For us, 2011 was another year of taking in as much as we could and sharing the best with you. Next year, however, will be a homecoming of sorts, a return to rock-'n'-roll roots. We'll soon be able to share the projects that we have in store — across multiple mediums — but for now, dig into this rock-focused list of must-own albums.

And for more, revisit (or simply visit) our lists from 2010 and 2009:

100 Unheralded Albums from 2010
50 Unheralded Albums from 2009

Steven Drozd: The Heart Is A Drum Machine (The Score) (Twinkle Cash Co., 1/18/11)

Steven Drozd: "Born"

A multi-instrumentalist and the third-most-tenured member of The Flaming Lips, Steven Drozd marked his first official solo release early this year with the nearly instrumental accompaniment to the documentary The Heart is a Drum Machine.

The music shares a lot of characteristics with the Flaming Lips of the past dozen years – synthesized grooves, big rock beats, fuzz bass, airy keyboards, and different instrumental flourishes weaving in and out. But listeners are unlikely to confuse the two, and the score succeeds as a standalone album as well as a film accompaniment.

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead (Richter Scale Records / Superball Music, 2/8/11)

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: "Weight of the Sun"

There has been no shortage of grand themes and allegories in the canon of Austin post-punk quintet …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The band’s newest album, however, better matches its ambitious themes with its music, presenting an epic pair of pieces for Tao of the Dead.

The album recalls progressive albums of yore, from the likes of Rush and King Crimson, but channels them into easily digested movements. Stretches of heavy distortion and drum thrashing will appeal to the more metal-minded Trail of Dead fans, but there’s also plenty of hook-laden, radio-ready alternative rock.

Wires Under Tension: Light Science (Western Vinyl, 2/8/11)

Wires Under Tension: "Electricity Turns Them On"

Light Science is the exciting debut from Wires Under Tension, a duo comprised of violinist/multi-instrumentalist Christopher Tignor and drummer Theo Metz. With help from a few friends, including Jared Bell of Lymbyc Systym, the two combine live performance with electronic manipulation, sounding something like a progressive Dirty Three with horns, hip-hop beats, and post-rock guitar swells.

This seven-track release is a dense, fluid collection that retains consistency thanks to Metz’s steady rhythms. Electro-mechanical piano, clavinet, and synthesizers mesh with loops and samples to round out an impressive first release.

Pitom: Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes (Tzadik, 2/22/11)

Pitom: "Head in the Ground"

Combining heavy, fuzzy rock jams with Jewish melodies, Pitom is one of many projects from guitarist, bassist, and composer Yoshie Fruchter. Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes, the quartet's second release on Tzadik, follows the same path as its predecessor, but it does so with a bit more cohesion and restraint.

Built from the ground up with distorted bass and violin, the band's music carries similarities to that of Skeletonbreath and Miasma & The Carousel of Headless Horses. Whether driving a song with an infectious melody, commingling with the violin in the high end, or simply taking over a track with raw ability, Fruchter knows when to go full throttle (the punk power of "An Epic Encounter") or pull back (the dark slow jam of "A Resentful Repentance").

The Psychic Paramount: II (No Quarter, 2/22/11)

The Psychic Paramount: "RW"

Though relatively silent for the past six years, New York noise-rock trio The Psychic Paramount returned in February to release its first full-length since 2005. Effected guitar loops, devastating low-end grooves, and bashing rhythms again form the core of the band's sound, but II is a direct yet dynamic rock explosion.

Between the guitar, the cymbals, and the effects, the mid-range gets a constant workout. Those who are turned off by this kind of music may find it to be an exercise in patience, but the lengthier durations are a testament to the trio's skills at climax and denouement.

DeVotchKa: 100 Lovers (Anti-, 3/1/11)

DeVotchKa: "100 Other Lovers"

Following the fame from its Oscar-winning soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine in 2006, Denver multi-instrumental quartet DeVotchKa has playfully tinkered with its sweeping, emotive sound. Though it already tossed together elements of folk, rock, Mexican, and Gypsy music, it remained united by the sullen croons and songwriting of frontman Nick Urata.

That unifying factor remains, but its newest album, 100 Lovers – its second post-Sunshine full-length – continues to expand the band’s scope. The material adds new and often subtle flavors to DeVotchKa’s repertoire. Uninitiated listeners might hear more of the same, but 100 Lovers is perfect for content fans – moving in new directions without a radical departure.

