HALF HEARTED HERO – Running Water (Animal Style): It’s the clash of generations on Running Water, HALF HEARTED HERO’s latest release. Channeling the forbidden-beat, whiplash pop-punk of 90s TEN FOOT POLE and NOFX, and bending it around a pole with modern technical immersions, not unlike THE FULLBLAST or contemporaries LIVING WITH LIONS, the five piece band impresses across a large spectrum of qualities. The stunner here is simply how smooth the band is, with wild guitar licks and thunderous drumming rolling out of my speakers as if they were served on velvet carpet. The same can be said for Anthony Savino’s, rich, but pleasantly understated vocals. With a bit of luck, these guys could make a ton of fans quick.

ALTARS – Opposition (Strike First): Opposition is the debut EP from this Colorado Springs metalcore group.  The band caught my attention early on with its EP opener (and title track), which is basically a minute-long, deliciously tense, double-bass driven breakdown. No hiding the ball with ALTARS, the band is coming from your moshing shoes and doing it with plenty of ammo. Like many young bands with a debut EP, the music suffers a bit from overshooting on breakdowns and going for the most brutal of moments. Songwriting maturity will hopefully cutback on the jerkiness of the songs as well – “Advocate” feels like an endless ride on an escalator with hiccups. “Severance” is the EP’s highlight, combining the all-out metal intensity of pseudo-labelmates A PLEA FOR PURGING with the wound-up, deliberate gusto of STRONGARM. A few quibbles can’t put a damper on what is otherwise a rousing 15 minutes.