Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion

Anthems of Rebellion is the fifth album by Arch Enemy, a Swedish melodic death metal band.  I am a huge fan of melodic death metal as it includes fantastic guitar work, the music is heavy but flowing, and the vocals are very high energy.  My wife, on the other hand, thinks that women shouldn't be able to sing like Angela Gossow (the lead vocalist for Arch Enemy).  This album contains some of my favorite songs to play, including the single, "We Will Rise".  The video is recommended for those who want to check out the band and get a feel for the album.  Highly recommended for fans of melodic death metal, European metal, and awesome female vocalists.

Slipknot - Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)

This album is a bit of a throwback for me since I haven't listened to Slipknot much recently.  Not a whole lot of fancy guitar work, but a very solid sound and theme for the whole album.  Slipknot was the first band to give Roadrunner Records a platinum album, and although this album was not the first, one can see how well the band is able to coordinate with so many members.  Highly recommended are the videos for "Duality", "Before I Forget", and "Vermillion".  All are available on YouTube.  This album is recommended for fans of Slipknot, melodic vocals, and hard rock.