Himsa

I've been chewing on this disc for a while now, and it's only getting better and better as the months pass by. Seattle's Himsa have morphed (kind of suspiciously, I’ve got to say) from a cool hardcore band to yet another hardcore band incorporating duel leads and Gothenburg melodies into their thrash attack. But good mother of Satan, there's just no way to deny how much this disc rules. The combination of the band's razor-sharp thrash and the excruciatingly cathartic lyrics and guttural bellows of singer John Pettibone (ex-Undertow, for those old enough to remember, or care) are a match made in metallic heaven, or hell, or whatever. "A Girl In Glass" has got to be one of the best songs I've heard in the past year, of any genre, and that's big accolades for a genre that's usually not too song-based. And there you have it, all the elements that make Himsa one of the best metal bands around today, period: catchy songs, tight playing, memorable hooks, sincere vocals, good lyrics and nice production and cool artwork to boot. Ignore the occasional cheesy Maiden/In Flames-derived riff and turn it up. This shit rules.