Stateless: Matilda (Ninja Tune, 3/1/11)

Stateless: "Ariel"

Matilda, Stateless' second full-length, showcases the British electro-rock group's continued maturity. Lead singer Chris James hits an impressive range of notes, from reverb-cloaked backing croons to soulful leads, atop an amalgamated mix of styles, sounds, and beats.

With contributions from The Balanescu Quartet, DJ Shadow, and Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond), Matilda is stylistically inventive, with familiar worldly touchstones reworked into new contexts.

Grails: Deep Politics (Temporary Residence, 3/8/11)

Grails: "I Led Three Lives"

With cinematic soundscapes, Westernized Indian melodies, film-noir mystique, 1960s psychedelia, and crushing heaviness, Grails is an instrumental rarity. The Portland band's newest offering, Deep Politics, is an engaging and epic mix of acoustic intonations, indigenous sounds and melodies, spaghetti-western motifs, somber piano balladry, and more doom-filled, Eastern-infused stylistic transcendence.

And thanks in part to arrangements by Timba Harris, the mighty violinist from unparalleled genre annihilators Estradasphere and Secret Chiefs 3, Deep Politics vies to be Grails’ best album yet.

Parts & Labor: Constant Future (Jagjaguwar, 3/8/11)

Parts & Labor: "Constant Future"

After establishing itself early last decade as an interesting new name in noise rock, Parts & Labor delivered a flurry of releases over the span of just a few years. Since then, the band has scaled back to a trio built around the fuzzed guitar, bass, keyboard hooks, and tight rock rhythms.

Featuring some of the band's sturdiest songs yet, Constant Future is direct, potent, and catchy. Behind Dan Friel and BJ Warshaw's echoing, harmonized vocals are dirty, thick grooves that power the overlaid electronic freak-outs.

Adebisi Shank: This is the Second Album from a Band Called Adebisi Shank (Sargent House, 3/15/11)

Adebisi Shank: "Micro Machines"

Released to European acclaim in 2010, the aptly titled second album from Irish electro/math rockers Adebisi Shank achieved North American release this year thanks to the peerless Sargent House.

The management company / record label describes the trio as a blend of Fang Island’s shredding riffs with Battles’ electronic quirkiness and rhythmic playfulness. That description isn’t off the mark, but readers won’t get a sense of the band’s real abilities until they hear its hyper-melodic, polyrhythmic, and — most importantly — jubilant songs in full.

Second Album delivers a maelstrom of zany electronics, unusual distortions, and triumphant, rapidly ascending scales mixed with vintage synths, marimba, horns, and other accoutrements. This is all packaged between and around gloriously catchy and powerful rock riffs, resulting in a manic and buoyant sophomore effort.

Mister Heavenly: Out of Love (Sub Pop)

Mister Heavenly: "Bronx Sniper"

In music, unlike the NBA, it’s perfectly acceptable for a hometown hero to enlist his buddies for a maddeningly dominant triumvirate. Formed in 2010 with far less pageantry than the would-be "big three" of the Miami Heat, Mister Heavenly comprises Nick Thorburn (Islands, The Unicorns), Ryan Kattner (Man Man), and Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse, The Shins).

The first 25 seconds of the trio’s debut album, Out of Love, feints left with a strummed guitar and brittle vocals — territory where Thorburn has made his name — and then cracks wide open with pure rock-'n'-roll swagger. With the two songwriters, Thorburn and Kattner, carrying on an exchange of verses and riffs, one expects a certain amount of fragmentation. Instead, the dual vocalists complement each other in surprising ways — a result likely due to the rather unlikely influence of doo-wop.

An ear for nostalgia and a strict set of ground rules keeps Out of Love from developing a split personality. Of course, it’s not doo-wop; it’s “doom-wop,” according to the band. Thorburn can sing a mean hook, and sticky melodies seem to come effortlessly, but it’s Kattner (known for his guttural vocals and manic, face-painted antics) and Plummer (a versatile drummer) who bring the edge and keep things unpredictable.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

NewVillager: s/t (IAMSOUND)

NewVillager: "Lighthouse"

As a captivating yet mystifying merger of music, art, and performance, NewVillager is an otherworldly project revolving around an elaborate mythology and still-unfolding allegories, denoting three colors — red, green, and blue — as past, present, and future, respectively, while offering black and white as catabolic and anabolic forces.

