This is a record that plays like Eddie’s soul is plugged directly into a jukebox skipping through different eras of music history.

Every Loser is superb. But more importantly it encapsulates Iggy’s essence, not by reframing for a modern audience or pandering to trends, but drawing out the timeless qualities of its author: his anger, his sense of wonder and romance, and his downright strangeness.

There's no softness or subtlety here. Just venom-tipped steel. [29 Oct 2016, p.52]

What Venom Prison have done is humanised this music by holding up a mirror to a cruel world and viewing people as more than simply walking dummies full of guts, but sentient beings worthy of life, rather than a grisly, gory death. In doing so, they’ve made something more powerful and worthy of your respect than a million meaningless blastbeats. [1 Jun 2019, p.53]

They’ve never released an album that embraces creativity this openly. My Greatest Moment, for example, is full of ear-catchingly extracurricular sounds – the sort of thing artists in the NIN-to-Starset bracket specialise in, but without sounding like either. Life’s truth might be painful sometimes, but it’s rarely sounded better.

If you want The Art Of Drowning-era iteration, then they’re still there on record forevermore. This is the AFI of 2025, though – older, bolder, hairier and doing things their way – and authenticity never goes out of style.

[A] brilliant album. [18 Jun 2016, p.51]

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.

In their own distinct ways, they both sound like the end of the world, and this jointly-created album sees them gleefully pulling preconceptions out of shape.

Written and performed by a band well into their groove, and produced by Bad Religion legend-cum-Epitaph owner Brett Gurewitz, the finished product is finely balanced, tastefully under-polished and perfectly baked.

Once again, Kylesa have made a humdinger without repeating themselves. [1 Jun 2013, p.53]

Confidently delivered and teeming with ideas, it flies by as much because of its urgency as its cohesion.

Their best record yet. [21 Mar 2015, p.54]

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

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

Conceptually and musically, it’s a startlingly ambitious piece of work from a truly iconoclastic band. Their volatile negativity should, by rights, lead to an alienating experience, but instead Vein.fm summon a catharsis which feels timely and invigorating.

There is an explosive exuberance at the heart of Enter Shikari’s superb seventh album.

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

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]

There are a few more stately and sombre moments, like the atmospheric Daggers Of Black Haze, bu this is still At The Gates absolutely owning their sound and their legacy. [19 May 2018, p.55]

While these songs may lack the same kind of energetic rage that defined the band in their early years, they're still a formidable way of exposing truths and holding the powers that be to account. [4 May 2019, p.55]

There's moments of chain-breaking experimentation sewn throughout. It's not going to freak out anyone accustomed to KsE's meat, but it's definitely sharpened and refreshed what they're serving up. [12 Mar 2016, p.50]

Once again, "epic" is the name of Mr. Townsend's game. [27 Aug 2016, p.51]

As much as the impressive company, what stands out on this compilation is the undimmed volatility of these songs, waiting to be set off.

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

Too late to be the sound of the summer, Beach Slang will instead warm your hearts all winter--and far beyond. [31 Oct 2015, p.54]

Musically, it radiates personality. There’s an intimate quality to Clancy that feels like you’re not only right there with Tyler, witnessing him spill his guts, but also in the studio with the frontman and drummer Josh Dun as they giddily experiment and let it all out. They’ve long been one of alternative music’s most unique bands, but on Clancy there’s a confidence in showcasing absolutely everything they’re capable of.

If You're looking for something with ambition, swagger and feel-good power, Different Creatures is your beast. [25 Mar 2017, p.52]

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.

Given how good Meliora is, it's fair to say Ghost are ablaze too. [29 Aug 2015, p.51]

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

Somebody's Knocking is undoubtedly a labour of love for its creator, and a joy for everybody else. [12 Oct 2019, p.55]

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.

No mere nostalgia trip, S&M2 stands as a tribute both to Metallica’s growing confidence as players and composers, and an absolute vindication of their decision to revisit one of their most inspired creative outings. Within our world, they remain utterly fearless and inarguably peerless.

The pairing makes more and more sense everytime you listen to it, perfectly rounding off 37 minutes of bubbling, stoned fuzz. [3 Feb 2018, p.52]

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.

A band who've proven that 21st century thrashers can give their predecessors a run for their money. [14 Apr 2012, p.54]

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

This is a splendid return. [7 Jul 2018, p.55]

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]

Ex Lives should help them join the big boy's table. [3 Mar 2012, 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]

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

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

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]

(Nasty) business as usual, then, from Anaal Nathrakh. [13 Oct 2012, p.54]

They deliver an eclectic thrashterclass here. [25 May 2013, p.54]

It's an epic journey, and one that both requires and repays immersion and patience. [14 Nov 2015, p.53]

Naturally, those married to traditional song structures need not apply, but if you fancy feeling like your brains in a pinball machine, then Mothership will take you out of this world. [15 Oct 2016, p.52]

A record that's powered in equal parts by defiance and ambition. [18 Mar 2017, p.52]

Stories unfurl with an infectious nerdiness that undulates between giddy Boys’ Own exuberance and a museum curator’s painstaking attention to detail. [20 Jul 2019, p.57]

It's hard to imagine a more enchanting soundtrack to the summer. [24 Aug 2019, p.55]

The Helm Of Sorrow manages to sound like a different entity, while still riding that wave of existential horror.

