Living Sacrifice

Christian metal big shots Living Sacrifice released this groove-prone exercise in bludgeoning power in 2000, furthering the shift in the group's style away from its thrash beginnings to the metalcore with which it soon became identified. The addition of a percussionist (Matt Putnam) and new guitarist Rocky Gray contribute to a wholly different sound compared to the days of Nonexistent and Inhabit. Heavy on rhythms and marked by stolid riffs, "Local Vengeance Killing," "Not My Own" and "Bloodwork" make for a veritable (and successful) cross-up of Sepultura and Pantera.