Bastard Son

While most of the bands fusing heavy metal and punk rock in the mid-2000s draw inspiration from their '90s substrains, death metal and emo, respectively, Oakland's Watch Them Die look further into the past (though closer to home), toward thrash and hardcore, for the basic elements of their sound — ironically coming off more groundbreaking in the process. Is that possible? Possible or not, they make for a refreshingly combustible combination on the band's second album, 2005's Bastard Son; possibly because instead of wasting their breath on emo-like sincerity and "I'm so sensitive" lyrics, Watch Them Die seem bent on actively changing the world, hardcore style — even if they have to annihilate it first! This they almost do with the opening tandem of the title track (a manic thrasher laced with dual-guitar harmonies and black metal-derived horn-like guitar blasts) and "Onslaught" (featuring a textbook hardcore intro and punky bass-driven sections), as well as ensuing brutalizing assaults such as "Belial's Path" and "Born to Suffer." Though not quite as irresistible as the above, extended cuts like "Throne of Lies" and "Horizon" do experiment with slower tempos within the absolute violence, and while "Early Mourning" successfully infuses Eastern melodies into the mix, "Under Flames" comes to a surprisingly mellow, female voice-enhanced conclusion, after terrorizing the neighborhood like the others. Curiously, before wrapping up with yet another frantic tear in bonus track "Armageddon" (a Bathory cover) Bastard Son uncorks a pair of seven-minute epics of identical length, and containing assorted combinations from all of the above varieties. A fine effort all around from Watch Them Die.