It’s less dynamic, less technical, less energetic, less everything.

Midnight Scorchers is one of the rare LPs that takes the lightning out of the bottle, blasts it around the room, and then puts it back in another bottle.

Sure, Saint Cecilia fills itself with all inclusive lyrics that Grohl has become known for. Yes, there are some midtempo shifts that you wish you could skip over. But out of five songs, four are solid.

One or two tracks could have been cut but overall, this is a random yet pleasant surprise. And one that's definitely sure to please fans of both.

Whether it's rock songs chock-full of reverb, haze or distortion, at the end of the day Untethered Moon is another well-assembled, guitar-driven gem that will continue to keep Built To Spill as fresh and alive as ever.

Mike Patton fans know to expect the unexpected, and will love this. For Dave Lombardo fans, Dead Cross will be more of a stretch. If you’re an open minded hardcore fan (is that an oxymoron?), I can’t recommend this enough.

Apocalipstick isn't just a record, it's an experience about being hungry, fearless and restless in a world that condemns those for being such.

11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory is all about our conviction, belief, the redemption we seek... and ultimately, triumph of the human spirit. Not a bad way to dropkick off the year.

Before a Million Universes is made up of good songs. Certain ones, you'll want to listen to over and over. But as a full record with two centered roadblocks, it needs you to earn the experience.

The vibe of III is purposefully loose but these two thrive with structure. Bad Books remains a way to show Hull and Devine are just as effective with minimal backing but III could have released a series of singles for the same general effect.

Evil Spirits is compact and focused. Instead of trying any new idea they might come across, the band, perhaps refreshed from the rather long period since their last album, has asked themselves, and not the fans, what the Damned are and have crafted a release that acts as much as a return to glory as it does a self-definition for the band.

All in all, J.M. have churned out a fun record--bouncy, catchy, melodic as fuck--but it lacks the impetus and edge of old.

Paul Walker is painfully realistic, openly grim and socially unconscious, expressing a worldview that really, only Kindlon seems comfortable expressing in our scene.

M-Glory took a risk by being unique and going for the bigger sound. It was a gamble that paid off immensely.

This is far and away the best record Ragan has done.

IV is a worthy return that shows the Bronx still have those chops.

I can only assume the title Save Rock and Roll is intentionally ironic on their part because even they should know it's quite a stretch to call this rock and roll.

While it may not be relatable, it is a rewarding journey.

Not their best, not their worst... but something that'll move you as usual and help you appreciate life for the gift it is.

I didn't get that rough cut as much as I would have liked on this album, but other than that, this is a front-to-back gem with great replay value and anthemic shout-alongs I wish I could take in live.

One of the strongest albums this band has released in thirty years.

It is a skillful, daring, side-step into a new plane that leaves the band with far more aspects to explore than when they started.

Their last effort, Keep You, signified this transition fully after a split with Touche Amore hinted at it years ago, and now, Wait For Love cements the change. Gone are the days of The Lack Long After and Old Pride but in this rebirth, something just as beautiful has emerged.

Thrashing Through the Passion is easily the band’s softest album to date. Where most Hold Steady albums fill the room with sound, there’s a lot of quiet and negative space on this album. While the band’s other albums wrap you up in an awkward hug of emotions and drag you through to a catharsis, this album is passive.

It fosters a lot of indie-pop, sensibly and gracefully blended into a hazy production that never misses a beat on how catchy, minimal yet smartly technical it sounds.

They've always done hardcore pretty well but now, as you can tell off tracks like "American Death" there's something new the band wants to explore and succeed at. In fact, this reminds me of Suicidal Tendencies and set the stage for other punk tracks like "War" and "Flowers Under Siege" to make the record just as political as it is personal. And hell, they're actually succeeding at it.

No Coast is a record that encapsulates their evolution pretty well, as a record that allows space to let the music dig in to your skin, and also, as one to show that there's no need to fear change.

The So So Glos have crafted twelve sing-along punk numbers. The Clash influence is crystal clear in both sound and message. Now though, the production value has been raised, opening the gates to attract new fans.

Intersections is colorful but not full of drivel or loquacious exposition. It isn't pretentious. It's just raw and fucking heartwarming. Grab it.

Bought to Rot is an exploration and an experiment, but a highly successful one that manages to come together as a coherent whole to really deliver something special.

All in all, with bad songs few and far between, this was a pleasant surprise.

It's easily the band's best release in the last 10 years, and with time it will garner more appreciation in the overall catalog.

For now, call it a calculated risk that mostly works.

