Shootin' upward like crocus.
Burn the Priest, "Legion: XX" (Epic/Nuclear Blast). At some point, every musical artist feels the urge to cover old faves. The result is usually disposable; this time it's a blast. Burn the Priest was the original name of Lamb of God, America's pre-eminent post-thrash unit for the last two decades. In revisiting its roots, LoG again became BtP, reviving its snotkid energy to crack out tributes that'll snap back your head like a dragster peeling rubber. (Special kudos for Chris Adler's complex drum precision and Randy Blythe's ever more versatile vocals.) Agnostic Front, S.O.D., Bad Brains, Melvins and the other thrashpunkers can only wish they'd rocked this hard and tight. Lamb of God has always been dominant, but never this much fun.
Marduk, "Vlktoria" (Century Media). Swedish black-metal vets Marduk claim their current tour will be their last, and they're monumentalizing with their most concentrated and penetrating work. Fine riffs, high voltage, and the kind of prideful mastery that got the bright angel kicked out of cloudsville. (Out June 22.)
I See Hawks in L.A., "Live and Never Learn." Even music lovers who've never been drunk & divorced will appreciate this country apotheosis, as creative as it is polished. Singer Rob Waller may tell a torn tale, but his beatific resignation and the inspired guitar of Paul Lacques make us feel we'll persevere, crying and laughing at the same time. (Out June 29, pre-order here.
Leni Stern, "3" (LSR). Recorded as if it's right inside your skull, guitarist-singer Leni Stern's long-marinated African trio with bassist Mamadou Ba and hand drummer Alioune Faye brings out the intensity of focused quiet. The rhythms scrub your heart, but please attend the melodic/harmonic element, especially on "Calabas," whose ingenious chromatic progression inspires brilliant solos by Leni and husband Mike Stern -- hers delicately twisted, his hilariously crazed.
Roberta Piket, "West Coast Trio." Piket approaches the piano like a lake rather than a battleground, wading in and spreading waves of bop-inflected melody. You breathe easy as bassist Darek Oles and drummer Joe LaBarbera (sometimes guitarist Larry Koonse or drummer Billy Mintz) fan the breeze, and suddenly you're on vacation.
Quoan, "Fine Dining" (Orenda). Meditation, puzzlement, anger and absurdity pass through a viewfinder of textured abstractions beneath the skilled improvisational hands of trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom, windman Brian Walsh, bassist Sam Minaie and drummer Mark Ferber, well-established soldiers on the Los Angeles front. Ornette Coleman-style freebop and Vinny Golia-style contrarianism add pungent flavors to the buffet; "The Last" sports a particularly nice loose safari groove.
Vinny Golia Wind Quartet, "Live at the Century City Playhouse, Los Angeles, 1979" (Dark Tree). Multiwindman Golia was already a monster modern composer four decades back, as this all-star document with clarinetist John Carter, cornetist Bobby Bradford and trombonist Glenn Ferris attests. In five longish constructions, lines interweave and clash like improbable colors; bold harmonies swell; woodwinds challenge tonal extremities. Drumlessness is maybe the best way to absorb Golia's distinctive thought patterns.