The one thing holding Diaspora Problems back, save for its disappointing lack of hooks, is that it doesn’t exploit its strengths as fully as it might.

EndEx doesn’t win many points for going where no band has gone before. The album, and its creators, do deserve credit for continuing the Fear Factory tradition, as an industrial metal band preoccupied with questions of how technological advancements adversely affect our lives. If you fear the future, this is the soundtrack for you.

It’s a good album, though not an Opeth classic. It occasionally meanders and feels in need of a few more truly golden moments to tie its various eccentricities together into a brilliant whole.

Opeth have broken new ground, entered fresh realms both oppressive and melodic – but their rapier-like determination to be different may be too much for some.

It's an album that draws on blues and gospel alongside atmospheric art-rock to end up somewhere intriguing, unnerving and frequently overwhelming. [16 Oct 2010, p.52]

If you can look beyond this band's inherent safe-ness, there's plenty her for fans of the sugar rush offered by Paramore, All Time Low, Simple Plan et al to enjoy. [11 Aug 2012, p.53]

Less encouraging is that while the album is unmistakably brutal, it's also remarkably unmemorable. [2 Apr 2011, p.52]

Over the course of their 10-year career, The Black Dahlia Murder have struck rigorously to their melodic death signature sound while delivering engaging albums, and Ritual maintains this standard. [25 Jun 2011, p.51]

Iron Balls Of Steel ultimately raises eyebrows more often than it does fists. [14 Jan 2012, p.51]

The Proverbial Bellow could almost be all that this chapter comprised and not irk their faithful. The other three tracks deliver too, but were destined to always pale by comparison. [14 Jul 2018, p.55]

There's nothing ambitious or monumental here but a tight 50 minutes of call-to-arms rage. [27 Jun 2015, p.52]

Heavy and not consistently rewarding, it is nonetheless always interesting. [18 Jun 2011, p.51]

An album of blues covers that's beautifully mellow and endearingly warm. [25 Sep 2010, p.52]

There are a couple of marvellous moments – namely the shapeshifting Mezzanine and the agonising regret of Finalist – but often Spiral In A Straight Line settles into itself too much.

Eccentric in all the right ways, No Home Record is just poppy enough to be accessible, yet edgy enough to satisfy even the pickiest of old school noise-rock fans. [12 Oct 2019, p.55]

Silver Age is a fun ride, then, but it won't warrant racing back for any tine soon. [6 Oct 2012, p.53]

A record packed with starry-eyed guitars, almost as if they were being beamed back down from the International Space Station. [24 Sep 2016, p.53]

While not quite the box of delights Garbage shook at us last time, there’s persistent allure in the mating of cavernous soundscapes with Shirley’s penetratingly icy vocals.

A strange, unruly offering. The momentous, squalling dissonance of the curtain-raising Reducer seems to signpost where they’re going, but then they spin off into a twisted, eight-track labyrinth.

Much of the album is minimalist in its approach, allowing Jonas Renkse’s vocals to guide the way against a kaleidoscopic soundscape of soft melodies that feel almost ethereal.

The music itself is minimalist, but still manages to conjure an intense darkness, aided by the haunting drawl of guitarist Reid Bateh. [15 Feb 2020, p.55]

Neither Boris nor Merzbow are particularly known for their music being concise, and of course this opus is no exception — clocking in at almost 90 minutes it takes its sweet time making its point. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as they unhurriedly pick apart their previous material it provides fresh perspective and an opportunity to rediscover.

The dreamy Cali-sound is easy to get lost in, but Seahaven takes you somewhere you won't actually mind being stranded. [22 Mar 2014, p.53]

They're at their best when they're at their harshest, with the grindcore attacks of Saintpeelers and Sovereign Through The Pines proving as exciting as this stuff gets. [12 Mar 2011, p.52]

You can’t help but feel that some creative tension and idea-bouncing in there might have led to some more invention and exploration in the album’s midsection. Nevertheless, though, this is still an impeccably delivered slab of hard rock fun.

Thirty years on from the release of their earth-jolting, trouble-divining self-titled debut, Killing Joke show no signs of either mellowing or cracking a smile. [Sept. 25, 2010, p. 51]

Corpse Flower is an album for completists. [15 Sep 2019, p.55]

Finally adding a bassists to PD's ranks has robbed them of some of their personality. [8 Sep 2018, p.53]

FLOWERS for VASES / descansos continues what Petals For Armor started in showing just how much of Hayley Williams we still have to get to know as an artist. The Paramore question mark continues to hover, but here Hayley has once again shown that there’s more to her than one band.

This is a largely unimpressive album. [9 Apr 2011, p.50]

There are no surprises here, it simply feels as though they’re picking up from where they left off from seven years ago; if you’ve ever listened to one of their albums before then this will feel instantly familiar.

What sounds beautiful one minute can be unwieldy the next, as everything hazes together. [7 Sep 2013, p.52]

Coming in cold, it’s another Killswitch Engage album – metal that punches and screams with an effectiveness and accuracy of attack that is ingrained from experts in their field doing their thing for a long time. But in knowing the journey of its creation, it gains a character and a level of emotion that would otherwise be absent.

