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"Death Metal Is For Pussies" (04/04/2005) Heavy Metal Kickass (The), Bifocal MediaThe Kickass: Andy Townshend (guitar, keyboards); Chris Winchell (trumpet); Tony Murnahan (bass); Benjamin Earl (drums).

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"Meteora" (03/25/2003) Heavy Metal Linkin Park, Warner Bros. Records (Record Label)This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Enhancements include behind-the-scenes video footage, a screensaver, and weblinks. Linkin Park: Mike Shinoda (vocals, emcee, samples); Chester Bennington (vocals); Brad Delson (guitar, background vocals); Phoenix (bass, background vocals); Rob Bourdon (drums, background vocals); Joseph Hahn (turntables, samples, background vocals). Additional personnel: Joel Derouin, Charlie Bisharat, Alyssa Park, Sara Parkins, Michelle Richards, Mark Robertson (violin); Evan Wilson, Bob Becker (viola); Larry Corbett, Dan Smith (cello); David Zasloff (Shakuhachi flute). Recorded at NRG Studios, North Hollywood, California. "Session" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. In one of the most highly anticipated follow-ups of recent years, Linkin Park maintains its position at the top of the nu-metal heap with METEORA. The band labored carefully over their craft; for instance, the writing process of leadoff single "Somewhere I Belong" spawned 30 finished choruses before vocalists Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington arrived at the version found on the album. The combination of Shinoda's raps and Bennington's sing/scream vocals makes for an altogether complementary approach, best evidenced in "Faint" and "Easier To Run." The pressure felt by Linkin Park to meet a high standard with their sophomore release even finds it's way into the lyrics of "Nobody's Listening," where self-doubt and fear are almost all-consuming. Producer Don Gilmore (Apex Theory, Blind Tribe) mans the boards with a decisive lean towards acoustic drums. That is not to say by any means that Linkin Park's inventive use of samples and turntables is any less present or crucial to the group's now-signature sound.

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"Adult Video" (08/17/1999) Heavy Metal Resurrection, Rock Records

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"Nymphetamine [PA]" (09/28/2004) Heavy Metal Cradle Of Filth, Roadrunner Records (USA)Cradle Of Filth: Dani Filth (vocals); Paul Allender, James McIlroy (guitar); Martin Foul (piano); Herr Pubis (bass guitar); Adrian Erlandsson (drums). Recording information: 2004. NYMPHETAMINE (according to the band, a term defined as a ravenous addiction to classically beautiful women) is Cradle of Filth's sixth full-length album, and third in a row on a new label (in this case, Roadrunner Records). It's also stripped of the grandeur provided by a full orchestra and choir on 2003's DAMNATION AND A DAY. Time spent on the road with 2003's Ozzfest left the band with a need to simplify the arrangements, in an effort to capture the ferocity of their legendary live shows. What's left is heavily thrash-influenced and teeming with fluid guitar lines rooted in the classic British metal of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Relying less on synths, strings, and operatic background vocals, Cradle of Filth turns up the guitars a notch and delivers wave after wave of brutal yet melodic riffs anchored in the band's early influences. Guitarists Paul Allender and James McIlroy twist lines into dark harmonies on "Nemesis" and "Coffin Fodder," while delicate piano intros add atmosphere to "English Fire" and "Absinthe with Faust." The title track features a duet with Liv Kristine (Theatre of Tragedy, Leaves Eyes) that epitomizes the idea of beauty and the beast. NYMPHETAMINE proves that less can indeed mean more.

