Once in a while a truly phenomenal metal project will pop out and flex its muscles. Pennsylvania's Sardonyx is the latest - and maybe the very best. With dead-accurate lyrics and tough, intricate rhythms fueled by technical drumming, these four guys carry a heavy groove in the vein of King Diamond and Tourniquet. The only pitfall here is the great (not excellent) vocals. They're almost perfect, but a touch more aggression would be nice. On a scale of one-to-ten, the vocals are about 8 and a half; everything else is a 20! Lyrically, this band pulls no punches. "Scandal", "Don't Chase The Rainbow", "Bloodshed", and "Rebel Of Reason" are all strongly convicting and full of scripture references, dealing with impurity, suicide, Christ's substitutions death, and unbelief, respectively. Each song's lyrics has a paragraph preceding them to explain its meaning and intent. Very responsible. Sardonyx is hot. Don't miss 'em.
