Shai Hulud are one of my favorite bands, so to say that I was both curious and excited about their brand-new full-length, Misanthropy Pure, would be a huge understatement. I would describe Misanthropy Pure as controlled aggression - a fine cross between the band's two previous full-lengths, 1997's Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion and 2003's That Within Blood Ill-Tempered.

Canadian "hyperblasters" Kataklysm are back with Prevail, their ninth studio effort. The album is a solid combination of heaviness and melody that won't blow you away, but will provide you with about 45 minutes of solid entertainment.

Very few albums transcend an entire genre. Master of Puppets is one of those albums. Released in 1986, the LP -- Metallica's third -- is hailed by many as the greatest metal album of all time. While that is obviously debatable, there is no arguing that it is remarkable.

What does it take to reclaim past glory? Testament are trying to answer that question with The Formation of Damnation. The band, which was one of the pioneers of the Bay Area thrash-metal scene along with groups like Exodus and Metallica, has not released an album of new studio material since 1999. Since then, most of the classic lineup has gotten back together and raised expectations through the roof for the new album.

Children of Bodom have been all over the metal spectrum throughout their career. The Finnish sensations have been classified as everything from power metal to black metal to death metal. Blooddrunk, however, finds them pretty firmly entrenched in thrash-metal mode. Frontman Alexi Laiho had stated in an interview several months ago that the new stuff would be thrashy with some progressive influence thrown in for good measure. It turns out that he was spot on in his diagnosis.