Wolf Alice have a great album in them, it's just not this one. [20 Jun 2015, p.52]

Effective as their hard and heavy approach is, the formulaic familiarity does grow weary at times but that won't bother their legion of diehards and Leveler might even snare some new ones. [25 Jun 2011, p.52]

Twelve years puts the emotion back into emo. [5 May 2012, p.54]

It's all proves Metz are poppy and punky, but they're also so squealing and Bleach-era Nirvana-heavy that you still need a sturdy ear to handle them. [2 May 2015, p.53]

Its bleak, grungy soundscape doesn't always hit, but when it does, Mr. Lanegan is captivating. [18 Oct 2014, p.54]

It's when they channel the early days of '70s metal on the Deep Purple-ish Endless Night that they're at their best.... A little more such magic, and Graveyard would be great. [3 Nov 2012, p.53]

Good in the dark on headphones, but it's not going to get the party started. [25 Jan 2014, p.54]

Escalator Teeth, meanwhile, is another short, stabbing moment of clarity. The rest is largely exhilarating and occasionally meandering. More of the same, then, which is entirely the point. [23 Sep 2017, p.52]

This painstaking revival of past glories is every inch a labour of love. [22 Feb 2014, p.54]

Have You Considered Punk Music feels like a missed opportunity to drip the verbal shields and let people all the way in. [30 Jun 2018, p.55]

Finding new ways to bring the heavy. [1 Feb 2020, p.55]

The Raven is a solid offering, it's just not particularly as progressive as we know Steven Wilson can be. [2 Mar 2013, p.52]

Eyehategod are growing old disgracefully, and they're all the better for it. [24 May 2014, p.54]

A sensory overload that doesn't let up. [28 Mar 2020, p.51]

While DISCO4:: PART II isn't perfect, it's definitely worth your time.

The end result is excellent in places, but easier to admire than endure. [21 Dec 2013, p.69]

They deliver a raw brand of garage-punk that isn't exactly new but remain fresh in these hands. [14 Mar 2020, p.73]

Propelled by Sergio Vega's springy bass, Walter Schreifels' effortless instantly recognisable vocal floats over everything. [11 Nov 2017, p.51]

Taking artistic plunges in areas outside garage punk is not for them, but this fifth album is nevertheless a solid half hour of what the Kentucky outfit do best.

They offer no hits or immediately accessible anthems, but when they do engage, they show why they're beloved of so many. [25 Aug 2012, p.54]

Longtime fans won't be disappointed by this hearty sixth effort. [20 Oct 2012, p.54]

On the whole, they should definitely be commended for their ambition in mixing things up at this stage of the game, the result making for a compelling, quite fascinating collection.

Its unhurried pace is a drag at times, but should leave bands who repeat themselves with their pride punctured and their egos pricked. [22 Nov 2014, p.51]

Sounding better than most of their studio-recorded output, Sugar Daddy's dark riffs are so sludgy you'll have to wash them before allowing them home. [18 Jun 2011, p.52]

Unquestionably the most proggy proposition on the album, this tune [L’Enfant De La Lune] shifts through different passages like a receptacle for all the musical touches Alcest have at their disposal. As such, it’s part of a listening experience which often feels like something of a journey, and if the specific destination is ambiguous, the direction is very much into the light.

Compounding shades of this all-encompassing bleakness and newfound furore to an already formidable plateau of emo, indie and shoegaze could just about make it mewithoutYou's finest work to date. [20 Oct 2018, p.55]

The quartet take songs that are not always wholly divorced from pop music and turn them into something weird and wild. [23 Mar 2019, p.55]

Full of weirdness and with groove to spare, this is a fascinating collection. [25 Feb 2017, p.53]

It's not perfect, but a once-a-decade check-in from Desaparecidos sounds perfectly acceptable to us. [20 Jun 2015, p.53]

From the meandering opener, Weave, it's a record that's entirely absorbing. [31 Oct 2015, p.54]

It’s not an easy listen, in both an emotional and sonic sense. But, as an individual experience, it’s hard to ignore the boldness with which Hayden realises her vision, and the terrifying impact that such unfiltered, uncomfortable ambience can hold.

NOTHING, a band noted for their none-more-dour demeanour using a black hole as inspiration might be a little too on-the-nose for some tastes. At a time when hope feels in scant supply, wade into the blackness of these waters at your own discretion.

In general this is a more reflective, far darker album than we’re used to from the former god of partying.

Dying Of Everything does not match or beat its predecessor, but that is not to say that it is lacking in any department, for it is a crushing slab of the dark’n’hard stuff executed with merciless precision and delivered with a killer mix.

True, not all these 10 songs are gonna be fan-favourites, but this return at least partly captures the sense of catharsis brought so brilliantly to that stage in South Wales.