With these as background, the project’s principals — Ben Bromley and Ross Simonini — use a large cast of contributors to depict different aspects of its creation myth via songs, videos, and installation art. One such video, for the song “Lighthouse,” features ornately costumed crimson- and sapphire-hued characters and draws inspiration from Papua New Guinean tribal aesthetics.

On the group’s debut album, each song focuses on one of the ten aspects of its mythology’s transformations. With rich, multi-layered results, the music intertwines reverberated indie-rock guitars with skittering hi-hat beats, synth grooves, and Beck-style falsettos with baritone weirdness and sing-along refrains.

- Text by Katie Fanuko. Read the full story in Chromatic, available September 20.

All Pigs Must Die: God is War (Southern Lord)

All Pigs Must Die: "Pulverization"

As another new addition to the ever-growing sub-genre of metallic hardcore, All Pigs Must Die carries a set of credentials that most upstarts do not, counting vocalist Kevin Baker (The Hope Conspiracy), drummer Ben Koller (Converge), and guitarist Adam Wentworth and bassist Matt Woods (Bloodhorse) as veteran members.

God is War is the group's full-length debut, and following a five-track EP last year, it spreads the band's assailing sound over more than 30 minutes worth of material. Citing influences that range from the Cro-Mags and Discharge to Entombed and Celtic Frost — and recorded, naturally, by Kurt Ballou of Converge — All Pigs Must Die follows a path that's well tread but still powerful.

Contemporaries such as Trap Them (and much of the Deathwish Inc. roster) draw close comparisons, but God is War delivers an intensity that is matched by few, bringing more speed to the traditionally doomy Southern Lord roster.

MoHa!: Meiningslaust Oppgulp (Rune Grammofon)

MoHa!: "Brikjande Glime"

Mixing composition and improv in a sort of "free electro-rock" style, Norway's MoHa! has been one of the country's finest avant exports since the mid-2000s.

Just a duo, the two-piece overcomes its size limitations with a barrage of sounds, triggering effects from its drums and cymbals while running electronics alongside guitar and other noise. MoHa!'s live performance is quite the spectacle as well, as quickly flashing lights inundate the audience in synchronicity with the noise-rock insanity.

The duo has three full-length offerings through Rune Grammofon, but it also has an assortment of seven-inches and other hard-to-find releases. Thankfully, that small-run material is now released as this singles collection. The music is every bit as frantic and zany as one would expect — but without the visual accompaniment, you're not doing yourself justice. Pick this up and then head to YouTube.

Gojogo: 28,000 Days (Porto Franco)

Gojogo: "Firebird"

The third full-length from Bay Area classical-jazz quartet Gojogo is a compelling hybrid that blends electronic sampling with strings, upright bass, and Indian percussion. Each member brings a different background to the table, and in the case of percussionist Elias Reitz, who plays dholki and ghatam, learning how to communicate musically with Western-trained musicians was a difficulty in itself. The cross-pollination came with rich rewards, however, as 28,000 days (76 years, or the average lifespan) is masterfully unpredictable and textured.

The album begins with the string-based “Tale of Tales,” which, with its dramatic peaks, valleys, and multiple movements, would be at home in a cinematic setting. Indeed, Gojogo has worked on both film scores and dance performances in its 10-year career, but as the second half of the lead track indicates, the band has no hesitation in plugging in and getting loud.

The deep, plucked bass and the familiar clack of hand-struck drums drive the album through its various moods, creating a consistent backbone for conversational electric guitar and violin. Elements of drone and post-rock are present as well, lending an intensity and hard edge to a laid-back, melodic tour of genres and eras.

- Text by Kyle Gilkeson.

