After The Showdown's first two albums, A Chorus of Obliteration and Temptation Come My Way, the Tennessee natives dug up some b-sides from their sophomore record. Released on Myspace and iTunes, the Feel Like Hell EP is three tracks of solid metal.

A standout trait of The Showdown's approach to the songs on this EP, as well as the previous records, is that they complement their screaming vocal style with actual singing, in a classic Southern rock form. This time around, however, they actually scream very little, resulting in an interesting mix of grinding guitars and vocals. The first song on the album, also the title track, starts off with excellent metal sounds and blends into driving vocals. The rest of the EP, tracks "Snake in the Grass" and "When it all Comes Down," tend to blend together and really aren't anything special, although both songs are a bit reminiscent of 80's hair metal.

Lyrically, The Showdown has said in the past that they attempt to put Biblical references in their music. It seemed that none were adamantly present on Feel Like Hell. In this EP, there's really nothing to separate The Showdown from any other of their mainstream metal counterparts. For instance, in "When it all Comes Down," there isn't a distinction between singing merely about temptation, or giving into it. Also, does the title refer to Hell as the opposite of Heaven, or does it simply describe the mood of the album or band?

The band's intentions may be clear to most, or just to them, but the EP still wins despite the ambiguity of its lyrics. At eye level, Feel Like Hell EP is a good listen, though it may not be the deepest Christian metal album out there.

- Review date: 10/28/07, written by Garrett DeRossett