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"Three Days Grace" (07/22/2003) Heavy Metal Three Days Grace, Jive Records (USA)Three Days Grace: Adam, Neil, Brad. Recorded at Longview Farm Studios, North Brookfield, Massachusetts; Bearsville Studios, Woodstock, New York; Vespa Studios and A Room Full Of Stuff Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When it comes to heavy-metal lyrics, historically there have been but a few options. If one isn't inclined to go the ever popular, Iron Maiden-approved demons and wizards route, he or she is really only left with Kiss-style macho chest-pounding, or bleak alienation of the type perfected by Metallica. With its self-titled U.S. debut album, THREE DAYS GRACE manages to add a fourth option by combining ultra-stripped-down, de-tuned monster riffs in the very best Black Sabbath/Melvins tradition with emo-esque, heart-on-the-sleeve, diary-like poetry worthy of a Deep Elm Records release. In addition, these north-of-the-border boys add a snap-tight, chorus pedal-heavy production sheen that recalls the greatest of all Canadian hard-rock trios, Rush (particularly that band's excellent, but oft-overlooked, 1990s albums COUNTERPARTS and TEST FOR ECHO). By combining the best elements of metal and emo, two often-opposing genres, THREE DAYS GRACE breathe new life into both styles.

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"In Concert" (05/09/1994) Heavy Metal Deep Purple, EMI Records (UK)

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"Disclaimer II [PA]" (06/08/2004) Heavy Metal Seether, Wind-Up RecordsSeether: Shaun Morgan (vocals, guitar); Dale Stewart (bass); Nick Oshiro (drums). Recorded at NRG Recording Services, N. Hollywood, California and Larrabee Studios, Hollywood, California. Additional personnel: Amy Lee . A cursory listen to DISCLAIMER reveals a debt to such U.S. heavy rock bands as Papa Roach and Drowning Pool, no great shock since Seether producer Jay Baumgardner had previously worked with both of those bands. The surprising part is that this very American-sounding nu-metal band actually comes from South Africa. Their homeland is where the Dave Matthews Band comparisons abruptly end, though. Seether goes for the time-tested power-trio format that's served hard-hitting rock bands in good stead throughout the decades, from Mountain to Nirvana. Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Shaun Morgan is at the heart of the group's sound, his angst-ridden lyrics and emotive delivery occasionally suggesting the influence of the aforementioned Kurt Cobain-fronted band. Grunge flavoring to the contrary, though, this is a solidly contemporary band whose sheer sonic force puts them directly in the forefront of circa-2002 heavy rock. (Note: DISCLAIMER II features this debut, in addition to eight bonus tracks and a DVD.)

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"10,000 Days" (05/02/2006) Heavy Metal Tool, Volcano 3Tool: Danny Carey, Adam Jones, Justin Chancellor, Maynard James Keenan. Recording information: O'Henry Studios, Burbank, California. To its legion of fans, everything the band Tool does is an event, but the elaborate plan behind their sporadic release schedule--roughly five years, on average, between albums--is due primarily to the time and effort the band packs into each successive effort. To title their fourth album 10,000 DAYS, then, isn't as much an exaggeration as it would seem. Tool are America's most consummate mainstream perfectionists, revitalizing progressive rock to the grandeur of its '70s heyday, but updated with technocratic tension and existential dread not known to previous generations. Perhaps it's the development of more musical genres at the turn of the millennium, but it's also Tool's ability to take what is needed from each and leave the florid excesses behind, forming a seething gray core of angst and release across epic-length songs that are as accessible as they are complex. The material on 10,000 DAYS provides typically thought-provoking grist for the band's lyrical handwringing ("Vicarious" tackles reality television as the bane of culture; "Wings for Marie" is a two-part suite on the death of vocalist Maynard James Keenan's mother), and is as musically engaging as ever, finding the band at their most powerful since 1996's AENIMA.