Comfort/Distraction is a good album that shows off how well Broadway Calls understand how to make pop-punk, but it's hard to shake the feeling that the band are pulling its punches in the name of wider appeal.

Te nearly two dozen guests here add both a gravitas and liveliness to the LP.

Khan's most profound release to date.

The album's trying at times, a bit too long but trudge on and give it a chance. There's something very different here that's worth the time.

This is the Hold Steady's guitar album, in a discography full of guitar albums. Crank it.

It doesn't quite reach the heights of Tempo of the Damned, but it is an excellent slab of thrash metal and one of the best heavy releases of the year.

For an album with so many disparate styles and a longish 49-minute running time, Burials feels surprisingly quick and cohesive compared to other, latter-era AFI albums.

Surfing Strange has a bit more substance and variety [than its first LP]. Neither betters the other but they complement each other nicely forming the bulk of the band’s discography.

An album on par with its predecessor but at times, exceeding it. It has everything people love about the band in abundance.

A couple tracks too long, one or two tracks too bland but overall, it's another album from The Cribs that's more than worth a couple listens.

Fourteen tracks is way too long for ATL's brand of music and while you get a few pop anthems, most of the music comes off forced and really lacking effort.

Some tracks are a tad too long and sometimes, it drags. It lacks life in certain key areas that you know the older sound of the band would have amped things up a notch. These time-stamps though, feel like part of a collective message.

Because this album snaps together so well with such a varied texture, it does more in 40 minutes than most lecturers do in their entire career.

While nothing too original, Loom still acts as its own thing.

Not only is it a fresh, focused and very hard-hitting record from the kings of NYHC, its a fun trip down memory lane.

Through A Wall dropped as a surprise and what I love most about it is it's so bold in that it goes right back to the sound of old after last year's Our Pleasure seemed to take a more catchy, melodic and dare I say, poppy route.

Whirr's clearly moving to the beat of their own drum, rotating in new vocalists (who, at least, largely tend to sound similar) and opting for more dissonant and graying atmospheres. It feels like a losing compromise, but they're more than merely competent players at it for now-just strap in and make the most of the ride.

The record's a bit front-loaded for me and some of the songs don't latch on as filler but overall, it's definitely worth the pick-up. Great stuff, as expected.

It's classic Fidlar. However, while the musical style's sure to leave fans scratching their heads, peer a bit deeper and you'll see their signature's very much there--it's just, well, diluted and funkier than ever.

Most of their new venture fits this bill and is actually worth the hype.

It's not the most stunning release of the year, but it's a great step up for the band, seeing them push themselves as musicians, rather than rehashing their early EPs, which they could have done and been just as successful.

It's another commendable effort from Weiss waxing on about life and love, and the changes we're all enduring in these dire times. I can tell it would have had more impact for me if some of the fat were trimmed, or if it were split into two EPs, but hey... IIOI not at their best is still quite better than many bands hitting their heights these days, especially in the indie/emo genre.

Vocalist Tim McIlrath must be given credit as well, as his voice -- and overall production -- is as tight as ever. Technically, I found their last couple albums lacking, feeling too generic and polished, but it's a much better balance now.

Cook nails it in the earliest stages, making it a bit front-loaded.

This album is violent, dark, full of anger and explosiveness--and one you shouldn't miss out on.

As usual, YLT evoke a lot of emotion and Stuff Like That There is another luscious, heavy-hearted piece of storytelling, which I'm accustomed to when it comes to their style.

So many of their pop-punk characteristics have been shed but despite that, safe to say their music will always be anthemic and fizzing with vibrancy. Ready for radio airplay.

Higher Power's brevity and the smart sequencing between aggro and anthem makes it effortlessly knowable.

Tell Me I'm Pretty, while poppy and as mainstream as ever, loses its sense of appeal, character and individuality in coming off too much as a carbon copy of The Black Keys.

Not to say they've been turning out clunkers every two or three years, but there's a renewed energy and focus on Illumination Ritual that lifts it towards the upper echelon of their best works.

It's not as hard-hitting as their past material but still, it's worth a go.

Home Front have figured out a way to further draw out what makes them special and have used those elements to create an album, that perhaps against the odds, surpassed the emotional push of Games of Power.

I think An Object battles Everything In Between for best No Age album, and while I think Object contains even more interesting musical elements, Everything had more hooks.

All in all, Marauder to me are the B-sides from Turn On... not perfect, not weak but with some trimming of the fat, songs that could have fit right in on its deluxe edition.

