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

This is smart, sexy and it rocks like a wild thing. When the Future Dust settles, The Amazons might just stand as a band worth all the hype and more.

Across imperfect accounts and admissions, 5SOS are acknowledging how the pressure of performing links to a pressure to always be liked: to be young, to be attractive, to be good but not too good. So, they may piss off a metalhead or two by being colourfully themselves, but they’re sure good at pop rock.

A surprisingly coherent batch of soured psychedelia. [3 Oct 2015, p.52]

The second storey of The House Of Bones story, is as excellent as its predecessor. [30 Mar 2013, p.53]

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

It's a brave album and, once the dust settles, it'll be remembered as a great one. [24 Aug 2013, p.52]

Venom has injected a whole new life into the British metal heroes. [1 Aug 2015, p.50]

The popping candy melodies remain firmly in place, but this new-look outfit are edgier, gobbier and endearingly post-adolescent. [30 Jan 2016, p.51]

It all adds up to The Bronx's most accomplished record. [26 Jan 2013, p.54]

This is the sound of an already killer band distilling their essence and producing a truly spectacular piece of work. [21 Apr 2018, p.55]

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

Ascension is a truly substantial body of work, but it’s executed with an almost ghostly lightness of touch. Evidence of artists who have mastered their dark craft and another late-career triumph from one of metal’s most enduringly brilliant bands.

A triumph. [29 Oct 2011, p.52]

Ultimately, any record which ends with a cover of cult anarcho-surrealists Rudimentary Peni can’t fail to convince in its sincere respect for its predecessors and inspirations.

Fortunately, Even in Arcadia’s minor quibbles are easily dwarfed by the height of its peaks. It isn’t quite an album of all-timers, but it’s more than enough to bring in wave after wave of gleaming gold spoils all over again.

The concentrated excellence on offer should placate any disappointment about the meagre portions. [23 Jun 2018, p.55]

The rattling, almost post-rock cacophony that swirls around her, weaving in and out of chilling, eerily measured moments, makes for a spectacular, engulfing experience, too. [4 Apr 2019, p.71]

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.

Nine records in it is inevitable that anything they do will have a particular sheen, but creatively, in performance, and in energy they continue to operate on a plane all of their own. And in a world of uncertainty, that's a very welcome thing.

Wild Loneliness is the fourth and best album Superchunk have recorded since returning to active service in 2010, and even stacks up next to classics from earlier in their career such as Here’s Where The Strings Come In or No Pocky For Kitty.

Some of their most effective songwriting to date. The hazy, swirling sound is as beautiful as ever – see the silken Pill To Swallow and the gossamer-like I Held You Like Glass – but this time, they’ve spun it into more impactful shapes.

Even though you could not call the songs 'lean' – half of the eight clock in at over seven minutes and none under five – there is a sense that not a moment's wasted, everything is exactly where it needs to be.

Finding solace in the fight, The Hope List is a resounding show of strength from Lonely The Brave – one which points towards a future rich with possibility.

The greatest achievement is how easy to swallow this all is. The shifts between chonky riffs and mellower, jazzy polyrhythms and gorgeous David Gilmour-ish guitar solos are so smooth as to be in some way unnoticeable as they happen.

It lurches, as such compilations sometimes do, but those lurches, are from intimate to inviting, triumphant to introspective and funny to heartfelt. [14 Jan 2012, p.51]

The Mandrake Project is a colossal idea carried out by an artist who revels in snowballing ideas and having to work hard to cram it all in. It’s the most Bruce Dickinson of all Bruce Dickinson’s solo works. It's also the best.

An album peppered with strong and vibrant songs. [1 Sep 2018, p.53]