Somewhat surprisingly, it lacks some of the droning, distorted fuzz of yore. [21 Jul 2012, p.53]

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

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

It's not a "big" listen, and there are no killer tunes, but seeking such obvious moments would be missing the point. [16 Jul 2016, p.52]

Some people may find this outdated, but it's an absolute treasure chest for slavish fans. [19 Jul 2014, p.53]

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.

After a while the hell-raising wears thin, though, and Luke’s jugular-bulging yells start to sound indistinguishable between songs. But when the Nil’s no-holds-barred approach comes good, it’s glorious.

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]

Through the Wall plays more like a scrappy, occasionally impressive side project. [27 Oct 2018, p.55]

For the most part, Ice plays with middle-age, cranking up the grumpy-old-man persona he established on 2014’s Institutionalized with tongue-in-cheek glee and riding it through the exploitation movie excess of Thee Critical Beatdown.

Even in the absence of the drum machines and sonic complexity of old, Esben And The Witch have the capacity to be seriously trippy. [23 Aug 2014, p.53]

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

It would be remiss not to point out that Iron Reagan are retreading familiar ground, but it would be churlish not to recognise that they do so with ferocious relish. [4 Feb 2017, p.52]

While it’s not a classic of the Corgan canon, it does feel like he’s enjoying himself immensely doing it. And we’re happy enough to hear that. [7 Dec 2019, p.53]

Despite the myth that Anvil simply can't make a decent song, Hope In Hell is actually good. [18 May 2013, p.53]

The reassuring thing about Self/Entitled is that NOFX are still gobby, snotty and obnoxious for punk's sake. [29 Sep 2012, p.54]

Trauma Factory’s straight-up rap moments are more hit-and-miss, with the likes of exile and upside down feeling coherent enough but lacking in bite, demonstrating how nothing,nowhere. sounds best when the musical backdrop is thicker and leans more into the heavier side of Joe’s sound.

This is unashamed brooding, biker rock. [28 Jul 2012, p.54]

It’s very pleasantly chill, but after a while it does start to get a touch samey. Still, for those looking for something with vibe firmly in place, as ever, Turnover deliver exactly what you’re looking for here.

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]

True, it’s also an often familiar-sounding form – that same chord progression at varying speeds, faster than Bad Religion, slower than NOFX – but they also sound like themselves again.

For every ELO-meets-Panic!-At-The-Disco pop gem that makes you think Fun. are great, there's also an Auto-Tuned-to-buggery vocal or irksome trumpet riff that simply grates. [26 May 2012, p.53]

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.

Not all of World Below lives up to this early promise. You can find songs like Poor Old Me – wonky guitar, jaded sarcasm – filling out landfill indie releases from the ’00s. However, late highlight Midnight twists heads with grinding industrial rhythms.

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]

Dark Is The Way sees the Winter Haven five-piece get it right, returning to form with a combination of heartfelt bombast, big choruses and bona fide hooks. [20 Nov 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]

It's probably Iwrestledabearonce's most accessible album. For former lovers, though, they seem a couple notches low on the batshit-crazy scale here. [10 Aug 2013, p.53]

Used Future comes embedded in a murderous groove and with enough trippy melodies to give off a genuinely psychedelic edge. [17 Mar 2018, p.55]

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]

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.

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]

Black Labyrinth is an interesting, if flawed distraction from this icon--though it doesn't justify a 10-year wait. [26 May 2018, p.53]

Occasionally songs hand around a little too long, but all the bruises Black Breath leave linger in the best kind of way. [10 Oct 2015, p.41]

When Rise is good, it's a blast. However, like the boozy gang from which they take their name, there's a tendency toward excess. [22 Jun 2019, p.59]

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

This young band sound so eerily similar Led Zeppelin, you wish they'd back off a little. [25 Nov 2017, p.52]

While they haven't exactly stretched the boundaries of three chords, these Wyoming punks have crafted another 14 tracks of fearless fun here. [28 Mar 2015, p.54]

They're never going to be the heaviest band in the world, but Minus The bear are at their strongest when they threaten to get their claws out. [25 Mar 2017, p.52]

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]

As a way of rehabilitating his reputation, this is certainly a solid start. [28 Mar 2015, p.54]

Tears On Tape isn't bad, then--it's just not as seductive as HIM can be. [25 May 2013, p.53]

While the first half of Is 4 Lovers takes a jackhammer to old, if still relatively fertile ground (hey, why have one song called NYC Power Elite when you can have two?), the second half dials down the pulverising and amps up the pulsating on less frenzied, more electronic songs such as Love Letter and Glass Homes.

Immortalized isn't without its duffers. [22 Aug 2015, p.51]

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.

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.

