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

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.

It’s never derivative, nostalgic, or trying to be anything that it’s not. It’s a PVRIS album, packing in every quality that she’s built that name upon, while powered by a subtle forward motion. That every idea and sound heard is hers and she can finally, proudly take sole credit for that is to be celebrated.

A truly riveting record from explosive start to crushing finish. [9 Jul 2011, p.52]

It's a soft, frail album Jimmy Eat World have here, but one that hits right in the feels. Hard. [29 Oct 2016, p.51]

High-wire riffs toe the kine between noise and pop, while Patrick's sprayed observations are kerosene on this already combustible mix. [10 Nov 2018, p.55

Hot Sauce is a B-Boy bouillabaisse that manages to be both familiar yet adventurous, varied yet seemless. [7 May 2011, p.51]

Twenty years and counting, Pearl Jam are still the kings. [Sept 17 2011, p.51]

Every sludgy melody feels painstakingly sweated over; every battering arrangement feels scientifically measured out. [4 Oct 2014, p.54]

An uncompromising debut--hard, nasty and the perfect sonic poison for 2017. [29 Apr 2017, p.51]

It's really no gamble to suggest that over 31 magical minutes, Rival Sons have delivered the finest classic rock debut of the year. [25 Jun 2011, p.52]

In all the ways that matter, this solidifies their status as a collective still expanding upon their legacy, rather than resting on it.

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.

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.

While the heat lessens toward the end, this fine return possibly betters their acclaimed debut. [11 Jun 2011, p.51]

As ever, The Wonder Years remain the best in their class. They remain as musically smart, emotionally intelligent, and reassuringly bullshit-free as ever.

One listen to The Computers' latest album will show you how much they've grown since the aggro punk 'n' roll of 2008's You Can't Hide From The Computers. [27 Apr 2013, p.54]

Leaps and bounds ahead of their excellent M debut, Mareridt is ambitious, accomplished, and beautifully ugly. [16 Sep 2017, p.53]

It’s hard not to have fun when every track here feels suitably like its own adventure, and impressively still, BABYMETAL sound like they’ve been steering the ship through these parallel universes not for the first time, but for years.

They've taken things into a place where that barbed-wire charm takes a backseat to sounding absolutely enormous. [4 Jun 2016, p.53]

No Obligation documents the result of resilience and hard work, and makes for a listen that’s enjoyable regardless of musical preference or taste.

This is an album that’s compelling and will leave you hanging onto your headphones to see what’s coming next.

Musically, TANGK finds IDLES’ style rejuvenated, with drum patterns drawing from soul, techno and hip hop. The sparse beats and ominous background hums of POP POP POP are reminiscent of Radiohead’s Kid A.

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

This one is a masterclass in delivering musical precision with an undercarriage of scuzz and tension. The likes of Tattoos and Days Are Dogs retain the minimalist vision that has coursed through Shellac since their earliest releases.

Though there's no radical change to his formula here, crucially, the consistent brilliance on display means there's no need for one. [4 Jun 2011, p.52]

Despite being recorded at various times between 1992 and 2015 the 11 tracks here gel together like any other Motorhead album. [2 Sep 2017, p.52]

This seventh record still offers plenty for those who want an aural assault. [30 Aug 2014, p.51]

It really is impossible to pick fault with the record, every track playing its part, and further cementing their legend.

Resurrection is a powerhouse of a record, the brave onward steps of New Found Glory proving that hope--like pop-punk--is not dead. [11 Oct 2014, p.52]

Throughout, DevilDriver are taut, tight and tenacious.

it's all so brilliantly done, such a massive, shiny rush of excitement, joy and fuzzy-feelings that you can't help but love it. [14 Jun 2014, p.54]

It's consistently excellent, showcasing the band's trademark riffy and psychedelic sides. [13 Sep 2014, p.53]

They gather together the bit you might have missed to keep the good times rolling. [25 Jan 2014, p.54]

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

Covering Ground is [Chuck Ragan's] third album, and once again demonstrates his versatility as a musician. [Sept 17 2011, p.51]

While this record isn’t going to lure rock purists out of their dens, it has greater ambitions in mind, and the amount it achieves in the space that it does is staggering. For any artist of any genre, this is the textbook for innovation.

