A Range Of New Rock Releases From Pigweed, HeRz, Slap Guru & Razorhouse

From south Texas comes the debut album titled "The Weight" from hardcore metal rockers PigWeed. The new 11-song release comes blasting out and grabs you by the throat with the opening chords and pounding drums "Eyes Of The Wasp" and "Check Yourself." The band continues the onslaught the pure intensity in the vocal delivery of "Fake For Now" and "Time Is Now" as the screams will ring in your head. They turn up the energy with high-powered thrash metal appeal of "The End," before wrapping up their new album with the 11-plus minute epic, progressive metal piece "Suffer" and the chugging rhythm of "Mistakes (Revisited)." To find out more about PigWeed and their latest release "The Weight," please visit pigweedband.com.

From the U.K. comes the third album from the progressive metal band HeKz. The new album titled "Invicta" features ten tracks that are sure to carry on the tradition of exceptional musicianship, started by bands like Rush, Dream Theater and Iron Maiden. The opening track "Quetzlcoatl" will turn you into an instant fan of the band as the music is just exceptional and will have no trouble holding your attention during the long solos. The band's wonderful harmonizing at the beginning of "For Our Lives"  and in "The Light Fantastic" draws up memories of Styx, while "To The Lions" balances on the line between rock and heavy metal. HeKz take you on a sonic journey with the nearly ten-minute build up of "Line In The Sand," before closing their new album with the 15-minute epic piece "The Devil's Coin" and the power ballad "Victorious." To find out more about HeKz and their latest release "Invicta," please visit hekztheband.com

From Spain comes the latest release from the psychedelic rock band Slap Guru titled "Cosmic Hill." It was only released on vinyl and contains 8-tracks of exceptional hard rock and blues that pays homage to their classic rock influences. The new album begins with the title song "Cosmic Hill" that sounds as if it came from the swamps of New Orleans with is southern blues shuffle and riffing guitar. They continue to showcase their exceptional skills with the up-tempo romp of "Fighting With A Mirror" and the slower, spaced-out sound of "Ollin." Slap Guru display a harder edge to their music with the high-powered energy of "Dharma Streets," before finishing up their new album with sonic blues of "Like A Fool" and the nostalgic sounding rock of "Best Wishes." To find out more about Slap Guru and their latest release "Cosmic Hill," please visit slapguru.com.

Finally from Chicago comes the latest release titled "Codex Tres Lingua" from the alternative rock band, Razorhouse. This 5-song EP continues the band's "Codex" series as the music carries a dark, acoustic-based tone. They begin with "Go," which sounds like a cross between Alice Cooper and Alice in Chains and continues with the slow, moody feel of "Walking With The Deadman." Razorhouse wrap up their new, short release with the gentle acoustic strumming of "Mortality vs The Accountant" and the alt-rock balladry of "Across The Wire." To find out more about Razorhouse and their latest release "Codex Tres Lingua," please visit intherazorhouse.com.