Honorable Mentions

Appetite: Scattered Smothered Covered (Crossbill)

Awol One & Nathaniel Motte: The Child Star (Fake Four)

Braid: Closer to Closed EP (Polyvinyl)

Jeff Bridges: s/t (Blue Note)

Case Studies: The World is Just a Shape to Fill the Night (Sacred Bones)

The Cool Kids: When Fish Ride Bicycles (CAKE  / Green Label Sound)

Matthew Friedberger: Cut it Out LP (Thrill Jockey)

GDFX: One Thing (Impose)

Gold Leaves: The Ornament (Hardly Art)

A Lull: Confetti Reprise EP (Mush)

Sølyst: s/t (Bureau B)

The War on Drugs: Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)

Yellow Ostrich: The Mistress (Barsuk)

Young Widows

Young Widows: "Future Heart"

Though not a strict departure from previous material, the new album by post-hardcore outfit Young Widows displays a different phase of the band's career. Calling it a “progression” might apply regressive traits to its first two albums, but In and Out of Youth and Lightness turns down the Cro-Magnon wallop and continues the band’s history of accomplished noise rock.

Its last album, Old Wounds, was a mostly live recording by Kurt Ballou (Converge, Coliseum, Pygmy Lush). In contrast, the new album was produced by the band and Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket) at The Funeral Home in its hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Guitarist and vocalist Evan Patterson joined us to answer a few questions about the band's songwriting process and what bands people should check out.

How do you describe your music?

I don’t, but if you were a clerk at a gas station, I would tell you that we are a rock band. That’s as far as I can go.

On the new album, there's a bit of a weird blues influence — less Jesus Lizard pummel and more of a Liars atmospheric vibe. What did you want to do new or different? What did you want to keep the same?

Music has to progress. There are no specific influences. The goal with this album was to find my voice, and that was wholeheartedly achieved. Lyrically, [they're] the heaviest and most affective songs that I’ve created. Old blues has that same effect on me. It speaks to me. The bridge between modern rock music and blues is a short one, and it’s inevitable that those characteristics will be riding in the same vehicle to achieve certain goals.

How do you write songs? Are songs brought in by individuals, or are they worked out through collective rehearsals?

Most the songs are created through one part — whether it being drums, bass, or guitar — [and] we jam the ideas until the song comes together. It can be a single rehearsal or 30 rehearsals, but the mood of the song is the deciding factor of if we are going to keep a song around to document or ditch it.

Based on the live recording, the songs on Old Wounds must have been fully worked out before they were captured. Did you do more writing “in the studio” with In and Out?

We don’t write any music in the studio. Maybe a minor change, but the songs are as close to complete as possible when entering the studio. Lyrically, the songs changed quite a bit in the studio. Our excessive stage volume doesn’t lend itself to being able to audibly hear the final outcome.

How would you compare the state of the band during your most recent recording compared to the past?

Open and focused.

What other current bands should we paying more attention to?

My Disco, Phantom Family Halo, Flying Horseman, Helms Alee, Cave, Kings Daughters and Sons, Bill Callahan, Mick Harvey. On that note, someone needs to do a piece on Crime and the City Solution.

Adebisi Shank: This Is The Second Album From A Band Called Adebisi Shank (Sargent House)

Adebisi Shank: "Micro Machines"

Released to European acclaim in 2010, the aptly titled second album from Irish electro/math rockers Adebisi Shank has now achieved North American release thanks to the peerless Sargent House.

The record label / management company describes the trio as a blend of Fang Island’s shredding riffs with Battles’ electronic quirkiness and rhythmic playfulness. That description isn’t off the mark, but readers won’t get a sense of the band’s real abilities until they hear its hyper-melodic, polyrhythmic, and — most importantly — jubilant songs in full.

Over 40 minutes — a self-described "double album" given the band's riff-intensive style — Second Album delivers a maelstrom of zany electronics, unusual distortions, and triumphant, rapidly ascending scales mixed with vintage synths, marimba, horns, and other accoutrements.  This is all packaged between and around gloriously catchy and powerful rock riffs.

It's a manic and buoyant sophomore effort.  Simply put, Adebisi Shank is a revelation.

Trap Them: Darker Handcraft (Prosthetic)

Trap Them: "The Facts"

Originally conceived as a side project to Backstabbers Incorporated, riotous hardcore quintet Trap Them became a full-time endeavor half a decade ago and has been perfecting its sound ever since.

For Darker Handcraft, its third full-length album and first for Prosthetic, the band continues expanding, ever so slightly, its grindcore style to present more assailing D-beat rhythms and impossibly heavy sounds.  The production, again courtesy of Kurt Ballou, draws understandable parallels to the producer's main gig in Converge.  But Trap Them's low tunings, dark chord progressions, and noodling high-string riffs are more responsible for the comparison, even if Trap Them is less about diversity and more about straight-forward fury.