Some of the best songs [Obituary] have penned, nearly 33 years after their inception. [18 Mar 2017, p.52]

This follow-up is a micro-tad more optimistic [than 2011's Several Shades Of Why]. [13 Sep 2014, p.54]

There are moments of genius here. In forging new bonds and attempting to break new ground, METAL FORTH's intentions are noble and the executions occasionally excellent.

The wonderfully titled England Keep My Bones features some of the finest songs Frank has yet written. [4 Jun 2011, p.52]

Metal may have become more extreme in Carcass' absence, but they still take 90 percent of the pack to (medical) school. [7 Sep 2013, p.51]

An album that's easily good enough to keep Wolfmother in orbit. [13 Feb 2016, p.53]

This is Earth in their purest form. ... This album is also a perfect introduction to Earth for curious neophytes. [25 May 2019, p.55]

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

Guitars buzz and chime, melodies uproot from the dirt and stand tall; the sum total being tan indefinable yet fascinating modern day rock opera that is as rewarding as it is unique. [4 Jun 2011, p.52]

Truthfulness and honesty [are] inherent throughout this fantastic record. [14 Sep 2019, p.55]

It's brilliant stuff, and proof that when it comes to enormo-doom heaviness, few do it better. Still. [5 Sep 2015, p.53]

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

Fifteen years into their career, the Witch have never sounded more spellbinding. [21 Jul, p.54]

The whole thing is done and dusted in just under 40 minutes, yet zips by so fluidly that it feels half as long. [2 Jul 2011, p.50]

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]

Funeral For A Friend have always been ordinary chaps with ordinary ambitions. Yet That masks something important: there is extraordinary heart in what they do. And there is much of that here. [21 Mar 2011, p.50]

On Nine it feels like the band are finding a new lease of life in the dark days of 2019. [4 Sep 2019, p.53]

In Waves draws from the band's entire repertoire and shapes what it finds into a defining and definitive set. [6 Aug 2011, p.50]

This is an album packed not only with exuberant and quirkily innovative songs--songs that are busy with bounce and swerve--but also come equipped with a sense of energy and defiance that suggests that their authors are not going to give up simply because the terrain underfoot has become unsteady. [Sept 17 2011, p.52]

What this amounts to is a sharp and often exhilarating change of gear from the Green Day of the past eight years. [22 Sep 2012, p.50]

Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power is an album best served whole. Sure, it’s packing some infectious, radio-ready choruses, but there is so much more to unpack, with each listen peeling back layers of heartache but also dexterity and adventure, and much-needed sense of danger that their peers are lacking.

Hydrograd is an altogether looser, more accessible creation. [24 Jun 24, 2017, p.50]

Beautifully threaded together by Eddie's therapeutic strumming, mesmerizing voice and graceful transition between moods, this is a quietly understated masterstroke. [28 May 2011, p.51]

When Måneskin tap into the youthful exuberance and fiery eccentricity that got them here in the first place, though, they’re still utterly unstoppable.

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

We've had fights, emotion, sweat and pure punk righteousness. If only you could say the same thing about all live albums. [5 Sep 2015, p.51]

Boasting darker, braver, more thrillingly complex compositions. [10 Oct 2015, p.52]

This is a terrific album, a rich, sweeping 12-song set that features more potential hit singles than you can swing a pickaxe at. [18 Sep 2010, p.57]

Overall you might have to go back to 1989's The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste to find Ministry sounding quite as vital and engaged as they do here. [10 Mar 2018, p.55]

Truly emphasising how far they’ve come since emo’s heyday, these songs have as much (or more) in common with alt.pop icons like HAIM, Alanis Morissette or Fiona Apple as even they do with even Paramore’s poppiest ‘rock’ contemporaries like Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco.

