Noumena – “Prey of the Tempter”
From the album: Absence

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Why this song doesn’t suck:
Finnish melodic death metallers Noumena may not have many albums under their belt, but what they do have are chock full of kick ass riffs, memorable hooks and some of the most addictive metal tunes I’ve ever heard. These songs get stuck in your head… you’re sitting at your desk, working away on your website, and the next thing you know you’re humming a Noumena tune under your breath, absent-mindedly headbanging to yourself. I’m sure that happens to everyone, right? Right? No? Well… I don’t know… fuck off, these songs are still good.

While Noumena’s  2002 debut ‘Pride/Fall’ and their 2006 release ‘Anatomy of Life’ both contain a slew of excellent metal tunes, their 2005 album, ‘Absence’ is where the real gems lie. From the catchy-as-all-hell opening track, “The End of the Century” to the album closer, “The Great Anonymous Doom” (which, I feel I must add, is a balls-crushingly badass song title), ‘Absence’ is overflowing with rifftastically memorable tunes.

Scar Symmetry – “The Kaleidoscope God “
From the album: Pitch Black Progress

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Why this song doesn’t suck:
When it comes to the death/clean combo singing style that accompanies many melodic death metal bands, few vocalist can hold a candle to Scar Symmetry’s Christian Älvestam. Though his band’s style and sound are quite reminiscent of Soilwork and many other melodeath bands past and present, in this metalhead’s humble opinion, Christian’s range of clean singing and death metal growling brings Scar Symmetry front and center. It’s almost hard to wrap your mind around the fact that it’s the same person producing the vocals on these songs. Plus the fact that they can write a heavy, catchy tune with the best of them doesn’t hurt either. My first taste of Scar Symmetry was with this album, their 2006 release Pitch Black Progress. Though it was the opening track, “The Illusionist“, that initially and almost instantly addicted me to these guys, I felt like posting something some may not have heard just yet…

Mors Principium Est – “The Glass Womb”
From the album: The Unborn

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Why this song most certainly doesn’t suck:

I sometime find my favorite track on an album is somewhat of a mystery, even to myself. The majority of Mors Principium Est’s 2005 album, The Unborn, is primarily comprised of a pretty standard (though by no means inferior) selection of melodic death metal. From album’s title track “The Unborn” to “The Harmony Remains” to one of my personal favorite melodeath songs, the album-opener “Pure”, I find the entire album to be a non-stop shredfest of moshtacular proportions. It’s heavy. It’s intricate. It’s almost a perfect blend of aggression and melody. To put it very simply… it’s plain damn good.