Melvins are occasionally awful, but at least the contrary sods are never dull. [27 Apr 2013, p.53]

There's nothing here that Cradle of Filth haven't done much better elsewhere. [10 Nov 2012, p.55]

This is pure Slayer through and through. [12 Sep 2015, p.51]

Does this all meld together into the cohesive whole of a perfect album? Well, no, not really. But does The 2nd Law represent a band whose only limitations seem to be the high ceiling of their collective imagination? The answer here is an emphatic yes. [6 Oct 2012, p.52]

Winter Kills thrills with the same potency the band have wielded throughout their career. [24 Aug 2013, p.54]

If you never liked them, this album probably won't change your mind. But, for anyone already "down with the sickness" Asylum is quite possibly their best record to date. [21 Aug 2010, p.50]

This is a collection of good and sometimes very good songs from a band hacking their way towards their 40th birthday. [15 Jan 2011, p.51]

The punk influences are correct and present from the opening riffs of Black Stone, with Lauren Larson's gnarly vocals showing all the promise of a powerful frontwoman. [10 May 2014, p.54]

In an era when so many classic bands return to tout but without risking new material, it's a delight to have Soundgarden take that gamble and win. [17 Nov 2012, p.52]

Throughout, his sandpapered larynx lends a satisfying serrated edge here, only occasionally undermined by incongruous metalcore balladeering and the odd interchangeable riff here and there. [2 Jul 2011, p.52]

While the songs are eclectic, they're all united by a shared sense of intensity. [13 Jul 2013, p.52]

Year Of The Hare might need multiple listens, but if you can spare the time, you just might uncover it's secret. [20 Jun 2015, p.52]

As a collection of songs, it's their strongest in some time, and certainly proves that it's not too late to convert to the scriptures of Metal Church. [2 Apr 2016, p.52]

It doesn't eclipse any of its members' day-job bands, but Surveillance is worth scoping out. [26 Nov 2016, p.52]

Admittedly, they do occasionally disappear up their own collective backside, with too much noodling trying your patience, but their ambition and scope show no signs of diminishing. [10 Mar 2018, p.55]

NOFX’s take on Frank’s tracks turn them into turbo-charged So-Cal workouts without really having to do too much to them beyond playing them really fast. Frank’s contributions, meanwhile, see him doing a raucous version of Bob and Perfect Government in his own charming manner, while his take on reggae number Eat The Meek is smart and sharp.

Blood Incantation have definitely achieved what they set out to accomplish and it’s by no means executed poorly, it’s just lacking the instantaneous spark that their previous two releases encompassed.

Sløtface’s third album leaves the feeling of a musical outfit undergoing a bit of a rebirth, but one that’s brimming with promise. Don’t bet against Haley making this new incarnation of Sløtface even better as they continue to find their sound.

The concentrated excellence on offer should placate any disappointment about the meagre portions. [23 Jun 2018, p.55]

While the Exeter band stick with the same formula throughout, they do successfully shackle the principle of less is more--if you're tiring of tone of the songs, another will come charging in to replace it before you can hit skip. [30 Apr 2011, p.51]

The Day's War is a record worthy of reclaiming all those devalued adjectives that have seem co-opted bu other, less-deserving recipients. [23 Aug 2014, p.52]

It's hardly challenging, but Himalayan is nevertheless another goal for for Band of Skulls. [22 Mar 2014, p.54]

While it's true that their [Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman] reunion on Braver Than We Are could never change the world like Bat Out Of Hell and Bat Out Of Hell II, it is a bewilderingly brilliant album. [17 Sep 2016, p.53]

Despite the record's unabashed predictability, it's hard not to get caught up in their snub-nosed bluster. [6 Apr 2013, p.54]

On Motorheart The Darkness’s timekeeping is impeccable and with songs about shagging droids their virility proven beyond doubt. As for staying on the right side of that fine line, give the boys credit; two outta three ain’t bad.

