First round of cuts, and some adds!

It's been a week since I posted the list of albums that I was considering for my top albums of 2008. I've done some refining to the list since then. Here are the albums that are being cut from the list:

Continent by The Acacia Strain - Yes, this album is a big improvement lyrically. Musically, though, its very similar to their previous albums. And although I like their previous albums, it's not mind-blowingly good.
Declaration by Bleeding Through - Again, not a lot of variation from their previous albums musically. I suspect Jona Weinhoffen did not give a lot of input into the writing of this album - otherwise it would have sounded more like I Killed the Prom Queen, which would have been much better.
Ultra Beatdown by Dragonforce - What was I thinking here? Sure, it's a good album, but there is so much more power metal out there that is better!
Versus by The Haunted - I listened to rEVOLVEr the other day, and I realized why I first got into this band. The new album doesn't do for me what rEVOLVEr did for me.
Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow by Sevendust - It's really unfortunate that I'm cutting this, because I had hoped that this album would grow on me over time. But it didn't, sadly. It just lacks the pure balls of Next and Alpha, which is a bit of a letdown for me.

And now, some adds to the list, both of which are not even out yet:
Stormchaser by Light This City - I've only heard two tracks from this album, but I can already tell that this album will end the band's career on a high note. It's very sad that they're breaking up, because I hear so much potential for this band in the songs I've heard.
The March by Unearth - The three songs I've heard so far prove that what Trevor Phipps and Derek Kerswill told me is true: Unearth have fused the pure metal of The Oncoming Storm with the thrash elements of III: In the Eyes of Fire to form a towering, brutal sound that features the most technical elements in metalcore today.

Keep an eye out for more cuts, and possibly more adds, in the coming weeks!