Nocturnal LP

The riffing on Nocturnal moves like a sewing machine run too hot, fast and never quite steady, which is the whole appeal of the Michigan melodic death metal band's 2007 high-water mark on Metal Blade. It cracked the Billboard 200 at No. 72 and topped out at No. 6 on the Independent Albums chart, driven by late frontman Trevor Strnad, guitarists Brian Eschbach and John Kempainen, bassist Ryan "Bart" Williams, and drummer Shannon Lucas, whose blast beats never let that riffing catch its breath.