For anyone who's critical of U.S. metal bands, you may want to hold off your comments until you've heard the Ohio band, Antithesis. This band plays some absolutely killer progressive thrash and that's not the half of it.
This disc, Dying for Life, is their second full length and it was released twice...once by Nightmare Records in the U.S. and once by Massacre Records in Europe. The Massacre release has a cooler cover, but I think the U.S. version is cooler just because it has the bonus track "Netherworld" included. I was told that the U.S. version didn't have the European bonus track "Secret Fires", but the song is actually after "Netherworld" under the same track number. So basically, you get both bonus tracks on the U.S. release. For those curious, "Netherworld" is easily the better of the two tracks.
Anyways...this stuff just gets me so pumped! Not a dull moment on the disc. The music here is just insanely technical and they are all over the place. Huge, ultra heavy riffs, wild and crazy solos, super aggressive vocals...the works. The band is very tight and constantly will have you in their back pocket. Occasionally, the may start a song with a softer guitar part, or maybe throw one on the middle of a song, but the softer side of this band is always short-lived. If you are a big headbanger than you're gonna love this disc.
Initially, I didn't like the vocals at all. Ty Cook's vocals just seemed really weird to me. However, after numerous listens I can't think of any voice that would better suit this band. Unfortunately, Cook had to quit the band due to vocal problems (all that insane screaming probably) and now the band is in search of a new vocalist. Hopefully, they'll find someone awesome soon cause they have a 3 album deal with Massacre and they are only one album in on that committment.
My favorite cuts on this disc are the title track (which is absolutely freakin' insane) and the songs "Consequence" and "Soul of Ice". If all the good music wasn't enough, the production is excellent, so prepare for a enjoyable listen with no distractions.
The band is embraced by many in the Christian metal scene, but the band does NOT claim to be a Christian band. The lyrics deal with a lot of spiritual things, but that is not the whole of the band. Regardless, the lyrics are very well written and a very good read.
If you are into quality metal, I would definitely check this band out cause this disc slays! Check out their website at http://www.antithesismusic.com for sound samples. (Review by Matt) 
