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]