Got a big taste of chaos at the Main Street Armory last week with a long list of the new heavy. Hardcore, punk, and heavy metal have been melted down and polished into pure adrenaline and aggression.

At the top of the heap is Atreyu, which has developed beyond the teeter-totter of the genre's standard-issue scream/sing/scream dynamic. Unfortunately, when you get close to 4000 sweaty kids screaming/singing/screaming, you tend to horse it into the boat. All of the subtlety found on the band's latest "Lead Sails Paper Anchor" went out the window as the group pummeled and pounded like a monster truck in freefall.

Headliners Avenged Sevenfold followed, and mayhem ensued. This is one of the heaviest bands out there that still manages to throw in some nice and catchy amid the dark and loud. I dug the fast take the band did on "The Beast and Harlot," and the guitar player's obvious nod to Rick Nielsen. And please don't tell me I'm the only one that hears Thin Lizzy in the band's twin guitar attack.

I honestly think melody is the only avenue left unexplored; AX7 and its contemporaries are simply running out of ways to amp-up the heavier aspects. We're not talking Jerome Kern here, but these boys are pulling out a few tunes you can actually hum.

Caught The Demos Friday night at The Club @ Water Street, where the band blazed through what was apparently all of its material. A little tip, boys: save at least one for when the kids scream for an encore like they did. That, or learn to bullshit around a 12-bar shuffle like the rest of us do.

Had the distinct pleasure of playing as part of Brian Coughlin's Songwriters In The Roundat The House of Hamez Saturday night, along with Coughlin and Lisa Bigwood. The well-caffeinated audience was most forgiving as Coughlin and I played stump the band with ourselves. Bigwood, on the other hand, brought it. She was engaging, charming, and frightening. She hides a lot of subtext in her lyrics and there's an underlying current in her playing as well. Listen and you'll hear even more sting in what she doesn't play, as it stands shoulder to shoulder with the ghosts.