Slayer, 'World Painted Blood' (American/Columbia)

The godfathers of thrash bleed for you again.

Their horrific onslaught has been passed on the extreme left by myriad black-death grind upstarts, and these thrash originators mostly spin their mosh-pitstuck wheels on this tenth studio album -- anticipating Armageddon, reveling in torture, protesting oil war.

Miranda Lambert, 'Revolution' (Columbia Nashville)

Vengeance is hers, sayeth saucy blonde shitkicker.

The revolution this 25-year-old attempts on her sprawling third album is mainly sonic -- guitar noise and booming drums out of garage and grunge, alternating with patches of soft-focus atmosphere that would slot her as alt-country if she wasn't blessed with a vivacious, platinum-selling voice.

Rodrigo y Gabriela, '11:11' (ATO)

Heady metal shtick gets too dubiously proggy.

These Mexico-born, Dublin-based acoustic buskers made their name by flamenco-fying Metallica and Zeppelin songs, and their latest set was mixed by old thrash hand Colin Richardson. So it’s no shock that 11:11’s most affecting moments -- the title track and “Logos” -- come when the duo’s time signatures slither into a stalagmite-strewn prog-metal cave.

The Datsuns, 'HeadStunts' (Cooking Vinyl)

Time to discontinue the brand? (See auto.)

As fourth albums by Down Under betwixt- garage-and-metal bands who've never lived up to their initial hype go, the Datsuns' HeadStunts is not without charms -- "Eye of the Needle" rides some adequate space-guitar swirl atop its Gary Glitter rumble, and the more concise and gang-shouty "Highschool Hoodlums" could've halfway passed as Antmusic in 1981.

Lady Sovereign, 'Jigsaw' (Midget/EMI)

Ex-prodigy spits like an around-the-way gal.

In three-plus years, beginning with her 2005 EP Vertically Challenged, sporty U.K. grime-pop shortie Lady Sovereign has released three collections totaling 24 discrete titles. In this age of overproduction, that hardly makes her the most prolific MC around, and a few of the ten—just ten—cuts on her new Jigsaw barely feel like songs at all.

The Answer, 'Everyday Demons' (The End)

U.K. boogie boys sell reconstituted sanctuary.

Unveiled to classic-rock-starved Americans on last fall's AC/DC tour, these randy young Irishmen subtract all traces of art from Led Zeppelin's template. So while not averse to Free blooze or Thin Lizzy beauty, their groove more often recalls secondtier Zepalikes: the Cult, Whitesnake, Soundgarden when slogging and moaning, Fastway when speeding and stomping.

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