While Return to the Moon is good, it’s not the momentous occasion the next National album is sure to be. It is, however, a refreshing change of pace for its well-defined members.

They move a rung up on the shoegaze ladder by toning things back even more than their 2014 record and what's even more noticeable is that quite a few directions taken here, ring similar to bands Yip worked on over the past couple years. Nothing, however, still have an extra something to their music.

Zipper Down on its own is a single short burst of energy stretched too thin.

This batch of tunes has got enough of everything The Thermals do best to satisfy their die-hards (who might call it a "return to form") and would even be a good jumping-off point for new fans.

Wolf's Law doesn't expand on the Joy Formidable's sound so much as it cements their sound.

Is it as epic as say, the swell of songs like "Continental Shift"? No, but while there's work to be done still, it's still a solid step forward.

The worst songs make you wish they had more to say. Their best ones make you glad that they don't.

It's certainly Clutch's most enjoyable album in a good number of years, and any fan of the group's post-Pure Rock Fury era would do well to give Earth Rocker a spin.

Some tracks settle better than others but the fact that most tracks don't sound like repetitive iterations of the other surprised me a lot.

You won’t learn anything about the 44th state, but you will get your fill of more loud, pop-punk goodness.

Some tracks fall short and come off bland but when Silverstein make a splash, it definitely sticks.

Fans will definitely find some songs on this album that are relatable and catchy. While some songs feel not as strong as others, the album still holds up for a front to back listen.

This album continues to keep the Have Mercy brand stagnant and disappointingly makes surpassing their debut a tall order. "Smoke and Lace" and "Coexist" are probably the only songs that recapture the magic of the first record. Everything else tries too hard to repeat the slow/loud dynamic they pride themselves on.

Rkives is an excellent time capsule. Here's Rilo Kiley, preserved and earnest and hooky as ever.

Overall, there are some flaws but Pity Sex make them work. Soothingly.

Overall, Moral Hygiene is a damn solid Ministry album. The band has had many peaks and valleys over the course of a nearly 40 year career, but they’re once again proving that they’re still relevant.

Seems like a deliberate maintenance to cash in on the Warped Tour crowd because there's no substance, nor any style, to this record, as has been the case for FIR for years now.

At the end, we’re left with something quite different than the beginning. Where we once had two musicians paying tribute to their heroes, we now have two musicians demonstrating showing us how the masters do what they do.

In Home, Off With Their Heads have crafted an album that should satisfy both fans looking for more of the same, and listeners who like to see the band stretch their legs a bit, creatively.

Detroit Stories is fully formed and tells its story without trying too hard… or too little. The band cranks on the engine and lets Jesus… err… the Ashetons, Fred Sonic Smith, and Glen Buxton… take the wheel and they drive this record on home.

If you enjoyed their last album, you'll likely be game for Too True. If they lost you after their first album, you won't be won back. Maybe this will be a grower for me, but it's not an immediate year-end contender for me.

If you’re mostly into pop-punk, you probably won’t like this. Everyone who likes it rougher needs to check out Iron Reagan and Crossover Ministry.

Good Nature is mellow and laid-back, everything they intended it to be. Hopefully, they add a hard rock or indie edge on the next effort as I think that sound suits them better.

What The World Needs Now builds on This Is PiL in just about every way, taking the band in new directions while remaining rooted in the sound that PiL invented so long ago. For those who thought the band's 2012 return album was a one-shot burst, you're dead wrong, and you're lucky you are.

Happiness Is has some great tracks, but ultimately is probably the group's weakest showing overall.

It’s a gratifying experience structured like a pop album jam-packed with catchy choruses. While it is flawed and contains a few too many niche references, that’s become a part of Weezer’s DNA.

It’s on par with recent great stuff by Testament, Exodus or Death Angel. It’s another excellent addition to the already impressive Overkill discography.

True Brew recaptures the original essence of the band as well as any magic these veterans have picked up on the ride over the past few years.

There’s never a rush to get to a bridge or breakdown, but the emotion oozes out when they are loud and free, competitive yet supportive. They build on each other, like the Harlem Globetrotters of guitars. And man, when Diarrhea Planet hit, they blow you away. Lyrically, there's not as much to say, clearly less of a priority.

This isn’t horrible, but I can really only recommend Dead to the World to hardcore Helmet fans. The rest of you should just go listen to Meantime.

The album's pretty good -- especially as Relapse loves letting bands do this shoegazey wandering and overall 'finding yourself' schtick -- but with something so deep and filled with portraits of different eras and mentors, it's going to take some time to really say just how good, especially compared to an already profound discography.