What I've been listening to lately

Chimaira "The Infection"
This was a major dissapointment. Nothing stands out or worth listening too more than a few times. These guys really could have done better than this, and hopefully they don't stick to this style.

Static-X "Cult of Static"
Surprisingly, their best overall work to come out in a long while.

Lacuna Coil "Shallow Life"
Not as heavy as previous efforts, and there's more back and forth between the two singers, but still a solid effort and worth checking out.

Eluveitie - Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion
Too much folk and not enough metal. Another dissapointment.

Demon Project "Kara Ara"
Russian industrial death metal with a few melodies here and there. These guys need a better growler though. Still recommended.

Psychostick "Sandwich"
Hardcore comedy metal! Something really different, but these guys are good! Could only imagine how it would be if they played serious music.

Best of 2008

Here are my picks for some of the best and worst of 2008, based on what I've heard myself of course:

Best Albums:
Mindless Self Indulgence - if
Black Comedy - Instigator
Megahertz - Heuchler
Scamp! - Mirror Faced Mentality
Dagoba - Face the Colossus
Bleed the Sky - Murder the Dance
Gorilla Monsoon - Extermination Hammer
Dragonforce - Ultimate Beatdown
Bionic Angel - Digital Violence

Best Songs:
Black Comedy - Prime Specimen
Megahertz - Kaltes Grab
Scamp! - Strategy

Big Dissapointments:
Slipknot - All Hope Is Gone
Trivium - Shogun
Mudvayne - The New Game
Cavalera Conspiracy

HELLYEAH - HELLYEAH (CD)

Dubbed the "ultimate supergroup" by Revolver magazine due to the band consisting of members of Nothingface, Mudvayne and most notibly drummer Vinnie Paul of Pantera/Damageplan fame making his return to the music scene after the tragic on-stage murder of his brother Dimebag Darrell.
The band throw out some great hard-rockin' tracks and even add a bit of Southern flavor on tracks like "Alcohaulin' Ass". But for some reason since Chad Gray is doing vocals it keeps feeling like it's a Mudvayne album.
Overall, it's still one of the stronger albums I've heard so far this year and I highly recommend it.
CD Rating: ****

In This Moment - Beautiful Tragedy (CD)

After reading other reviews of this album, I went in expecting something like Kittie or Otep, but was rather surprised at what I found. The best way to describe their sound is Killswitch Engage if vocalist Howard Jones was a woman.
There's a good mix of heavy with melodic riffs, and singer Maria Brink makes good use balancing out gutteral screams, almost like Otep at times, with her sounding great singing voice. Definitely recommended.
CD Rating: ****

KoRn - Unplugged

I recently listened to the Foo Fighters unplugged album and thought that it totally sucked. KoRn's effort on the other hand deserves some merit though I don't think it's all that much better. I liked the arrangements they did for some of the songs, like turning the classic "Blind" into a more upbeat salsa sounding vibe. Some tracks sounded ok (Twisted Transister, Got The Life) and some were godawful (Creep). And the only other complaint I have is that they could barely push forty minutes for this album/concert despite having over a decade's worth of material to work with. It's good easy listening, but novelty does wear off after a few turns.
CD Rating: ***

The Melvins - (A) Senile Animal (CD)

This album heaped a lot of praise for the returning Melvins, and even made it into a few best of 2006 top ten lists, but after listening through it I found it to be really boring a big dissapointment. The slow sludgy style just didn't do it for me.
CD Rating: *

MachineHead - The Blackening

Except for "Imperium", I really didn't like MachineHead's previous album, "From the Ashes of Empires", but The Blackening definitely sees the foursome back in form delivering eight brutal tracks, including 2 that go about 10 minutes each! More of the old signature MachineHead guitar sounds are used as well, and this is their best overall work in some time.
CD Rating: ****

Satyricon - The Pentagram Burns

A simple but good video, featuring singer Satyr sitting in a throne in the dark while this girls crawl around him, with clips of the drummer banging away. Ends with shots of both singer and drummer surrounded in flames and the girls dancing around them. Nicely done black metal video.