Every Time I Die

When acerbic alt-comic Brian Posehn name-checked Buffalo's Every Time I Die (along with Maiden and Metallica) on his metalcore-mocking "Metal by Numbers," it wasn't entirely clear whether it was a trick or a treat. However, after an eight-year evolution -- more metal and less melody with each successive release -- the quartet has earned a place in Posehn's pantheon of modern metal monsters. On last year's Machine-produced Gutter Phenomenon, Every Time bangs its head on the punk rock without shedding a single emo tear. Jordan Buckley and Andrew Williams give their guitars an unholy thrashing, while drummer Mike Novak beats his kit mercilessly and vocalist Keith Buckley's lit-degree lyrics add layers of full-sentence satirical complexity. "Guitared and Feathered" even channels the dirty boogie of swamp-metal fiends Soilent Green. Every Time I Die has left its metalcore past behind, but it still throws a beautifully sick and brutally exhausting blanket party.