Just because you can't see what's about to hit you, it doesn't mean it can't knock you off your feet, and that's exactly what All Pigs Must Die do here. Repeatedly. [3 Aug 2013, p.54]

Seventh album Luminiferous delivers every bit of HOF's expertise. [20 Jun 2015, p.52]

There's a rare talent in being able to soundtrack a nightmare and put it to a catchy beat, but it's a skill in which this deadly duo have become absolute masters. [17 Aug 2019, p.55]

What’s emerged is an exploration: of the heavenly and the primal, the savage and the beautiful, the ultimate mystery of what it actually is to be human.

It's all deathly bleak, fantastically original, and the heaviest album of 2014. [12 Apr 2014, p.54]

It absolutely borrows plenty from all of Brendon’s influences – but that’s not a bad thing. Viva Las Vengeance is both consistently catchy and classic-sounding, and another fine addition to Panic!’s remarkably varied discography.

Les Voyages De L'Ame will surely stand unchallenged as the most ineffably beautiful record of 2012. [21 Jan 2012, p.54]

This latest actualisation of their sound is just the beginning of an exciting new trajectory of musical exploration and experimentation.

Every moment is charged with the perfect balance of power, melody, and muscle. [26 Mar 2011, p.51]

A band with a curious alchemy, an ensemble of stylistic contrasts, pulling together to make a record of understated pleasures.

The result steers closer to accessibility than ever before, without diminishing the understated power of their strangely serene heat-haze atmospherics. [29 Jan 2011, p.54]

The open-minded will find that Harmonic is a journey well worth making. [12 May 2012, p.54]

Back On Top never loses sight of something very important: trying something new. [24 Oct 2015, p.52]

Aggressive is very aggressive, but it's also the sound of a band showing their strength. [4 Jun 2016, p.50]

Several bold steps forward, while looking back over one shoulder. [27 May 2017, p.50]

If one thing about The Used’s eighth LP stands out above all others, it’s how thrillingly modern it sounds.

This is a record just as colourful as its creator’s hair (which is handy). And while rapping about Bill Gates, Elon Musk, The Office’s Michael Scott and members of One Direction in closer See You In The Future might prove one step too far for some, for everyone else it’s all just a part of the ride. Indeed, this is very weird shit. But it rules.

Immersing themselves in the sea of literature and comic books available to flesh out the story, truly hardcore fans may find a deeper connection to these 14 songs, but it’s to the album’s immense credit that they won’t find a better listening experience than newcomers hitting ‘play’ for the first time.

There's nothing here that doesn't earn its spot or tell a story and as a grab at something great, Polar bear Club may have just succeeded. [20 Aug 2011, p.51]

Smart, confident and put together with a real sense of intrigue, WILLOW’s latest record is a testament to having the belief to forge your own path. As coping mechanisms go, this one sounds like a winner.

Drug Church are as addictively seductive as ever and listening to Hygiene might just be one of the most satisfying things you can do in less than half an hour.

The cloud of heaviness that hangs over the whole thing is matched only by the emotion on display, and the momements of beauty once again reveal YOB to be not just another doom outfit, but one of the finest heavy bands on earth. [9 Jun 2018, p.55

This is a record made with care, craft, and nothing allowed in that isn’t just-so. It may seem an odd thing to praise a band as flamboyant as this for, but Rammstein know the value of quality rather than quantity. When they deliver, they still deliver the best.

Hushed And Grim is a triumph from a band who have long been the final word in balancing the intelligent and the primal.

The highlights are plentiful, from the misanthropic maelstrom of People Person, to the lolloping The Digger You Deep and the Pixies-esque Hate The Polis, but you don’t need to pan for gold when there’s so much of it.

Dear Youth will stomp your head and fire your heart. [15 Nov 2014, p.54]

Music born of despair has rarely been as exhilarating as this. [15 Jun 2019, p.55]

Sacrificing none of that trademark musicianship, this is Dream Theater at their most accessible, and they lose nothing for it. [23 Feb 2019, p.55]

It’s heavy, undoubtedly, and several tracks flirt with death. But exorcising their demons together has strengthened American Football’s unique chemistry and created their most adventurous music.

To some, Infinite Granite is a further step away from what they want. To others, a step further into it. For Deafheaven, it’s simply who they are. Truthfully, it’s who they’ve always been. No surprises here.

The apocalyptic tone that hangs over much of the record is suffocating, in the best possible way. [9 Jul 2016, p.52]

Pawns & Kings is classic Alter Bridge – nice big choruses, intelligent lyrics, rock music meant to be played on big stages – but with their muscle properly tearing through their shirts. And though for longtime fans this shouldn't come as a surprise, the level to which they've dived in here still may do.

