Parlamentarisk Sodomi, Anarchsphere, and Ahimsa Theory…

This three-song, 17-minute sampler is a quite promising display from Australia's Anarchsphere, whose style is somewhat of a blend of classic early- to mid-90's Florida death metal with a smidge of added technicality that's counterbalanced by a contemporary sense of groove that keeps the tempos shifting back and forth all over the place. I love the fact that there's not a fucking shred of melodic Swedish death metal to be heard within any of these compositions, too! They generally stick with thick, chunky riffs; occasional little lead breaks; slick percussive textures; and moshy sensibilities that aren't overly simplistic or stripped down—so there's certainly enough happening within the songwriting to keep things interesting. While there is room for minor tweaking, I must say that for a self-released sampler this thing looks and sounds quite good, with the crispness of the mix really letting some of the drum flare shine. I'm not able to make out much in the realm of the basslines, but the guitar tone is pretty damn nice, and that helps to accentuate some of the more complex runs and thrashy picking patterns throughout the tracks. Given the general climate of the metal world these days I'm pretty surprised these guys haven't been signed yet. Go figure!?

Anarchsphere "Scene of a Homicide"

Get in touch with the band via good ol' MySpace if you're interested in getting your hands on one of these samplers, and hopefully they'll get picked up by a label to drop their first full-length in the not-too-distant future.

"We Screen For Thieves" is the latest release from Oregon's Ahimsa Theory, upon which the trio drops three tracks of contemporary emo/indie rock in less than 10 minutes. However, despite the extremely brief running time, it's clear that the band has made great strides in the songwriting department since the time of their debut full-length. The tracks are more varied in terms of tempo changes as well as riffing texture, the vocals are more emphatic, the choruses more memorable, and so on. The recording is nice and clear, too—working with the stripped down nature of the three-piece lineup to allow the rhythm section plenty of breathing room, especially beneath some of the looser and more spacey-sounding guitar work. There's still room for improvement here and there, such as some minor tuning issues in some of the guitar parts, but I'm quite pleased with the progress these guys are exhibiting on this EP overall, and could easily see them striking gold down the road. I'm honestly somewhat surprised that they're still without label support, so hopefully 2007 will bring some luck for the group in that department!

Ahimsa Theory "We Screen For Thieves"

I know this isn't the kind of stuff that most people checking this site listen to, but hey, I dig it. The disc's only $4, so definitely hit these guys up if you're into it:

Ahimsa Theory