This week’s best albums
– Indefinable fusion masters Secret Chiefs 3 make good on a decade of anticipation for the second installment in its “mega-trilogy,” an album that vies for best of the year.
– Joining forces as Mutoid Man, Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky and Converge’s Ben Koller deliver one of the most blistering yet complex albums of the year.
– Deicide’s latest death-metal opus demonstrates a continued love of blazing riffs, hellacious beats, and pissing off Christians.
– With yet another quality release, MC Sole pieces together an expert album of cast-offs from hard-drive crashes and fallen-apart side projects.
– Soundgarden reissues its out-of-print double EP of Screaming Life and Fopp, a collection that filters raw power through the artier edges of post-punk.
Honorable mentions
Beachwood Sparks: Desert Skies lost debut album (Alive Naturalsound)
Dead Meadow: Warble Womb (Xemu)
Hammock: Oblivion Hymns (self-released)