This time around, vocalist Ryan McKenney has a crisper but equally brutal delivery, often recalling former Refused front man Dennis Lyxzén.  It might be one of the album's best evolutions — outside of "Drag the Wounds Eternal," the melodic, mid-tempo penultimate jam.  In all, Darker Handcraft is top-notch modern hardcore, meshing punk and metal with equal aplomb.

The Dead Kenny Gs: Operation Long Leash (Royal Potato Family)

The Dead Kenny Gs: "Devil's Playground"

Fans are long used to seeing the names Skerik, Mike Dillon, and Brad Houser in the same sentence.  Together, the three multi-instrumentalists comprised three quarters of genre-hopping groove merchants Critters Buggin (along with percussionist/keyboardist Matt Chamberlain); Skerik and Dillon have worked in Garage a Trois and a few outfits with Les Claypool, and Houser has again joined forces to create The Dead Kenny Gs, a trio of musicians who "listen to Bad Brains and Art Ensemble of Chicago."

Operation Long Leash is the group's second album, and though it isn't freewheeling punk jazz, it shares that marriage of rock aggression, funky hooks, and left turns.  Call it heavy acid swing — or something completely different — but it shares just enough elements with the trio's previous projects while exploring new territory.

After a cohesive, rhythmic blend of dueling saxophones, Dillon's glistening vibraphone, and freak-out effects, the middle and tail end of the album get into more heavy rock grooves, including distorted bass on "Black 5" and pounding tom hits and sax bleeps on "Sweatbox" — which quickly transforms into a jazzy jungle groove.  The thuds soon return for more of the album's wildest and loudest sounds, almost resembling some of Zu's most recent "sludge jazz" album.  From there, the soothing outro of "Jazz Millionaire" proves that The Dead Kenny Gs' moods can swing as much as its music.

Mamiffer: Mare Decendrii (SIGE)

Mamiffer: "We Speak in the Dark"

Led by pianist and graphic artist Faith Coloccia, Mamiffer is a project born from the ashes of a similar if more loosely structured group, Everlovely Lightningheart.  With a rotating cast of guests and permanent members — now including ex-Isis front man, Hydra Head honcho, and SIGE partner Aaron Turner — the group surrounds down-tempo, minor-key piano melodies with eerie, ambient soundscapes of assorted instrumentation.

Though strings, guitars, drums, and slowly unfolding vocals are all regular elements of the group's music, Mare Decendrii — its sophomore full-length — amasses another collection of semi-decipherable sounds.  There are moments of minimalist classical beauty and others of echoing tangents to post-metal, as is the case with the sprawling 20-minute track "We Speak in the Dark," a microcosm of the whole.  It begins with minutes of building dissonance before a lead piano/string line turns into emotive vocal harmonies and a churning post-rock passage with a nearly Nine Inch Nails melody.

And though the album's breadth and reach are to be expected from what Mamiffer has previously delivered, it's fueled further this time thanks to guest spots by violist-and-vocalist duo Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kinney, bassist Don McGreevy (Earth), bassist Brian Cook (Russian Circles), violinist Timb(a) Harris (Estradasphere), drummer Aaron Harris (Isis), and many others.

Honorable Mentions

Antonionian: s/t (Anticon)

Disco Doom: Trux Reverb (The Static Cult Label)

Does It Offend You, Yeah?: Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You (The End / Cooking Vinyl)

KEN Mode: Venerable (Profound Lore)

J. Mascis: Several Shades of Why (Sub Pop)

Mi Ami: Dolphins 12” (Thrill Jockey)

Sin Fang: Summer Echoes (Morr Music)

V/A: Those Shocking, Shaking Days (Now-Again)

Trap Them

Trap Them: "The Facts"

To appreciate Trap Them's new album, Darker Handcraft, it helps to start with the Filth Rations EP from 2010.  Trap Them has consistently charged its hardcore side into a collision with metal that refuses to get dragged down in grime.