A thunderous, cathartic debut that remains subtly political and emotive while prioritising surface-level pandemonium. From top to bottom, it exists on the edge of a cliff.

A record that feels completely at ease with itself. [Mar 31 2018, p.53]

They’ve emerged as one of the most vital punk-fuelled bands of the age, and their live show is a huge part of that. Check this out to see why. [7 Dec 2019, p.54]

As compositionally impetuous as they are lyrically intelligent, Pissed Jeans are amongst rock's most uncompromising outfits. [16 Feb 2013, p.51]

This fourth LP is a nostalgia-tinted treat. [27 Sep 2014, p.54]

Easily besting 2013's Kingdom Of Conspiracy, this is dark and ugly death metal for ugly minds. [25 Feb 2017, p.52]

Its slick, sxy grooves coming over as both a stab at the mainstream and a bold reboot of their established format. [12 Jan 2019, p.55]

The ebb and flow keep you constantly on your toes. [8 Jun 2019, p.55]

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]

[A] glorious masterpiece. [11 Mar 2017, p.50]

The doom and the dirge are relentless but never get boring. [10 May 2014, p.54]

Grueling and utterly uncompromising, Widowmaker is a gift to humanity from a band that despises it. [17 Nov 2012, p.53]

A solo album that is both deceptively effervescent and dependably well executed. [9 Feb 2019, p.55]

As a tribute, it is wonderful, but even without the terrible context in which the album has come about, Final Transmission is superb. [8 Jun 2019, p.54]

BMTH have long known how to play what cards when, and just when we need something cathartic, something heavy, something with an element of the familiar in amongst the creativity, they deliver richly here. Fourteen years on from their debut, much has changed, but in some other ways some things are exactly the same.

Engine Of Hell is not only a testament to her seemingly endless talent, but an unadulterated glimpse at a human being’s soul.

It’s absolutely fantastic. Where previously their records had sounded like a moment captured, a document of a fire blazing away, this is more controlled and deliberate, where everything arrives with the confidence of a heavyweight champ.

Cave World is an album brimming not just with colour and life, but also with a sense of striking unease that is pitched somewhere between the deeply sexual and the profoundly sinister. ... That all of this strangeness is carried aloft on a smorgasbord of varying musical styles makes Cave World all the more alluring.

It's an old school blast, but the tongue-in-ulcer humour and streaks of structural invention prevent them from ever sounding dated. [3 Aug 2013, p.54]

The best songwriting of their rollercoaster career. [9 May 2015, p.53]

Their diverse tunes are rough and smooth in all the right places. [20 Aug 2016, p.68]

They’ve done something even more audacious than dropping a track with an off-the-scale number of C-words in it. They’ve dropped an album of the year contender just 10 days into 2025. Big power move, that.

It's a softly stirring soundtrack for a drift into somewhere deep, immersive and dreamy. [11 Aug 2018, p.71]

Those familiar with the band will be unsurprised that it’s an intense, at times overwhelming listen. ... Panorama is another outstanding release from a truly special band.

It’s an addictive yet antagonising listen.

Howling is full of venom, inspired by history and politics to create a dense mix of buzzsaw riffs and eerie atmospherics. [17 Jul 2017, p.52]

Karnivool have made a record to enjoy as much as admire. [20 Jul 2013, p.54]

This is the work of a brilliant artist who is singular in both talent and vision. [14 Sep 2019, p.54]

Expect this to crop up on more than a few album-of-the-year lists. [4 Jun 2016, p.52]

Cult Of Luna’s evolution shows no signs of slowing down. The Long Road North is another welcome addition on their quest to push sonic boundaries and is one of their hardest hitting releases yet.

Sempiternal sounds like a record that wants the world--that's all of it, not just the bits where longhairs dwell--which is refreshing for a metal record in 2013. [30 Mar 2013, p.52]

Anguished and uncomfortable as it may be, Chip King and Lee Buford have constructed a brutalist masterpiece, here.

Honor Found In Decay is another milestone in a catalogue which consists of nothing but milestones. [3 Nov 2012, p.53]

Turn Up That Dial won’t dethrone 2005’s career-defining The Warrior’s Code, but it’s a welcome hug from a collective who are, as ever, the best of men.

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

It's apparent that Jacob's half is largely concerned with the separation anxiety of life on the road. ... Brendan Lukens was dealing with mental health and addiction issues in the run up to this album. This sudden jolt to a jerkier, more angular alt.rock style reflects that. [14 May 2016, p.51]

Tantalisingly, this record also feels like the next building-block in a potentially genre-defining body of work. As much as we can’t wait for 100,000 gecs, however, there’s a mountain of fun to be had before we get there.