The buzzsaw guitars and cheese-free hooks remain largely the same, but there's a passion and depth to these songs that really rolls back the years. [1 Nov 2014, p.53]

While they're no Tool, there's also a little something for the more cerebral of listeners. [7 Jun 2014, p.53]

This new solo album is at its strongest when Greg finds new ways to express himself. Where there are traces of the Whigs’ soul power, as on Sempre and The Tide, it’s hard not to compare the songs unfavourably to his day job.

In truth not every track on BLEED HERE NOW quite justifies its inclusion. A trimmed down version would have been the best …Trail Of Dead album in 20 years, but this sprawling incarnation remains a comforting reminder of the warmth and weirdness of these perennial outsiders.

Maintaining their business-as-usual ethic it's nonstop Americana-a-go-go. [15 Oct 2016, p.52]

There's loads to admire here--but plenty to test your patience, too. [11 Jan 2014, p.54]

It's hardly a reinvention, but it all adds to the OTT party DragonForce have been throwing for so long. [20 May 2017, p.53]

It's a record as sweet as 20 pumpkin spice lattes, with Gravity ('She keeps pulling me like gravity, everywhere she goes') and Perfume ('I wanna make you my girl / I wanna make you my world') sticking out as notable offenders, while the equally syrupy Kiss Me Again is also a little boilerplate. That said, it’s all rather endearing, especially for those who relate enough to the sentiment to be swept up by it.

A reminder of how fun music can be. Sure, it’s not as joyous as Morbid Stuff, but for a stopgap to keep fans going in these bewildering times, it does the job nicely.

Classically Yellowcard in sound, all violins and driving drum rolls, it's a fitting tribute to their two decades on the job. [1 Oct 2016, p.52]

This feels more like a collection of songs than a coherent album. That said, it's still the best album to bear the Queensryche name in years. [29 Jun 2013, p.55]

This side of Chuck won't change your life, but it will certainly twang your heartstrings for half an hour. [22 Mar 2014, p.55]

Across 12 tracks, it does get a little samey, but then again, individual songs aren’t the entire point here. This is a record that creates an atmosphere around itself, a world of its own, without sounding twee or like something from a real ale festival. A curio, maybe, but a heartfelt and skilfully realised one from a genuinely unique artist.

Their sound remains a punk-informed take on the abandon of '60s garage rock, a well-trodden style which they've nonetheless made their own. It turns out that shitty times make for an intriguing album. [29 Sep 2018, p.55]

They might not always move in straight lines, but as odd as Spielbergs can sometimes seem, they're also capable of great things with whatever they fancy turning their hands to. [2 Feb 2019, p.55]

While there are flashes of exceptional power and invention on offer, there is also a fair share of nondescript greyness, too. [14 Jun 2014, p.52]

A couple of tracks two-thirds of the way through could probably have been left on the side of the road, but Attention Attention concludes just the way it started--with defiant power, immense vocals and thunderous, thirst-quenching melody. [5 May 2018, p.55]

A pleasingly aggressive, frequently trash-happy affair that has plenty of life to it. [29 Sep 2018, p.55]

Humanist finds former Exit Calm man Rob Marshall crafting a brooding songbook fuelled by echoing post-punk guitars, steely beats and electronic embellishments.

There are some lulls, mind. Sometimes the moodiness threatens to drown the melody, and not every track earns its philosophical baggage. .... But Learning Greek is never boring. It's chaotic, clever, and just unhinged enough to charm the eyeliner off your face.

You Wish contains some exciting flashpoints, but it's also missing that prolonged sense of potency to draw you in further. .... Nevertheless, you can only applaud them for leaping out of the safety net of Doom Loop into a whole new world.

A (sad-hearted) joy from start to end. [17 Nov 2018, p.71]

Songs For Singles has a throwaway feel, albeit one with a lot of juddering, earth-shaking weight behind it. [25 Sep 2010, p.52]

Wait for Love sees them largely sticking with what worked last time. [24 Feb 2018, p.51]

It's diverting stuff, even for those who don't have even the vaguest idea of the plot. [29 Sep 2018, p.55]

The downside is some songs stop and start abruptly, all dusted with Weiss' preferred up-and-down vocal melody. [2 Nov 2013, p.54]

In the larger context of the lack of musical progression and creative imagination, the inertia that is Off!'s modus operandi is nothing less than depressing. [5 May 3012, p.53]

It's a voyage down the rabbit hole, and in there nothing is what it seems. [29 Sep 2018, p.55]

The only letdown is a cover of Dead Or Alive’s YOU SPIN ME ROUND (Like A Record), where for all of Thomas’ squalling riff work, it’s obviously just there as padding as it doesn’t quite fit in, and Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos performs as if it’s mere karaoke. Other than that, Thomas has masterminded a very solid collection of songs and though they’re not stretching rock ‘n’ roll to entirely new dimensions, they offer a tantalising glimpse into who this man is when he’s not a cog in a bigger machine.

They are creative and explorative, restless and even daring. For the most part, though, these days they're also not that good. [Sep 2011, p.50]