I remember going to the store on release day to get the CD/DVD Special Edition (I still haven't watched the DVD, lol) of Systematic Chaos. Damn, was I excited. Dream Theater are one of my favourite bands and their previous four studio albums were each excellent, so I expected a lot from this album. For the most part, I was not let down. Systematic Chaos is essentially the culmination of eveything that DT had done up to this point. Easily the best Progressive Metal band around, and one of the most technically skilled groups as well, Dream Theater are known for a wide variety of sounds and stiles.

From the crunching riffing of "Constant Motion" and "The Dark Eternal Night", to the twenty-five minute-plus "In The Presence Of Enemies pts. 1 & 2", and over to the lighter, introspective yet long "Repentance" (which features guest vocals by Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt, Megadeth/Ministry's Dave Ellefson, Steve Vai, WWE star Chris Jericho, and others), the band show of their unorthodox yet excellent songwriting skills (musically and lyrically) and their insane musical chops. Not my favourite DT album, nor the best IMO, but still freakin' good.

Favorite tracks: "Constant Motion", "The Dark Eternal Night", "Repentance"

Not only is The Jester Race one of the greatest Melodic Death Metal albums ever, it is one of the best overall Metal albums of all time. This reissue is even better thanks to the inclusion of the Black-Ash Inheritance EP. Amazing stuff, In Flames at there finest and a great introduction for those who have never heard Melodeath before. Buy it even if you have the original version.
Highlights: "Artifacts Of The Black Rain", "December Flower", "The Jester's Dance", "Gyroscope"

Everyone's favorite Power-Thrash band's fifth release is quite a good listen. However, it is pretty much the same style that Iced Earth played for the previous two albums and shows no progression of the bands overall style. Many of the songs have very similar structure and riffs. Not to say this is bad, as they are almost all solid songs, but the album feels repitive 2/3 of the way through. The closing "Something Wicked" trilogy is different in terms of song structure and length but it's not amazing. Pick this up if your a fan of the band's older, Matt Barlow-era material. Highlights: "Disciples Of The Lie", "Watching Over Me", "My Own Savior".

Hate Crew Deathroll may not be considered Children Of Bodom's best album by most fans, but it is my personal favorite by the band. The reason for this is that on this album, CoB manage to combine their earlier Blackened Power Metal-ish sound with their more recent, more straightforward Are You Dead Yet?-era sound. The keyboards are used alot less on this album than on say, Follow The Reaper, but they are still much more prominent than they would become on AYDY? Yes, this is a good thing as the keyboards are one of the elements that make CoB unique and so damn hard to catagorize. Anyhoo, the songs on this album are all just as fast (if not faster) than the band's earlier material. Favorites like "Needled 24/7", "Sixpounder", and "Bodom Beach Terror" are found here; all of which I consider to be among my favorite songs. For those new to CoB, AYDY? is probably the best album to start with, but fans old and new can enjoy HCDR alot.

Favorite tracks: "Needled 24/7", "Triple Corpse Hammerblow", "Bodom Beach Terror"

This "album" is as odd as it is amazing. The title track is more than a song; it is something else entirely. At over 23 minutes long, "A Change Of Seasons" is an opus and quite possibly the most intricate and dynamic Progressive Metal song ever created. It ranges from heavy riffing and shredding solos to acoustic instrumental passages, and everything in between. Seriously, it's something beyond words! The disc also includes four live recordings, the best of which is the Led Zeppelin medley. Buy this disc!