An album that cannot and will not stand still, or be quiet, or remain one thing for very long. In a world where many cushion themselves from ills with complacency, it’s good to have a record that’s ready to shake (and shit) people up.

Heavy Pendulum is truly a remarkable record, not only for its quality but also because it represents Cave In’s ability to persevere after enduring so much trauma. It’s the work of a wholly rejuvenated and imaginative group.

Truly, Chelsea Wolfe has hit upon something very heavy here--something that'll haunt your nightmares long after it ends. [7 Oct 2017, p.53]

This is a staggering album, one that leaves you bruised, bloody and breathless. [11 Jun 2011, p.52]

In allowing their imaginations to run riot in a gloriously self-indulgent way, they've made a record possessed of an extremity all of its own. [5 May 2012, p.53]

Luc remains an expert in experimental extremity, with Forgotten Arrows, reminding us that Gorguts were trawling prog-death waters long before Gojira. [17 Aug 2013, p.54]

Set It Off have created their own sub-genre in an oversubscribed pop-rock scene and absolutely nailed it. [11 Oct 2014, p.53]

The eclectic sounds of Wolf Alice's debut made them stars, but this sequel finds them doing everything bigger and better. [2 Sep 2017, 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]

From its furious themes to the explosive energy and the livewire sound, you’d be hard pressed to find a band doing anything quite like this right now, and it’s genuinely exciting to think what Nova Twins can achieve with these 10 tracks of pure sonic power in their hands.

Truth Decay is an album that sees You Me At Six grabbing elements from 2014’s Cavalier Youth and 2010’s Hold Me Down. Then it wraps them up into a time capsule of what it means to be a young adult in the ever-difficult 2020s.

Ignore the anodyne song-titles like Versions Of You, Bad Time and Scars. Sonically, we’re right back into the gravel of early-2000s classic From Here To Infirmary and Good Mourning. Guitars slice, grate and gouge like murder weapons. Matt and Dan Andriano’s vocals are loaded with more wry, world-weary bittersweetness than they have been in years.

PRUDE is an album whose life-affirming spirit is unrelenting throughout its 10 tracks, which fly by in sub-30-minute blast of punk fury. Whether you’re on the lookout for heart-on-sleeve punk, hectic hardcore mayhem or just some pure sonic fun, Drug Church’s latest offering is a real must-hear.

Processing pain does not mean wallowing in it, of course. The only way out is through. Ultimately, The Bad Fire feels like an acknowledgement of that, burning out neither in scalding catharsis nor cold resignation, but the radiant glow of a future still unwritten.

They’re still the same fiercely independent band that can run rings around an oddball time signature, just now they’re trusting their chemistry and melodic instincts to take them in any direction they wish – and the results kick ass.

They're back with a glorious melange of influence that borrows from everywhere but combines to sound like no-one else on earth. [1 Aug 2012, p.54]

This is the most intricate and densely-layered album Tool have yet made, but to use the word like "complex" to describe the counting-in-prime-numbers time signatures of Invincible or digital-only track Legion Inoculant would be lazy in the extreme. ... An album that pushes and challenges its creators and its audiences in new ways, the finer details of which will probably take another 13 years to fully unwrap and appreciate. [24 Aug 2019, p.53]

Thankfully, the band approached this follow-up with exactly the same extravagant, OTT mindset that made Everybody Wants such a riot. [Oct 27 2018, p.53]

Country-fuelled it may be, rather than the expected full-pelt rock, but so open is this letter that it easily succeeds in transcending genres. [1 Jun 2019, p.53]

This won’t be an album for everyone. But for those with an appreciation for the cold, dark and depraved, it’s a hellscape worth falling into.

It's a beautiful, bruised patchwork: all fragile optimism and ebbing regret. [18 Mar 2017, p.53]

So, 13 albums in, Clutch are still uniquely brilliant, master craftsmen of a form at once ingeniously simple and amazingly clever. And one that only they can properly do.

It's daring and rarely less than dazzling. [6 Apr 2013, p.52]

With Things Will Matter, one of the most distinctive bands to have emerged in recent years continue to make bold strides into the unknown. [21 May 2016, p.50]

Played at the correct volume, this will certainly threaten the structural stability of your house. [22 Apr 2017, p.52]

Single Mothers refreshingly don't care if you like them or not. So take them or leave them, but you'd be a fool to miss out. [17 Jul 2017, p.53]

You don’t have to take a crash course on two decades of complex lore to enjoy Act II, though. For all their intricate storytelling and consummate musical skills, Coheed remain surprisingly accessible.

There is a very good rock record waiting for you here – and certainly one that deserves to be appreciated by many more than nine people.

Shed boasts a freshness that roots it very much ion the present, and the raw adrenaline driving the whole things is simply exhilarating. [14 May 2011, p.52]