There’s catharsis and darkness, but they are of the most forward-looking variety, fringed at times with something approaching hopeful joy. In a time where Evanescence’s usual emotional touch could easily speak to feelings of isolation, fear, confusion, hopelessness, loss and fragility, The Bitter Truth gets on that frequency and interrupts it.

Fearless album, an absolutely banging document of the last two years that will resonate far beyond his existing audience.

On The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, the war machine is resolutely in-gear. Whatever the cause (COVID weirdness, the sacking of long-time bassist Dave Ellefson, logging onto Twitter for five minutes), it's killer.

While only the heads-down opener King Of Rome is presented in a radio-friendly three-minute format, there is much here that could lure newcomers into the twisted soundworld of the Melvins – as long as they don’t expect the next record to sound much like this one.

21st Century Fiction somehow manages to feel filthy, sexy, and tender all at the same time. In need of an existential crisis but want to feel like a hot rock star at the same time? Please get acquainted with your latest soundtrack to life.

The many moods of South Of Reality are both rewarding and unsettling, as if the music exists on shifting sands, and as the work of two wide and creative imaginations, it's tough to beat. [23 Feb 2019, p.55]

A record that's a straight-up fantastic return to Brian's rock'n'roll roots. [19 Mar 2016, p.67]

This appears to be the start of a promising new chapter.

It’s a return to rock with a capital 'R'. In fact, make that three capital 'R's.

The band's most accessible release for a long time, with two or three songs that could muscle in on a Greatest Hits. [5 Oct 2019, p.54]

There’s life in the old dog yet, and what’s more he’s learned some new tricks, which can only be applauded at this point. Ordinary Man might end up being the full-stop on an extraordinary career. Let’s hope that’s not the case, but if it is, Ozzy is going out with as much fire and passion as he started with 50 years ago.

This may be a much more conventional form of hardcore than their alumni have been doing recently, but here Angel Du$t are truly flexing their muscles.

An album that, while not Thrice's best, still soars above the competition. [25 Jun 2016, p.51]

Deficiencies are rare. When Never Let Me Go calls time on its 13 songs with the exquisitely constructed Fix Yourself, it does so in a manner befitting an album that is overwhelmingly a success.

Those who are only after heavy guitars in their music won’t be completely satisfied. .... But this stunning, expansive collection of songs delivers exactly what this torrid world needs: a simultaneous celebration and indictment that will stand the test of time for decades to come.

One of the defining features of Beatopia is that it’s much less immediate than Fake It Flowers – there aren’t so many catchy, love-at-first-listen bops, but the ones that are there, namely the fizzy pop-rock jam 10:36 and the scuzzy euphoria of Talk, are a lot of fun. The more left field moments here are handled with just as much assurance and burst with creativity.

Crucially, it captures some of the magic of their debut, and will satiate those who've waited so patiently. [22 Oct 20163, p.68]

After a few listens, you realise this was lurking in them all along. [19 Oct 2013, p.55]

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]

After two decades of creating influential music, the fact that this astonishing album features some of his best songs to date makes this as important as it is unfalteringly beautiful. [12 Mar 2011, p. 51]

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]

A record of grandstanding musical ambition. [18 Jul 2015, p.52]

It's the first time that Mastodon have followed up an album with its next logical step. [21 Jun 2014, p.48]

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

A mature, provocative and at times genuinely beautiful piece of work. [1 Apr 2017, p.50]

A deeply unsettling, murky digital fog of a release. It's also brilliant. [24 Nov 2012, p.54]

This is NOFX at their leanest, and it absolutely rips. [8 Oct 2016, p.52]

Songs that brood on record become grand and celebratory live and that's what captured here. [21 Aug 2010, p.52]

The haze delivers both sleazy rock'n'roll and sugary glam-pop, with the band putting equal dedication into their myriad components to create a joyous whole. [18 Mar 2017, p.53]

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]

As sweeping final ballad Excelsis picks up where previous closing tracks Life Eternal (Prequelle) and Respite On The Spitalfields (Impera) left off, compelling listeners to live life to the fullest with one eye on the inevitability of death, there’s surely no-one else living quite so deliciously on the level of The Devil.

Aftershock proves that they can still produce the goods in the studio. [2 Nov 2013, p.52]

If you want to hear what will inevitable be one of the metal albums of the year, look no further than In Times. [14 Mar 2015, p.54]

It's bleak, it's far from fun, and it's not for everyone, but Dance On The Blacktop is unfailingly honest, raw and uniquely stunning. [18 Aug 2018, p.53]

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

Physical Thrills is the sound of a band able to have a deep spring clean and polish up their best sides, to thrilling effect.

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]

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]

Brilliantly delirious or deliriously brilliant, International Blackjazz Society is the mark of a band that are losing their minds in the best possible way. [7 Nov 2015, p.52]

At an hour-and-a-quarter, like its predecessor, 72 Seasons is a lot to cram in in one go, a marathon. But it slaps consistently, and hard.

It's simple stuff, but it's as powerful and unstoppable as an avalanche. [6 Jan 2018, p.54]

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]