With only the occasional chorus in English, singing along is tricky for us gaijin, but melodically these might be Rivers' catchiest songs since The Green Album. That makes this a hit in anyone's language. [25 May 2013, p.53]

They've managed to serve up complexity in a deceptively digestible manner. [10 Oct 2015, p.52]

it is a wonderful thing to hear Weezer still actually sounding like Weezer here. That they’ve achieved this while pushing their creative boundaries with an orchestra only underlines it. And the best part is, when the time is right and we go back to stadiums again, they’ve still got what promises to be the perfect album to celebrate with left in the chamber.

It has to be said that this is more of a nice vibe record than it is one full of great standalone songs, but when the vibe created is as utterly charming as this, that can only be a minor gripe. [1 Jul 2017, p.52]

Just as Failure love to keep you on the edge of your seat musically, they also keep you guessing with their lyrics. Confounding, absorbing lines are stockpiled everywhere.

For music so clearly divested of hope, this still radiates soul, making it a stirring tribute to Mr. Steele. [2 Jul 2011, p.51]

What you get here are all-out, blastbeat-fuelled trashers--for every anthemic call-and-response hook and melody, there's a lurching spine-crushing breakdown to follow. [22 Sep 2012, p.51]

Death metal has rarely sounded as deliciously demented as The Faceless do here. [11 Aug 2012, p.54]

It might just be the most fun release in either band’s esteemed catalogues.

Some have suggested Les Savy Fav have become of late. Or is it just that they're more comfortable in their own skins now? [18 Sep 2010, p.57]

This is the release that finally sees the band hit their songwriting stride. [1 Jul 2017, p.53]

This is no tribute, however, just a mighty fine hard-rock album. [4 Feb 2017, p.52]

Their sixth album finds them stepping into a world where bands like PVRIS have started to occupy a similar space to Shirley Manson and co. It's only made Garbage themselves better. [11 Jun 2016, p.53]

The brutal death metal contained within isn't much nicer [than the cover art], a savage blow to basically anyone who's ever dared draw breath. [1 Aug 2015, p.52]

I Loved You At Your Darkest offers conclusive proof that their Satanic majesty remains intact, even as they embark on their most ambitious artistic expression to date. [6 Oct 2018, p.53]

Expertly produced by Jason Perry and with not an ounce of fat on its bones, this is an album that manages to be often very good indeed, if not quite great. [2 Apr 201, p.50]

Urth captivates throughout. [15 Aug 2015, p.52]

Vocal contributions from a slew of guests keep things unpredictable on a set which often feels like a multi-genre playlist. ... Time spent getting your head around this craziness is time well spent. [6 Oct 2018, p.55]

To nobody’s surprise, the ten pieces premiered on this third instalment often pulse with the sort of ominous keyboard patterns that’ll have you checking over your shoulder for masked serial killers or vengeful sailor ghosts.

Musical joie de vivre courses through Dos!, along with enough variety to ensure this is more than just, um, Uno! Part 2. [10 Nov 2012, p.52]

No Gods No Masters is one of the coolest, most vital releases of 2021, let alone one by a band some 30 years and seven albums into their career. Listen and learn.

This is raw, loud and obscenely good. [6 Oct 2018, p.55]

This incarnation of Fear Factory is bowing out with a tense, aggressive and satisfying final act. There are exactly zero signs of them adopting fresh approaches, but dissing them for this is like criticising chocolate for continuing to taste chocolatey.

This reminds us how life-affirming their music can still be. [6 Aug 2016, p.53]

Rise Of The Lion sees the five-piece mature from angsty teens into a fierce, majestic beast. [10 May 2014, p.53]

What is surprising, however, is how deep into gloom Dark Superstition dives, and the subtlety with which its cocktail of abyssal heaviness and velvety melody works its way under the skin.

For every comparison you can make of individual moments, there is little here that you can honestly say you’ve heard before, and little that can be judged on traditional terms. But that’s what makes her such a fascinating force.

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

Done largely live in the studio, together, looking at each other, the already taut LOG energy thrusts even harder.

Chelsea Light Moving's debut is fantastic. [2 Mar 2013, p.51]

It’s an intelligent, thrilling and likeable record from one of the most exciting bands in British punk.