In college, my friends were listening to equal parts operatic goofball metal and slightly less operatic goofball metal. 3 Inches of Blood were in the mix because, face it, those guys are amazing. But most of our trips to Taco Bell or Costco were punctuated by Dragonforce, Dream Evil, and Falconer. These bands are great, but they can slip into ballads and then my brain shuts off.

But Hibria. Oh man Hibria. I can’t even remember how I heard about these guys. I think someone just said “hey listen to this fast Brazilian metal” and I said okay.

And then I heard the opening bass solo to Tiger Punch. They opened an album with a bass solo. One of those solos where I’m learning bass, I hear it, and I put my bass away for a few months. And then the song jumps into a full-speed power metal attack to your face. Kind of speed metal but cleaner. Oh there’s also a lightning attack in the song, which fits, given how crazy the song is. The verses feature minimal guitars, mostly there to punctuate breaks between phrases, but they fill the choruses and solos so well; they’re like the guy in the kung fu movie who’s just sitting there not doing anything so when he does do something you know it’s going to be awesome.

Reborn from the Ashes pulls a slight left turn, going from the more general frenetic speed metal that is great into a more general power metal, with vocal and guitar harmonies that fill out the song in such a spectacular fashion. The drum work drives the entire production, speeding or slowing the work while still somehow being almost all double kick.

This entire album is like a love letter to what’s great in heavy metal. The drum work is the kind of stuff where you imagine the guy is like just quads and calf muscles, the guitars are in a type of synchronicity that only happens after a Vulcan mind meld, and the vocals scream along like a jet fighter in formation. I often relate songs to how they affect my speed when riding a bike. I’m easily persuaded I guess. The Skull Collectors, much like Advance and Vanquish, can spike my RPMs and get me pacing traffic with aplomb.

Key Tracks: Tiger Punch, Screaming Ghost, The Skull Collectors