Alpha and Rainbow Gravity are the sound of a band in complete control of their sonic destiny, reining in those djenty riffs for more cinematic musings that quickly unravel into modern metal anthems. [17 Jan 2015, p.54]

Don't call it a comeback. Call it a rebirth. [15 Aug 2015, p.51]

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

While increased musical sophistication doesn't necessarily tell you anything about the people making the music, and insightful lyrics probably won't stop you in your tracks in a mosh-pit, if you nail both you've got an album that will explode and, more importantly, endure. Here, Every Time I Die have made the perfect example of such an album. [17 Sep 2016, p.48]

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

It's an album that bristles with hooks, crackles with power and almost overflows with passion. [22 Apr 2017, p.50]

Killer stuff. [1 Sep 2018, p.55]

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

It’s not perfect (hello, Bending The Arc To Fear), but for a band previously hindered by wearing their influences so blatantly on their sleeve, they have made it to their final form.

This project began as the soundtrack to an art show, and was inspired by vistas streaming past windows on interminably long drives, so none of this was meant to be easy to enjoy. It’s music to accompany contemplative walks, light skies and dark moods. It’s hard work, but it will work on you.

The BBC Sessions is a collection of impossibly fluent songs delivered in momentary fashion by one of America’s great bands. To hear them doing their thing without the clutter and fuss to which they have increasingly fallen prey is a wonderful thing.

Thematically taking place over one night, the seven songs that make up Datura are equal parts cinematic, catchy and cool, while also spectacularly showcasing Boston Manor’s creative growth.

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.

Having created a monster, BMTH have proven themselves equal to matching the creative demands it’s placed on them. What a re-GeN-eration.

Six years since their last full-length release, this is the sound of one of desert rock’s greatest bands digging deep – and delivering all the groovy brilliance we’ve come to expect.

It’s a bold, fresh effort full of tunes that are simultaneously immediate and deep.

Creeper have always been great. But in this current (and unexpectedly elongated) vampire phase, they’ve blossomed into their true, proper selves.

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.

Turnstile are ahead of the curve once again and showing what’s possible when you follow your own path.

It’s wilder and unvarnished, adding up to a self-portrait that’s intensely candid and intimate.

Senjutsu is simultaneously more diverse than its predecessor but somehow manages to concentrate its punches. It’s the sound of a band that continues to strive when it’s already honed its craft to perfection.

It's a bold, transitional statement from a band that's still reaching for their best. [21 May 2016, p.52]

You won't realise you've been possessed til it's too late. [20 Jan 2018, p.52]

By showcasing progressive metal in its truest, multi-dimensional form, it strides triumphant. [12 Nov 2011, p.54]

It's not nice, but Electric Wizard prove here that sometimes to achieve perfection, all you need is hate. [20 Sep 2014, p.53]

A selection of genuinely catchy songs built around cast-iron melodies.

The Shadow Side reveals Andy Black as a creative force of his own, albeit one still finding his sound, his boundaries, his feet. [30 Apr 2016, p.66]

Harmonicraft still brings the heft and thick cut distortion, but never wastes a single moment's breath on anything superfluous. [28 Apr 2012, p.53]