Early Man

For soulful, heavy-metal alienation, not much can trump early Black Sabbath, including fledgling Columbus, Ohio, duo Early Man. Guitarist, singer and songwriter Mike Conte has clearly spent more than a little time worshipping at the altar of Sabbath, among other headbanging heathens. On Early Man's Matt Sweeney-produced debut, Closing In, Conte perfectly emulates Ozzy Osbourne's theatrical, comic-book-steroid-case-in-turmoil howl as black-leather guitars thud, grind and squeal like failing brakes and drummer Adam Bennati helps beat a path back to a '70s, fake-blood teenage hell that still seems full of possibility today. Early Man doesn't seem to have adapted Sabbath's lightness of touch, opting out of "Changes"-style balladry, heaping on more ax solos that squirm and convulse, and handing out black condoms to concertgoers.