a few words on what I've been listening to

Battlefields - Thresholds of Imbalance: Pretty good. A little boring in parts (tinkly guitar passages) but nice to chill to. I haven't finished it yet but I will.

Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness: haven't finished this either but it's turning my crank. Nice and heavy. Some great riffs too.

Not really impressed by Artillery, At War, or Axis Powers. Azarath and Backwoods Paycheck sound pretty good.

Swashbuckle - Back to the Noose: I really liked the track "Cruise Ship Terror" when I heard it on the Nuclear Blast/Sumerian sampler. So I was excited to hear the whole album. It's better sounding than their debut production wise. But, the pirate metal shtick gets old fast. The little spoken shit in between songs is pointless and boring. Like cut-scenes in video games. Back to the Noose is good and fun but all in all forgettable.

Arrrrrrrgh!!

Swashbuckle - Crewed by the Damned: I'm new to this whole Pirate metal micro-subgenre. But I think I like it. I first heard of Swashbuckle from the track "Cruise Ship Terror" on the Nuclear Blast/Sumerian sampler. I love the track so I'd thought I check out more. When I went searching, Back to the Noose wasn't out yet. So I went back an album. CbtD sounds pretty cool, if not very polished. LOTS of "Yo ho!"s. It's very fun to listen to. I hope they don't mean to be taken seriously though.(I'm pretty sure they don't) That's fine by me! I like fun. I particularly like the thrashiness of it. And the gang shouts. (of Yo Ho! of course) There is a definite step up in terms of quality and production from Crewed by the Damned to "Cruise Ship Terror". Which means, Back to the Noose is gonna plank your ass!!