Fear Factory continue to make the future sound dark and dangerous. [1 Aug 2015, p.52]

There's nothing on the album that's going to suddenly turn them into queen bees again, but Alien Ant Farm here prove themselves to be an enterprise running on more than just the fumes of nostalgia. [14 Mar 2015, p.53]

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]

Radkey's greatest strength is sounding urgent but never rushed. The greatest weakness is that they wear their influences like face tattoos. [22 Aug 2015, p.52]

Much of Death Is the Only Mortal is notable principally for the band's skill in explosive brutality. [13 Oct 2012, p.54]

The good thing is that Semi-Automatic Machines, BANG and Thirst possess the blistering urgency of a fire in a room with no doors. The downside, however, is that the busy nature of Hammok’s sound doesn’t sustain the interest throughout, especially when, as on Groundbreaker, you’ve got a track pushing the five-minute mark. Frankly, it can be exhausting.

While World On Fire isn't the finest thing Slash has, or will ever, put his name to, it still shows an iconic talent doing what he does very well. [6 Sep 2014, p.52]

Yes it gets samey, but in Hatebreed's hands predictability doesn't tend to mean boring. [30 Apr 2016, p.68]

It's easy-going, it's listenable, but it also sounds a bit, well, tired. [13 Apr 2013, p.59]

On Cheap Trick's 17th album--and that is the most Cheap Trick title ever Cheap Trick'd--the man's ability to write sugar-coated riffs that stick in your head as though made of golden syrup has not diminished. [2 Apr 2016, p.53]

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]

Nate and his crew are charming, more often than not. [7 Mar 2015, p.54]

Sure, it's hard to tell some of the more sombre tracks apart, but if it's complex, squishy emotions you're after, Maybeshewill are definitely speaking your language. [16 Aug 2014, p.54]

The result is an album that quietly impresses rather than ramming you abruptly in the sternum. [18 Oct 2014, p.53]

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

It's the quirky structures and finely drawn lyrical observations that provide the real hooks here. [28 Jan 2012, p.53]

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

Perhaps mastering a sense of duality is what Rico Nasty is gunning for – harsh and soft, or trap and rock. At the same time, there’s not quite enough sense of focus to suggest that’s the case. Should she find that, or find a way to blur all these sounds into something cohesive and singular, she could be unstoppable.

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

Some of the more rap-heavy moments are terrible, but when they throw in huge, guitar-laden choruses such as on Been To Hell and Hear Me Now, they hit the same anthemic heights as Linkin Park. [2 Apr 2011, p.51]

It may not be rocket science, but there is an art to doing this right and Simple Plan have once again pulled it off. [18 Jun 2011, p.52]

All the standard atmospheric touchstones get brushed aside here in favour of a deeper, more meditative experience. [20 Sep 2014, p.53]

Some songs float by without leaving much of a mark, but Balance And Composure's dedication to reinvention should be lauded. [5 Nov 2016, p.52]

An album that proves that Trivium have much life in them yet. [12 Oct 2013, p.51]

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]

It's Arabot's noiser moments that are their most gleeful here. [1 Sep 2018, p.55]

Most of it's the aural equivalent of a shoulder rub, but when it's good, it's very good indeed. [21 Mar 2015, p.54]

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

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]

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

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

Ultimately, Bush devotees who lived through the alt.rock ‘90s will find much to love about The Kingdom. But it is also an album delivered with Rossdale’s customary style and panache, not to mention tunes that sit elegantly alongside the likes of Everything Zen and Swallowed.

Automatic is part boom, part bust. [8 Aug 2015, p.50]

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

Unfortunately, not everything works quite as well [as the opening and final tracks]. [21 May 2011, p.51]

"Misfits" is a bit of a bland closer musically, but it's a sentiment that fits the album--and Shinedown--perfectly. [26 Sep 2015, p.51]

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.

At its best, Hvman:||:Natvre has the impressive magic that has made Nightwish one of Europe’s biggest bands. But there’s a feeling this time that for such a big concept, things haven’t gone quite far enough.

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

Two albums into their 21st century reunion, and the unhinged genius of early albums Surfer Rosa and Doolittle is largely lacking, replaced by the not unpleasant sound of old friends having a blast. [8 Oct 2016, p.52]

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.

While For Baltimore proves they can still write a grade A banger when they put their mind to it, too many songs are destined to have "must try harder" stamped on their report card. [13 Oct 2012, p.52]

Very occasionally, such as during the first half of the otherwise excellent Crashed Out Wasted, that compulsion to pour honey in our ears can lead to a little too much saccharine. But on the whole, Race The Night is a journey worth taking, deftly hitting all of the touchpoints that make Ash such a special band.

They might nod to the past, but Creepoid's present is plenty bright. [20 Jun 2015, p.52]

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

It’s a lot of fun, and marks a very welcome return to the game for a punk band who are on the ascendancy.

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]

Dethalbum III makes for further arse kicking. [20 Oct 2012, p.54]

Obviously, we'd much prefer to have a new Tool album, but in the interim, Money Shot won't leave you feeling short-changed. [31 Oct 2015, p.54]

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

On the whole, though, while this is flawless and expertly crafted, it's also pretty unsatisfying. [26 Mar 2011, p.52]

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