Opeth - Sorceress

I'll cut to the chase. If you're the breed of Opeth fan that refuses to believe the band has done anything of substance since their 2008 album, Watershed, then their latest album will not change that opinion. On the flip side of that coin, if you are, at the very least, unoffended by any of Opeth's post-Watershed material, then you would probably be interested to know that Sorceress is among the strongest of their recent output. With the recent transition from Roadrunner to Nuclear Blast Records, it seems that Akerfeldt and co. have found a new wind; maybe not the wind we've not so-secretly been hoping for for the past five years, but a welcomed one nonetheless.

Nails - You Will Never Be One of Us

Outside of perhaps power metal, no metal subgenre has given me as many fits trying to enjoy as grindcore.  Don't get me wrong, I can get down with some grind from time to time; it's punishing speed and ferocity can be just the ticket, and obviously bands like Pig Destroyer, Napalm Death, and Dying Fetus are legendary figures within the metal world.  But I just don't seem to find myself sitting down after a long day and saying "You know what Durf?  You should listen to some Brutal Truth right now."  And it's for a silly reason: time.