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"Metal Ballads" (12/2005) Heavy Metal Various Artists, Sony Music Special Products

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"Live in Texas" (11/18/2003) Heavy Metal Linkin Park, Warner Bros. Records (Record Label)Includes bonus DVD. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Linkin Park: Mike Shinoda (vocals, emcee, samples); Chester Bennington (vocals); Brad Delson (guitar, background vocals); Phoenix (bass, background vocals); Rob Bourdon (drums, background vocals); Joseph Hahn (turntables, samples, background vocals). Recorded live at Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas on August 2, 2003 and at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas on August 3, 2003. Linkin Park's third album (not including the remix project, REANIMATION) is their first live effort, recorded in 2003 on their Metallica and Limp Bizkit-accompanied Summer Sanitarium tour. Showcasing material from their previous two albums, HYBRID THEORY and METEORA, it works well both as a semi-greatest hits set and a useful stopgap for diehard fans. LIVE IN TEXAS finds Linkin Park tighter and more powerful than ever on songs such as the incendiary "One Step Closer" and the pop-metal hybrid "Numb." The band's trademark amalgam of metal, pop, and hip-hop translates well to this live setting, with Mike Shinoda's growling vocals contrasting even more sharply with Chester Bennington's rather angelic pipes. Linkin Park's melodic, roiling choruses, with their frequent angular pauses before jumping straight back into the aural mosh pit, are ideally suited to the wide-open concert venue featured here. While it's no substitute for an actual in-person Linkin Park live experience, the album is both a useful memento of a moment in time and a fine testament to the band's ability to walk a musical tightrope without a studio-enhanced net.

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"Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection" (05/17/2005) Heavy Metal Def Leppard, Island Records (USA)Def Leppard: Joe Elliot (vocals); Pete Willis, Phil Collen, Steve Clark , Vivian Campbell (guitar); Rick Savage (bass guitar); Rick Allen (drums). Recording information: 1980 - 2005. In the mid-1980s, there were few hard-rock bands as popular as Sheffield, England's Def Leppard. Influenced by the glam rock of Queen, Slade, and the Sweet, the quartet reveled in the style's high-energy elements, while trading the outlandish imagery for a no-frills, denim-clad look that made them even more accessible to the masses. With 1983's PYROMANIA and its delayed follow-up punch, 1987's HYSTERIA, Def Leppard became an international phenomenon, unleashing hit after hit, including the riff-heavy, shout-along singles "Rock of Ages," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," and "Armageddon It." This collection presents every song on the previously released VAULT: GREATEST HITS 1980-1995, along with an entire second disc of additional album tracks, including the AC/DC-like "High 'N' Dry (Saturday Night)" and HYSTERIA's anthemic ode to "Women." Throughout the decades, the group endured its share of upheavals and tragedies--drummer Rick Allen lost an arm in a 1985 accident and guitarist Steve Clark died in 1991--but they continued recording into the 21st century (see the 2002 track "Now"), revealing a determination that most of their peers lacked. For fans of '80s hard rock, this 35-track compilation is essential.

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"Rust In Peace [Remaster]" (07/27/2004) Heavy Metal Megadeth, Capitol/EMI RecordsMegadeth: Dave Mustaine (vocals, guitar); Marty Friedman (guitar); David Ellefson (bass guitar, background vocals); Nick Menza (drums, background vocals). After the success of PEACE SELLS?BUT WHO'S BUYING? in 1986 and SO FAR, SO GOOD, SO WHAT! in 1988, Megadeth was fast becoming one of thrash metal's leading outfits. However, the band's hard work was nearly derailed because of the continuous dismissals of band members and chronic substance abuse. Founding members Dave Mustaine (guitar/vocals) and Dave Ellefson (bass) changed their ways before work on their fourth album began, hiring drummer Nick Menza and ex-Cacophony guitarist Marty Friedman. When Megadeth re-emerged with RUST IN PEACE in 1990, metalheads were happy to hear that the changes hadn't dulled their attack in the slightest. "Holy Wars?The Punishment Due" is an absolutely crushing opener that shows off the technical expertise of the musicians, while "Hangar 18" covers the familiar ground of alien visitation and government conspiracy. Both videos were put in heavy rotation on MTV's Headbanger's Ball program, which helped land the band a spot on the successful heavy 'Clash of the Titans' tour with Anthrax, Slayer, and Alice In Chains. Other highlights include the heavy hitters "Five Magics," "Lucretia," and "Rust in Peace?Polaris."