Kind Heaven is a beautifully conceived, exquisitely constructed and fully realised work of towering ambition. ... The perfect album to soundtrack the summer. [15 Jun 2019, p.54]

Occasionally, Thin Mind lacks the energy to truly achieve lift off, but maturity has given Wolf Parade room to roam. [11 Jan 2020, p.57]

Across 11 tracks In•ter a•li•a never loses focus and never takes the easy options, offering fractured anthems for fractured times. [6 May 2017, p.50]

Fantastic album. [27 Jan 2018, p.51]

The heaviest and catchiest thing the Washingtonians have unleashed--and the most moving, too. [23 Jul 2016, p.52]

A surprisingly concise, but still collates the quartet's strengths into a mostly satisfying whole. [10 Oct 2015, p.52]

Whether you love or hate the aggressive verse/pop chorus dynamic, it's hard to deny that, when they take flight, All That Remains do so in stunning style. [16 Oct 2010, p.53]

Charming, likeable collection. [29 Jun 2019, p.56]

There's no fat. Here in abundance is evidence of Billy's enduring genius. [13 Dec 2014, p.52]

Throughout, Anthrax have much to recommend them. [13 Feb 2016, p.52]

This is the sound of an already killer band distilling their essence and producing a truly spectacular piece of work. [21 Apr 2018, p.55]

Rock'n'roll used to be about greatness, about escape and heroes. Once, you could get lost in an album, entangled in its world. It's been a long time since that has been the case. Danger Days...will change that.[13 Nov 2010, p.50]

It's a sideways step for this pair, then, but not so much a complete mutation as trying on a new, synth-tastic set of clothes. [16 Mar 2019, p.55]

The result is the band's most consistently exciting release to date. [19 Feb 2012, p.51]

Sure, not every song is something to write home about, and not everyone is going to be on board with a new singer, but as a piece of work, it’s a clear reminder of why Linkin Park reached the heights they did and continue to influence multiple generations of artists. Welcome back.

It feels harsh to criticise a Panic! At The Disco record for being bold and exploring its brash nature to the fullest. ... But there's no getting around the fact this one feels like it could have done with a defter touch and some sonic restraint. [30 Jun 2018, p.53]

We're actually on a genre-bending journey between esoteric magnificence and chest-crushing heaviness. Good is good. [30 Jul 2016, p.53]

While the band delights in surprising you, it's still slowburning doom that finds Wino at his best. [23 Jul 2011, p.51]

What Radiosurgery proves beyond any doubt is that New Found Glory are as fired up now in 2011 as they were when they first emerged in 1997. [1 Oct 2011, p.53]

An incredibly wholesome listen. [20 Oct 2012, p.54]

It's a brave album and, once the dust settles, it'll be remembered as a great one. [24 Aug 2013, p.52]

The band's imperial phase might be long behind them, but MM-heads will gladly join this Last patrol. [19 Oct 2013, p.54]

Material continues the experimentation in conjoining the macabre drama of the pair's day job with pulsating, mid-tempo dance. [16 Apr 2016, p.53]

This is another modern classic from a classic band. [14 Sep 2019, p.55]

There are times on Scaled And Icy where things just feel a little safe. Overall, though, Scaled And Icy is a good record which balances out the occasional underwhelming moment with flashes of brilliance that could only come from its creators.

Fuelled by personal tragedies and savage times, this fifth album is understandably dark in tone, but never feels too austere to engage.

Lovers of folk rock take note: Arbouretum are likely to be a deserving early entry in your best of 2013 list. [19 Jan 2013, p.54]

By the time you get to No Secrets halfway through, you may be wanting something a little different. But for a late-night album, Mirrors The Sky does the trick. [15 Mar 2014, p.54]

Though it might fail to inspire at first, it will do eventually. A grower, then. But a genuine one. [25 May 2013, p.52]

Even though you could not call the songs 'lean' – half of the eight clock in at over seven minutes and none under five – there is a sense that not a moment's wasted, everything is exactly where it needs to be.

Black Soul Choir isn't exactly a sing-along classic, but it's a slow grower. [15 Feb 2014, p.55]

This is an album that feels as much like a series of compelling stories as it does a collection of fine songs. [21 Jan 2012, p.53]

Rancid don't do anything new here, but they sound more fired-up than ever. [1 Jul 2017, p.51]

Like the soundtrack to a wedding reception, DOAB is Panic! At The Disco turnt up, both musically and lyrically. [9 Jan 2016, p.50]

Your appreciation of the album will depend much on whether you happen to like the way Adam writes: if you do, then this is a belter. If, however, you've grown tired of the same old songs, look elsewhere. [22 Jan 2011, p.50]

While they're not without their spark and charm in places, PTH still frustrates as a band who struggle under the weight of their own ideas. [2 Apr 2011, p.52]

Neighborhoods might never quite land a knockout blow, but it certainly does enough to earn them a rematch int he future. [24 Sep 2011, p.50]

It might not always offer its charms up easily, but Crisis Works is an auspicious debut. [7 May 2011, p.52]

Bryce's masterful way with a melody shines through once again. [9 Jun 2012, p.54]

Some inaudible lyrics and the lack of a real killer tune let Selfhood down, but even if Sharks no longer sound like they want to smash things up, they're still capable of delivering a a quiet riot. [4 May 2013, p.54]

A dirgey treat. [2 May 2015, p.53]

For those who like their rock adventurous, Easter may be cancelled, but Christmas has come early. [12 Oct 2019, p.55]

Not for those new to the band; interesting for those already acquainted. [31 Jul 2010, p.51]

Sonically, it's perfect, but American Hi-Fi lack the songwriting genius f Rivers Cuomo or Dave Grohl that would nudge American Hi-Fi from being good to great. [20 Sep 2014, p.53]

Past //Present // Future dismantles every box the band have found themselves pigeonholed in, and sets them on their own path of integrity and triumph.