The four songs on Filth Rations give as sure a sign as ever that the band's craft and tightness can always match its sheer impatience. The third track, "Dead Fathers Wading In The Bodygrounds," keeps up a gimpy, stumbling trudge as the drums gradually thud harder, and vocalist Ryan McKenney bellows himself up to a pitch that invokes scalding tears and unforgivable injuries. There's a sense that Trap Them is in a desperate frenzy to repeatedly overload their songs, lest a single McKenney roar or screech of feedback from the guitar go unused. Even the cramped handwriting of the lyrics in the EP's liner notes looks more like a dozen rows of snaggled teeth than a sequence of words.

In retrospect, it's as if the band that made Filth Rations was gearing up to achieve a height of directness and focus. Darker Handcraft is a plenty accurate introduction to Trap Them; it once again captures a sonic force that's both furiously commanding and remains bitterly hurt no matter how feverishly it tries to expiate its demons. This time, though, that force resolutely says, "Look, one fucking thing at a time."

"Damage Prose" sets the album on the straightaway to which it mostly sticks. Trap Them has always been capable of playing like a double-time Unsane, but on this track and the following, "Slumcult And Gather," Chris Maggio's precision-sputter drums force McKenney and guitarist Brian Izzi to stay ahead. Not once do they let Maggio's machinations catch up and grind them into chum, instead pacing themselves precisely and creating a tense clarity.

As much as it sounds like a platitude, "pacing themselves" is something that Trap Them does consistently well here. The songs keep their stinging brevity, while also getting in enough time to grow out their structures confidently and conclusively. "Every Walk A Quarantine" finds several ways to prolong its verses and pre-choruses — lots of dynamics that belie the band's grimy exteriors, and one of Izzi's unnerving mid-range skitters — before slamming into its choruses with a cry of what sounds like "We all stay sick! We all stay fuckin' sick!"

Producer (and Converge guitarist) Kurt Ballou's recording of Sleepwell Deconstructor in 2007 captured the band speeding through pools of almost Pig Destroyer-grade slime and bleakness, especially on "Day Five: Garlic Breakfast" and "Day 6: Deconstructioneer Extraordinare." Ballou shows an equally nurturing ear for the punchy riff that front-loads "Evictionaries." If you go back and listen to Sleepwell or another previous Trap Them record, it hardly sounds sloppy or confused. And the Trap Them of Darker Handcraft is not drastically different at heart. The impact is. The band — actually, it's not shorting anyone to say the band and Ballou together — has hardened and sharpened its vision.

Darker Handcraft still has plenty of those lovably Trap Them moments where the band seems to be slowly marching up a mountain of disease — especially the instrumental sixth track, "Sordid Earnings." Track seven, "The Facts," was a good choice as the album's "single" (or whatever the label's chosen free promo MP3 counts as), because that's where Trap Them sounds most like a disciplined unit of hard-rock chargers.

The balance shifts to still deeper unease, shorter songs, and blur-blast drums with "Saintpeelers" and the following three tracks. (Let us pause here to appreciate that song title, simultaneously bad-ass and warped enough to earn a grim chuckle, like those on one great standard for ridiculous hard-rock song titles, Karp's self-titled LP.) This direction leads to yet another adrenal leap on "Sovereign Through The Pines," a minute and a half of hardcore frenzy that digs itself into a nice mucky low-end trench for the finish.

Then, for the last two tracks, Trap Them once again seems to feel it's made enough points with one approach, and decisively moves on before it can get anywhere near old. "Drag The Wounds Eternal" crawls into slightly higher and brighter hooks, paralleling (though not sounding that much like) the melody that Kylesa started to embrace in 2010 on Spiral Shadow. The closer, "Scars Align," hints at the grimy sludge of the above-mentioned "Dead Fathers Waiting In The Bodygrounds." Rather than plunging more and more helplessly into grief as "Dead Fathers" did, "Scars Align" stays right on top of the rage that it's building up.  One of the pre-chorus figures is a great deal like that of Iron Maiden's "Powerslave," which is a nice little omen when you think about it. Not only is Trap Them still exemplary of the devastation that punk and metal can wreak together, it's now letting its songwriting instinct shine proudly through the fallout.

Converge: Axe to Fall (Epitaph)

After nearly 20 years together, unconventional Boston hardcore quartet Converge adds to its eminent catalog with an album that will be one of the best heavy discs of the year.

Immediately, Axe to Fall delivers a heaping dose of full-throttle thrash metal, accelerating through push beats, high-string pull-offs, and double-bass blasts to establish a new tone for the band. "Reap What You Sow" continues the assault with palm-muted speed riffs and squealing solos that wouldn't sound out of place in Metallica's early catalog.

