly likeable "K.I.N.G.", and you'll hear crushing musicianship with huge hooks, without any reduction in weight.

Satyricon have produced an easily accesible, yet resolutely furious album that should open them up to a whole horde of new acolytes. Varied, yet distinctly a cohesive body of work. Gloriously unique and black to the core.

Commercial Black Metal - stick it in your dictionaries now.

www.satyricon.no

Switched - "Ghosts In The Machine" (Corporate Punishment)

Another band who could have quite easily disappeared completely off the face of the planet, Switched were given a new lease of life after signing with Corporate Punishment Records. Finally able to release new material after their well-received debut for Immortal Records, Subject To Change (2002), Ghosts In The Machine is a compilation of work that would have made up their sophomore release, as well as demos and EPs from along the way.

If you happened to have caught their previous album, then you'll be pleased to know that the band has grown considerably, finding a sound that is far more their own, and less nu-metal. The mixing of harsher vocals and melodic choruses is still present, of course, but far from being the standard metalcore blueprint, Switched are more in the same area as Soil, Drowning Pool and the others of that ilk. Opener "Save Myself" is a perfect statement of intent that displays the band's whole range perfectly.

Where Subject To Change wasn't immediately cohesive as a single body of work - "Four Walls", "Inside" and "Walk Away" were clear singles, but the rest didn't quite reach the same calibre - Ghosts In The Machine feels a lot more like a band expressing themselves in a single body of work - odd, considering it's effectively a compilation.

The music is far more confident, skillful and immediate. Clearly, the band has grown as a unit, with everything meshing brilliantly.

"Like Suicide" and "Empty Promises" would make good singles - softer, more plaintive vocals (a little like Gavin Rossdale's in Bush, or perhaps Chester Bennington from Linking Park), and an understated, but uplifting chorus (despite the lyrical context). Electronics and beats have been thrown in for an extra layer of detail, and it certainly manages to improve a number of the songs. Never overused, and often understated, it's a welcome progression. "Shattered" is a swirling mix of sounds and vocals - definitely my favourite song on here.

Their new home at Corporate Punishment means Switched should fit in a lot better with their labelmates - Allele, Rikets, Shenoah, Trigger Point all are similar in that they mix heavy and melodic, without compromising on punch and never 'selling out', yet manage to not sound like anyone else out there. Every song offers something new and different, yet equally a pleasure to listen to.

Melodic, catchy, powerful, more unique, and weighty. Great stuff.

www.switched.tv / www.myspace.com/switched

Khoma - "The Second Wave" (Roadrunner)

On first listen, Khoma's second album would fit quite nicely next to your Coheed & Cambria records.

"The Guillotine", a gloomy gothic-movie soundtrack style introduction, with soft vocals and strings (probably a cello) is a great hook to get you into the album. Non-bombastic, quiet yet slightly chilling, it wasn't at all what I was expecting.

Guitars make an entrance on "Stop Making Speeches", upping the tempo and level of heaviness. It's a good song, but apart from the meaty chugging guitars, the harmonics are a little grating.

Very proggy, with lots of tempo changes, melodic and soaring vocals that fail to really engage, but otherwise highly listenable stuff. As background. Hints of Radiohead are audible, which is okay I guess, but ultimately means it sounds like we've heard this all before, and can come across as a little limp ("If All Else Fails")...

Lacking the flair and panache of Coheed & Cambria, this band are probably not going to make as much of an impression, but if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a copy of The Second Wave, you will certainly be in for an interesting musical experience. Could have been better, though, and less sleep-inducing.

Not your usual Roadrunner fare.

www.khoma.net

Lacuna Coil - "Karmacode" (Century Media)

Italy's finest Goths produce highly commercial, much-hyped 5th album.

To be perfectly honest, I was originally a little disappointed with this, when I first heard it. The album sounded a lot more... pop, sweet, and Evanescence-like. It's not a particularly bad thing, but I was really hoping for something with more stomp, especially after reading interviews where band members announced Karmacode to be heavier and more metal. To that, I simply reply: "I think not."

Let's start with the first single, "Our Truth", which promised so much. Huge chorus, crushing guitars and the occasional cleaner grunt from Andrea (male vocalist), who sounds much better on this album. It sounded huge, and I thought to myself, "Cool, they've done another cracking album!" - though they spoil it with the most bizarre ending (volume fades out, there's some weird guitar-string noise, and then a final chord).

But, having now heard the album in its entirety, I have to say it's not so cracking. I'm all for bands toning down the ferocity and heaviness to shift more units (surely you can only stay really angry at the world for so long?), but when it's to such an extent that Evanescence (seriously, "Tourniquet" and "Going Under" have more stomp than some of Karmacode) sounds heavier... well, that's a touch too far.

"Fragile" and "To The Edge" are good enough, for sure, but each song starts very similarly - the chorus of "To The Edge" is quite similar to "Our Truth". In a way, this is a good thing, because it means that album works very well as a whole, rather than singles. "Within Me" does have a beautiful melody to it - perhaps their version of "Immortal" (Evanescence) or "Stand My Ground" (Within Temptation).

Bonus track "Enjoy The Silence" (Depeche Mode cover) is pretty cool - Cristina and Andrea harmonise during the chorus, which works extremely well. Recognisable, yet not a direct cover. Very good ending to the album.

I sound like I've been very harsh on this album which is perhaps unfair. It is a good album, very well written and should send them stratospheric in sales and popularity (it would be more justified that HIM's meteoric rise, too...).

On the plus side, the CD has oodles of enhanced material for you to enjoy (videos, wallpapers, etc.).

Melodic, enchanting, but not as heavy as it could have been...

www.lacunacoil.it

Faktion - "Faktion" (Roadrunner, USA)

The long-awaited album from these American rockers proves that patience is a virtue. The eponymous debut is a cracking slice of commercial hard rock, in the vein of Dry Cell, Egypt Central, a stripped-down Linkin Park (if you take out Mike Shinoda's rapping and Mt Hahn's input), and some similar elements as bands such as The Calling, Kutless, Falling Up and Our Lady Peace (trans: not afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves occasionally, toning down the "rawk" from time to time).

You'll find the full mix of styles and tempos on Faktion, ranging from the rocking openers "Forgive Me" and "Control", to the more soulful and emotional "Six O'Clock" and "Distance". The band clearly wanted this album to showcase everything they could do, not just what they felt would sell gazillions of albums (though, given the backing, there's no reason they shouldn't...).

A new take on a busy genre, Faktion offer something a little more contemporary and devoid of cliches. Roadrunner made a good move, signing these guys, padding out the more commercial end of their stable (Nickelback, Theory Of A Deadman, etc.)

Having done the rounds on MySpace and various other web-based mediums, expanding their fanbase from the ground up, I would be very surprised if Faktion don't make at least a small splash in the melodic hard rock genre.

A thoroughly satisfying album, and one that should have rock fans the world over happily humming and bouncing along to. Great stuff.

www.faktionband.com