Beyond Cops. Beyond God.

Anyone who heard Waking the Cadaver's first album, 2007's Perverse Recollections of a Necromangler, would find it hard to believe that any label would pick them up. They were almost laughably inept. But they've become an entirely different band on their second album. For the most part, Beyond Cops, Beyond God abandons the ultra-low, indecipherable grunting/squealing vocal style heard on the first disc in favor of a chesty hardcore roar. Similarly, the songs have slowed down, leaving the blastbeats and St. Anger-style ringing snares of the previous disc behind (not 1000-percent, but to a surprising degree) in favor of a midtempo stomp reminiscent of hardcore. These guys have gone from being a joke within the metal underground to being halfway decent. Of course, it's still extreme metal and not intended to please anyone whose ears aren't already attuned to low, rumbling guitars, machine-gun drumming, and all the other sonic trademarks of the genre, but non-fans willing to give the group the benefit of the doubt may find Beyond Cops, Beyond God a surprising evolution from a proudly unevolved band.