Unbelievably, no band used this name before in death metal prior to this Swedish (surprise) squad of hardened veterans, as Mr. Death is a pretty basic yet effective moniker. This quintet’s 11-track debut (recorded at the seminal Sunlight Studio) prescribes a brazen death metal assault that captures almost to the point of paying tribute the definitive old school sound championed by the likes of Dismember, early Entombed and Grave. There’s nothing flashy or excessive to be found on this terse and thunderous release, as songs like “Black Blood”. “Misery’s Womb” and “Combined Agony” exhibit the furiously fuzzy ferocity straight outta Stockholm whose gruesome grooves and slash and burn style rings out with familiar yet ass-kicking conviction. www.agoniarecords.com -Mike SOS

Explosive UK punk troupe The Eruptors return with a scalding 14-track offering on SEDUCE AND DESTROY, playing their raucous brand of punk rock as if it were a collegiate-sized tutorial in kicking ass. Despite a couple of these tracks appearing on this tumultuous trio’s previous albums, they contain a similar devil may care attitude that fits right in with the new material’s sinewy swagger and gritty traditional feel, completing the band’s mission to rock your face completely off of your skull. Meshing infectious bits of street punk (“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!), chunks of rock ‘n roll rabble rousing, and a volatility of something freshly escaped from the garage (“Tow the Line”) spiked with a newfound bad boy hard rock spirit, the down and dirty amalgamation employed by The Eruptors simultaneously channels the essence of Cock Sparrer, The Misfits, Motley Crue, and Motorhead to create a supercharged sojourn chock full of a true sense of danger that proudly proclaims this act as the real deal. www.theeruptors.50megs.com  -Mike SOS

The Red Chord leans toward a back to basics approach chock full of unabashed savagery on the group’s latest 12-track offering FED THROUGH THE TEETH MACHINE. Interchanging a bulk of the experimental elements from prior record PREY FOR EYES for an amplified amount of gutwrenching grindcore goodness and destructive death metal (“Embarrassment Legacy”), this adventurous unit has significantly increased its level of intensity beyond the usual catastrophic noise-laden rawness taken from a multitude of extreme metal genres stance. Thanks to furious fits of spastic guitars equally in tune with Napalm Death and Cannibal Corpse (“Demoralizer”) and schizophrenic drums doctored with arrays of insane intermittent time signature switches (“Face Area Solution”), this Massachusetts metal machine celebrates 10-years of metal service (and first release as a quartet) with its spiraled out of control dissonance bolstered with melodic progressive metal passages (“Hour of Rats”, “Sleepless Nights in the Compound”) and an advanced sense of muscular musical technicality leading their off-kilter charge. www.metalblade.net  -Mike SOS

The latest release by Slayer finds the thrash metal titans as ferocious as ever, pulling off a convincing return to fleet-footed glory on the 11-track WORLD PAINTED BLOOD. Armed with chaotic spurts of aggression (“Psychopathy Red”, “Unit 731″), violent hardcore punk tendencies (“Public Display of Dismemberment”) and haunting mid-tempo menacings (“Playing With Dolls”), this disc recaptures the classic feel of SEASONS IN THE ABYSS and REIGN IN BLOOD in clever yet familiar inflections, fully supporting the evil aura concocted by the dual shredding of Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman ripping through Tom Araya’s raging vocal flurries and punishing bass poundings and Dave Lombardo’s blasts of masterful percussive madness. Fueled by a seething anger audible in Araya’s impressive impassioned grab you by the jugular vocal performance and the overall rapid-fire musical output, Slayer proves to still be a measuring stick for the extreme music world by laying down a triumphant album after two decades plus of sticking to their guns and remaining a dark and diabolical underground metal monster that consistently churn out slabs of dependably depraved heaviness. www.slayer.net  -Mike SOS

Independent desert rock quartet Dali’s Llama make good in their quest for a heavier sound on their latest stoner rock smattering RAW IS REAL. This unit’s eighth self-released offering features ex-Kyuss bassist and desert rock guru Scott Reeder behind the board once again, resulting in a sharper yet discernibly more snarling presentation of this brazen squad’s amalgamation of unadulterated attitude, swampy smoothness, galactic guitar missions, and robust rhythm section phrasings. Thanks to a gruffer vocal showing and a deliberately array of darker riffs and melodies coming to the surface (“Grump”, “Raw is Real”, “Eve’s Navel”), this 10-track endeavor’s accentuated air of aggression champions a rash of noticeably heftier tones yet Dali’s Llama’s staple set of hypnotic groove goodness, free-form jam sensibilities and syrupy sweetness (“Always”, “Fluids”) remain intact, fortifying this band’s viscous and visceral foundation while rounding out arguably the most well-crafted album this genuinely passionate act has released thus far. www.dalisllamarecords.com  -Mike SOS

Canadian punk rock veterans DOA cut to the chase on their latest release KINGS OF PUNK, HOCKEY, AND BEER. This 13-track affair, featuring many previously released tracks by this staple act, ties together their loves via some clever liner notes into a cohesive raucous sing a long collection perfect to get incoherent by. If you can’t tell a slap shot from a slap chop or prefer bubbly to brew, you’re best off skipping this one, but if you’re a diehard blue-seater or enjoy a pint or 10, there’s little here you can deny stomping your feet and getting your drink on to. www.suddendeath.com -Mike SOS