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]