Tiger & The Duke / The Sound Of Animals Fighting

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"Describing The Sound Of Animals Fighting may well be one of the hardest things to do in this review, let alone reviewing the actual CD itself. TSOAF are a group of musicians from well known bands like Finch, Circa Survive and RX Bandits. Their identities were kept secret during recording as not to deal with issues with copyright and contract and such, and the band members were each given nicknames of animals.There are 14 members of the band, and I won't go into great detail with them all. Anthony Green (ex-Saosin/Circa Survive) and Rich Balling provide vocals, Matt Embree and Chris Tsagakis (RX Bandits) play lead guitar and drums, and Randy and Derek (Finch) pull out rhythm guitar and bass.The first noticable thing about this "album" is that it only has 4 proper songs. The rest are interludes, intros and outros. Technically, there is only 19 minutes worth of music played by the musicians above on the record, but oh boy is it good.The fact that these musicians have teamed up is amazing to me, and it's great to see Anthony Green back screaming his lungs out to what can only be described as "progressive rock". Each song is a new level for the team of musicians, providing a new taste of the band's creative minds." (from Sputnikmusic.com)

The amazing sound given birth by these terrific musicians makes you wanna grab and instrument and learn something yourself. Take a deep breath and enjoy one of the best sounds out there right now. It's filled with technicalities and a whole lot more to keep your ears plunged into it for a while. ;]

Death Cult Armaggedon / Dimmu Borgir

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"Death Cult Armageddon" was without a doubt one of the most highly anticipated metal releases of 2003 and I was one of those who were awaiting this album with tense curiosity. "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" (yet another completely meaningless title created with the help of a dictionary I guess...) was a groundbreaking album for Dimmu Borgir as they took a step towards a more aggressive and less symphonic sound. That trend partly continues with their new album as they try to construct a bridge between symphonic arrangements and aggressive guitars. In my humble opinion I must say that they have found a perfect balance between the two on this album. Thanks to the 46 piece Prague Philharmonic Orchestra the symphonic arrangements sound more professional and majestic than ever before and this is probably the most ambitious black metal album ever recorded to this day. It is extremely difficult to point out something that could have been done better on this album and it will be very interesting to see what Dimmu Borgir will produce the next time. I would not have said no to an even heavier sound in a couple of songs, more aggressive vocals from Shagrath and perhaps more focus on creating memorable guitar riffs but compared to most other releases of the year "Death Cult Armageddon" is nothing less than audial art taken to perfection." (from Tartarean Desire)

OM*G. As odd as it may seem, this is a great album by great artist. They might not be your favorite genre, but hey, it's still really good music. It just makes you wanna bang your head and let out the monster in you, get's you all pumped and ready to go. You should give it a listen, if you can. This ranks as one of the highest in any metal library you may have. If you don't have one... take this as a start. =]