Guitarist/producer Kurt Ballou is at his absolute peak, creating the aforementioned mania and utilizing his usual armaments of dirge riffs, down-tuned chugging, and morose melodies. Additionally, the group's stream of one-off guest musicians continues to widen, this time sweeping guitarist Steve Von Till (Neurosis), vocalist Mookie Singerman (Genghis Tron), and three-quarters of Cave In (guitarists Stephen Brodsky and Adam McGrath and drummer JR Conners) into compelling cameos.

Ultimately, Axe to Fall makes its case to be Converge's best album. But whether or not you agree, it's another reflection of Converge at the top of its game, crushing listeners will full-bodied hardcore that isn't afraid to bust out an acoustic guitar, piano, and glockenspiel for a track.

Russian Circles: Geneva (Suicide Squeeze)

Striking a balance between the relentless riffage of Enter (Flameshovel, 2006) and the melodious restraint of Station (Suicide Squeeze, 2008), Geneva showcases a maturity of instrumental rock trio Russian Circles through complete creations — songs that equally call upon sheer beauty, ascending tension, and caustic force.

It’s not as voracious as the band’s debut, but Geneva retains a dynamic vibe through rhythmic heaviness, much of which comes via new bassist Brian Cook. A current member of These Arms are Snakes, Cook makes his “debut” on Geneva, making his presence immediately felt with a worming bass groove on album opener “Fathom.”

Cook is but one key addition to the band’s repertoire; adjunct instruments, generally stringed, augment and guide much the album’s material.

These chordophones accentuate three of the album’s first four tracks, and they lead the first five minutes of “Philos,” a 10-minute epic that closes Geneva in ruminative fashion. Just prior, distant horns utter a wordless lamentation on the album’s penultimate track, “When the Mountain Comes to Muhammad.”

In retrospect, Geneva should mark the pivot point for the band's career — a moment that marks both the band’s musical maturity and its arrival as a major player in independent rock.

Shrinebuilder: s/t (Neurot)

Consisting of guitarist Scott Kelly (Neurosis), guitarist Scott “Wino” Weinrich (Saint Vitus), bassist Al Cisneros (Om), and drummer Dale Crover (Melvins), this highly anticipated project is a four-piece heavy-psych super group that holds long-lasting intentions.

As one might imagine based on the members’ current and former bands, Shrinebuilder is based on brief, cyclical riffs that are topped with swirling effects. These give way to fuller, meditative breakdowns, which frequently revert back to mid-tempo stoner-metal wizardry.

Each member contributes vocals, which range from semi-spoken to distant, harmonic, and gruff. These different vocal styles help to individualize each track, which might otherwise run together via similarities in style and duration.

“Pyramid of the Moon” combines hymnal harmonies, high-pitched guitar synchronizations, über-echoed vocals, and a warbling synth sound into a dreamy blend. We could proclaim it to be the best selection of this five-tune full-length, but the album’s final track, “Science of Anger,” only comes with the full retail version of the album – available today.

Honorable mentions:

The Black Heart Procession: Six (Temporary Residence)
Fuck Buttons: Tarot Sport (ATP)
OOIOO: Armonico Hewa (Thrill Jockey)
Sufjan Stevens: The BQE (Asthmatic Kitty)
Themselves: CrownsDown (Anticon)

Supermachiner, the haunting, mostly instrumental side project from Converge members Jacob Bannon and Kurt Ballou, will soon have its complete 30-track, two-disc collection, Rust, available through Deathwish Inc. Listen to a few tracks here.

Big Business has announced the release of its new album, Mind the Drift, for April on Hydra Head. Listen to a new track, "Gold and Final," on the group's MySpace page.

Japanese post-rockers Mono have a new album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind, being released on March 24 on Temporary Residence. The album boasts guest contributions from a 28-member orchestra.

Seven Signs, the Southern culture documentary by J.D. Wilkes of Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, is now available on DVD.

Following the release of Old Money via Stones Throw on January 26, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez takes his group to Europe in March. Click here for a list of dates.

