“Ressurrection Through Carnage” is the second release and first full release from this spectacular all-star death metal band. Their debut EP “Breeding Death” was a brutal dose of old school death metal. I’ve only so far listened to the first two tracks of this latest release, but so far I’m loving it.

Bloodbath is fronted by Mikael Åkerfeldt who also fronts the amazing band Opeth. Don’t expect anything pretty here, I figure this release will be balls to the wall fury. Also in the band are Blakkheim of Katatonia and Diabolical Masquerade, Jonas Renkse also of Katatonia, and Dan Swanö of many different projects. A few of them being Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, and Pan-Thy-Monium. He also contributed some vocals on Therion’s killer “Theli” CD. Dan plays drums with Bloodbath, a shame as he has such a great voice. But then again, his voice really isn’t brutal like Bloodbath’s music requires.

I love the vocals on this disc. He is so friggin’ brutal, yet you can still understand what he is saying. And they are not buried in the mix. Nothing kills a CD for me faster than burying the vocals under the music. Vocals are mixed very nicely here.

I really like the music too. There seems to be good separation between the instruments. And the guitar tone is very heavy but remains crisp and tight. Three songs in I have heard several Slayer-isms, but then that’s not surprising since Slayer was such a pioneer of heavy music.

I don’t think this CD feels quite as old school as the EP did. I guess it depends on your definition of old school. There are still quite a few parts that seem melodic to me, and so I don’t consider it old school. Although, if by old school you mean anything that sounds like it came out before At The Gates, then yeah, ok I can see that.

Have I yet mentioned that this CD ROCKS?!!!!! This is like world destroyer music, it just CRUSHES! I may give myself whiplash listening to this friggin’ thing!

“The Soulcollector” has some of the deepest vocals I have ever heard. It’s sub-human. You thought the vocals on Morbid Angel’s “Domination” album were deep and freaky, check this out!

The songs, while being extremely heavy, are still different enough that it doesn’t seem like each song is the same thing repeated. This is excellent pit music. (Note - At the recent Opeth show, people repeatedly called out for Bloodbath, but it was not to be.)

Ok, so I am now on the last track and let me tell you, this disc is bound to be a classic. I think my damn ears are bleeding. You know that scene in Heavy Metal when the taxi driver melts the people in his cab? Yeah, I think he was using this CD! KILLER!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Black Dahlia Murder takes their name from a grisly 1947 murder case that was never solved. Read the gruesome details here. The Black Dahlia Murder hail from my home state of Michigan, from the stinking cesspool that is Detroit. The CD was recorded in Redford, Michigan, even closer to home. Alas, Michigan is no longer home, but it’s nice to have the occasional reminder that home is still out there.

Their bio draws comparisons to At The Gates, Dissection, and Carcass. So far these seem like pretty good comparisons. The music definitely has a taste of Swedish death going on. Vocally it combines the mid-high Swedish death screech with the low American death growl to nice effect.

The production on this is nice, sounds pretty good. It isn’t muddy sounding like so many bad death albums can be. That’s one thing that always bothers me about a CD.

While this is a technically proficient album, and it sounds really good, it really isn’t breaking any new ground. I’m not trying to speak poorly of this CD, it’s a good CD, but if you are looking for something new and innovative in the metal world this is not your album. They could really improve things by varying the dynamics a little so it’s not always the same. On the other hand, if what you want is good, brutal, melodic death metal in a classic time proven style, I expect you will like this CD. I give them bonus points for sounding like they do while coming from Detroit; Their style is very European to be originating from such an American urban setting.

Then again, this is also their first album, so for a first album this is certainly no slouch. Maybe with a little more experience under their belt they will take some chances and try some new tricks. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for their next release.

When I reviewed their last album I said I was looking forward to hearing more from As I Lay Dying in the future. Well, the wait has been worth it.

As I Lay Dying are taking death metal to a whole new level. I hesitate to even refer to them as death metal, because that tag is really too constrictive for them. The vocals remain safely within the realm of death metal (though there are sometimes clean vox as well) but the music is so much more than traditional death metal. I really don’t know who I could compare them to musically, but while still very heavy it is also very melodic and riff oriented.

What they do is working just fine for me, but I think on their next release I’d like to hear more of the clean vocals mixed in with the harsh vocals, ala Beyond the Embrace’s “Insect Song.” Mind you, I don’t want them to get rid of the harsh vocals; I just would like to hear it mixed up more with clean vocals. That seems to give the music more dynamics, making the harsh vocals even harsher when laid alongside clean vocals.

The production on this disc is very slick. It sounds great. I wish more bands could produce albums that sound this good.

As I Lay Dying are now part of the American metal elite, leading the vanguard with Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, and Beyond the Embrace.