You've never heard anything quite like this before, because, well, there's never been anything quite like Issues before. [22 Feb 2014, p.52]

Some of the hookiest hooks and riffiest riff in his catalogue. [30 Apr 2016, p.67]

Something's horribly lacking here. Namely, actual songs. [May 2012, p.53]

It's not what you came in for, but quite pleasant all the same. [10 Jun 2012, p.53]

It's a welcome return to form, and a contender for the best thing this band have ever done. [18 Sep 2010, p.57]

While the progression through the bracing cinematic drama of Sleep Shake, the gorgeous neo-ballad Scared, the heads down industrial charge of Medic and the hauntingly climatic Hypoxia require a few listens to really gel in the listener's mind there is some truly stunning stuff here. [5 Feb 2011, p.51]

This is the first suicide Silence album where each song has an identity of its own, and the first suggestion that true greatness is within their reach. [16 Jul 2011, p.51]

This most powerful of trios churn up tumultuous fury not unlike tribal-metallers Neurosis. [14 Feb 2015, p.54]

It frequently feels like one of those remix albums where tinkering guests have tried too hard to put their own stamp on proceedings, resulting in curios that are momentarily interesting, but will never replace the established versions in your affections on your playlists. [11 Nov 2017, p.50]

Light and breezy strummer Her majesty's Service occasionally reads like a string of Fallon-isms (rolling stones, a girl named Elsie, etc.), but it's blown away by the hulking brass of Sleepwalkers, which straddles the line between grandness and outrageousness perfectly. [10 Feb 2018, p.52]

This album lacks that crucial edge to make it essential, but these Bots still know how to kick up a decent noise. [11 Oct 2014, p.53]

This may be the most punk record of 2017: possessing brains, balls and bags of tunes. [4 Feb 2017, p.51]

Dreams On Toast is spread to the corners with the familiar and the fresh, equal parts self-awareness and self-regard, resulting in their finest album of this, the second coming of The Darkness.

While Daemon is not without its evil edge, there's a bounciness to it that makes it an interesting and, oddly, occasionally fun listen. [2 Nov 2019, p.55]

While at some points their aversion to easy melody and obvious structure hoists them by their own petard, there’s more than enough strange stuff here to quicken the pulse and capture the heart.

The Essex four-piece rarely put a foot wrong. [1 Sep 2012, p.50]

The rock'n'roll spirit is just as potent as the kind you get from a bottle in a sleazy LA watering hole. [19 Sep 2015, p.52]

It might not be the Melvins at their most essential, but their status as rock's quirkiest heroes remains irrefutable. [Apr 2018, p.55]

Dystopia does see Megadeth come within hailing distance of their dazzling best. [16 Jan 2016, p.50]

This is an interesting unexpected extra--pretty, rather than essential. [Sep 2011, p.51]

A quiet but definite triumph. [9 Jul 2011, p.51]

This is Steel Panther's most deliciously dirty release yet. [22 Mar 2014, p.53]

Like Patton's day job, Nevermen succeed in making the world a much weirder and interesting place. [13 Feb 2016, p.54]

An album that might not test the limits of artistry, but as with this closing track [Window], leaves you with a fuzzy feeling. [5 Aug 2017, p.51]

Lex Hives may not re-write The Hives' rulebook, it does offer proof that this band sounds heftier and, somehow, even more colorful than before. [2 Jun 2012, p.54]

It will probably prove overly sweet for some tastes but when they hit top form, they're an absolute joy. [29 Oct 2011, p.51]

Admittedly, the single-minded focus does get a bit repetitive, but Optimal Lifestyles makes for a defiantly fizzy soundtrack to growing old disgracefully. [6 Apr 2019, p.71]

Bottom-heavy power dynamic shines on tracks like Dark Horse, a parade of colossal bass drums and Demi’s pseudo-organ effects wizardry, which then reveals its true colours with a flourish of doomy, speaker-blowing riffs.