CONDITIONS: Flourescent Youth (2010)

MMMM

Not my usual scene, I was turned onto this after reading about them in Metal Hammer, and this is a great album. It's one of those albums that really makes an impact when you first hear it, giving the impression of true magnificence, but over time it has receded a little, to merely a great album. That said this was easily one of the top ten albums of 2010, and 'Better Life' is an absolute belter of a tune!

NEVERMORE - The Obsidian Conspiracy (2010)

MMMMM

Until this album I never really subscribed to the 'Nevermore are awesome' philosophy that so many others do,  but this album really is fantastic. I think what Nevermore finally managed to do with this one was to push the widdling back a little bit and put the focus on the 'songs'. This is an album to sing along with, like me this morning, in Asda with my iPod, walking past the cheese bellowing 'This is why I haaaaaaaate you!' Epic.

PESSIMIST - Call to War (2010)

MMM

Sodom-esque nu-Thrash that got my attention pretty quickly, this stands out among the masses of mediocre modern Thrash bands and while this album couldn't really be called a 'classic' this band certainly have a lot of potential for the future.

SUICIDAL ANGELS - Dead Again (2010)

MMM

Definitely a notch above most of the nu-Thrash movement, this has the riffs and the production to elevate it above the churning throng, sadly it's too derivative to truly be worth a four. But if you like Slayer, go for it.

HEATHEN - The Evolution of Chaos (2010)

MMMM

You could probably count on one hand the number of bands who come back from the dead and surpass everything they did in their original incarnation. Well Heathen can certainly count themselves as one of the few. Spending time with the riffmaster Gary Holt has obviously fine-tuned Lee Altus's guitar skills and this album also has a distinct Exodusy guitar sound too, albeit somewhat more melodic. There's a definite hint of 'Black album' in places but don't let that put you off, this is well worth a listen. A worthy 4. 

NUCLEAR - Jehovirus (2010)

MMM

Despite the opening riff bringing Justice-era Metallica firmly to mind, on the whole this Brazilian band's 2010 effort is riven through with Slayer worship, circa 1990. Which shouldn't be the basis for a good review, but they do it pretty well even if it doesn't quite manage to keep me involved for the whole running time. Still good though.

KORZUS - Discipline of Hate (2010)

MMM

Imagine Dave Lombardo's 'Grip Inc' with latter day pissed off Tom Araya vocals and you'll have a fair idea of what's going on here. Nothing spectacular or pioneering, but an enjoyable slab of Brazilian Thrash all the same! Loses a mark for being slightly too samey over the course of the album, and shamelessly ripping off Grip Inc's 'Hostage to Heaven'.

HELSTAR - Glory of Chaos (2010)

MMM

Nice to see such a great old band come back with such a convincing and surprisingly aggressive slab of Speed/Thrash Metal! A low four or an extremely high three.