Living Sacrifice

The last album from these forward-thinking sonic bruisers, The Hammering Process, was a shock to the system that combined Slayer riffing with a slightly nu percussive attack and a metal-core vibe that left all who dared listen impressed. Now, with Conceived In Fire, the band has pretty much replicated that attack. Their sound is still a barrage of jagged and off-time beats mixed with dense percussion sounds and a lung torturer who puts the whole metal-core scene to shame. Living Sacrifice can hike through the windy, rough and alienating world of 7/4 time signatures with considerable technical adeptness - Meshuggah's got nothing on this bunch. This band sets themselves apart from the majority of metal-core bands by having a genuinely powerful emotional aspect to their songs; no posturing here, these guys are exorcising some personal demons (uh, while we're talking about that, I'd avoid skipping the last song on this one). The only shocking variation this time is an excellent instrumental song, which provides a moment of peace and melody in the midst of this violent but cathartic release. Here's how good Living Sacrifice are: they release an album that is almost a dead ringer for their last and it's still going to be one of the best releases of the year. It's about time this bunch gets the high profile they deserve, be it in the metal-core scene, the Ozzfest, or the thrash world.