The Rock(jock) returns to fold this week, albums are reviewed, impressions are made, music is played and a good time is had by all.
Reviews: Amon Amarth – Deceiver Of The Gods (Metal Blade); August Burns Red – Rescue & Restore (Solid State); Havok – Unnatural Selection (Candlelight); Kalmah – Seventh Swamphony (Spinefarm); Palms – Palms (Ipecac)
First Impressions: Born of Osiris – “Machine”; DevilDriver – “Ruthless”; iwrestledabearonce – “Firebees”; Last Chance To Reason – “The Escapist”; Norma Jean – “If You Got It At Five, You Got It At Fifty”
August Burns Red – Rescue & Restore
Amon Amarth – Deceiver Of The Gods
Havok – Unnatural Selection
Palms – Palms
Kalmah – Seventh Swamphony
The Sideshow Podcast 
I’ve been listening to the new Amon Amarth album, Deceiver of the Gods, this week and I mostly agree with Nick’s assessment of it (except for the production, the production is fine). Amon Amarth are one of those bands that reached a point where they have an established career and would be criticized if they strayed too far from their style but also be criticized if they evolved into something that got away from their signature sound. So Deceiver of the Gods keeps them in their style and does not break any ground but is still a decent album. The song “Deceiver of the Gods” sounds like “Fate of Norns”, and every time I listen to the song “Blood Eagle” I find myself screaming “RAINING BLOOOOOOD!” because the guitar riff sounds exactly like the Slayer song. The duet with the Candlemass guy on the song “Hel” is a pretty interesting song and one that stands out as well. One of you guys said that Amon Amarth might be better served by waiting a little longer between albums and just releasing their best songs. But if I am a fan of a band I’d rather have them release more material than less material. One of the reasons being that a band does not always know what their best songs will be until after they put it out there and let time tell. So by putting all the material out there it gives the public a chance to let the cream rise rather than just using their own judgment. And on Deceiver of the Gods, despite some same old same old songs, there are enough good songs on it to make it worth buying.