There's a reason they call it Killadelphia. Although technically the tech-metal three-piece Dysrythmia currently reside in Brooklyn, Philly is both the band's original hometown and the home of its label (the indie powerhouse Relapse), and no matter how sophisticated the playing, Dysrhythmia keep both feet planted firmly in the street. ...

Debuting as a post-Metallica thrash outfit with 1991’s Contradictions Collapse, Sweden’s Meshuggah have been refining their intractable sound to a serene balance of pummeling death metal and intricate technical sophistication. Fittingly, their latest record is called obZen, and for much of its hour-plus running time, the album does in fact bring a sense of zen-like calm to its brutally complex compositions....