Chimaira, The Age of Hell
Hard to get past the title of this one. Do they mean the physical of Hell, as computed by theologians or John Milton or whoever measures the ages of such things? Nope, turns out that, according to the album-opening title tune, “This is the Age of Hell.” If that’s the case, this is worthy multi-styled metal accompaniment to the era, with the obligatory growly vocals but some intriguing, cryptic interludes and impressive guitar work. These seasoned all-purpose headbangers operate at all speeds and blessedly have more impatience than a lot of their listeners are likely to, changing up their songs frequently and holding your interest for ages. Ages of Hell, that is.