(Suicide Squeeze)

www.suicidesqueeze.net

Angry, testosterone-fueled metal and hardcore is nothing new to the members of Seattle's These Arms Are Snakes. After all, they got their start in bands like Botch and Kill Sadie, in which they brilliantly fused the precision chops of metal power chords and solos with punk rock aggression, politics, and cynicism.

Snakes, however, leans more towards prog-rock and tech-metal sheen, thanks to their ample use of effects and keyboards. Still, the band's new album cuts like a rusty razor, with Steve Snere's brawny, scratched-up vocals leading the charge. Songs like "Seven Curtains" and the double-kick-propelled "Prince Squid" are the fiercely amplified yin to the album's calmer moments of yang. The guitars of "Long and Lonely Step" quickly sweep over a still intense soundscape, waiting to load on the distortion as Snere uses his indoor voice for once. And "Ethric Double" finds the band expanding tone and minds into Mars Volta territory, as the latter half dreamily drifts over a passage of extended vamping.

The muscle and power of Snakes' music doesn't obscure their intelligent song construction and unabashed love of nerding out with exacting riffs. Fans of sensitive indie schmaltz take note: this isn't the album for you, but a listen or two might give you the fortitude to step up and accept the mysterious power of careening, distorted guitar playing.

Standout Tracks: "Ethric Double", "Long and Lonely Step" JONAH FLICKER