For their third album, Five Finger Death Punch deliver another dose of crunchy, hard-hitting jams ready-made for the mosh pit. With its relentless heaviness and chugging riffs, American Capitalist captures the raw aggression of the era of post-Pantera groove metal, occasionally tempering the fire with some cleaner, more soaring passages that give listeners a brief respite before throwing them straight back into the action with a sonic barrage. While songs like the searing title track and “Menace” are punishing exercises in aggression, what’s most impressive are the (relatively) gentle songs like “Coming Down” and “Remember Everything,” where the bandmembers show that they can even make their ballads heavy. This kind of constant drive away from the more watered-down sound of a lot of their post-grunge contemporaries and toward metal is something that allows Five Finger Death Punch to stand out in a genre that’s easy to get lost in. If you’re a fan of bands like Sevendust and Mudvayne and you haven’t checked these guys out yet, now is the time. ~ Gregory Heaney

Rovi