A new alt-metal super-group called Shrinebuilder is recording a debut album for Neurot Recordings, due this summer. The group consists of Wino (The Hidden Hand), Scott Kelly (Neurosis), Al Cisneros (Om, Sleep), and Dale Crover (Melvins) and will be in the studio with Toshi Kasai (Big Business).

Orange Tulip Conspiracy, the exceptional multi-genre new group led by Estradasphere guitarist Jason Schimmel, will play a full US tour in May. If you're involved in setting up shows, you can help Schimmel fill in dates — head here for details.

Grandaddy singer/songwriter Jason Lytle has a solo debut album, Yours Truly, being release on Anti- on May 19.

Finger-tapping indie-rock specialist Kaki King is playing a "solo guitar and no other bullshit tour" in California from January 21-31. Head here for the dates.

Post-rock/jam keyboardist Marco Benevento plays a weekly residency in February at Yoshi's in Oakland in the middle of a handful of other West Coast dates. During the stint, Benevento will be joined by special guests that include Scott Amendola, Billy Martin, Reed Mathis, Jeff Parker, and Skerik.

California math-rock trio Tera Melos has a new EP of cover songs available to download for free. Band member Nick Reinhart also has new band with drumming wiz Zach Hill, called Bygones, that has a debut album set for release in March on Sargent House.

Starting today, the new Cattle Decapitation album, The Harvest Floor, is streaming in its entirety on buzzgrinder.com. The stream will run through January 19.

Thrash/punk four-piece Trash Talk has announced a handful of shows that span Japan, California, and Georgia (the state). The shows include performances with Fucked Up, Pig Destroyer, Converge, Torche, Mastodon, and Neurosis.

Hardcore tough guys Hatebreed have posted a cover of Sepultura's "Refuse/Resist" on their MySpace page. The cover is included in the soundtrack to Punisher: War Zone.

Stoner-metal outfit Witch has announced tour dates starting in late February with Tee Pee Records labelmates Earthless. Head to Tee Pee for the list.

Due to illness, Afrobeat star Femi Kuti has canceled his North American tour that was set to begin on Wednesday, January 7.

In anticipation of Bromst, his new full-length album due on March 24, Dan Deacon has posted "Get Older," one of the album's tracks, on imeem. Deacon also has a split 12" with electronic brethren Adventure coming out on January 27.

Converge and Supermachiner (side project with vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou) each have a new album in store for 2009.

Bannon's new experimental project, Irons, has a split 12" with Pulling Teeth also due in 2009. Bannon's label, Deathwish Inc., has a glut of releases planned for this year.

Chinese-American composer Wu Fei will perform on January 16, 17, and 18 in China to celebrate the recent release of her new album, Yuan, on Tzadik. Details can be found at her website.

Watch the brief trailer for Mastodon's new album, Crack the Skye, at the band's website.

Fifty free pairs of tickets are being given away to Kronos Quartet's performance of Terry Riley's Sun Rings in France on January 16. To request a pair of tickets (by Monday, January 12), e-mail announcements@kronosquartet.org, with the subject line "Paris Sun Rings – MySpace", including your name and e-mail address in the body of your message.

Bassist/guitarist Reed Mathis, a founding member of 15 years, has left Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey to pursue other endeavors. The group has a lineup with two new members that will perform for scheduled shows in January and February.

Founding drummer Pat Pengelly has quit Bedouin Soundclash, making the group, for now, a duo with Jay Malinowski and Eon Sinclair. The group's February tour dates will remain intact.

These Arms are Snakes has announced a month-long US tour, primarily hitting the Midwest and East Coast, that begins in late February.

Madlib has a new disc for his Beat Konducta series — Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6 — that will be released February 10 on Stones Throw.

Danish weirdo rockers Powersolo will release their new album, Bloodskinbones, on February 23.

Via an interview with band manager Peter Mensch, the BBC reports that the instrumental members of Led Zeppelin — Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham (son of John Bonham) — are looking to tour and record a new album without Robert Plant. The article says that it is unknown whether the group will continue under the famous name, but in a separate interview with Mensch on musicradar.com, the manager emphatically states that "Led Zeppelin are over."

Apple is finally doing away with DRM protection (short for digital rights management) on its iTunes music files.

Tonight, punk ensemble World/Inferno Friendship Society will perform a special one-off gig at New York's Webster Hall. The show, a multi-media operetta based on the life of Peter Lorre, is part of the Under The Radar Festival.