Problems arise though when things get overly slow and sad, falling into the trap of alienating coldness. Boucher’s pain is evident for all to hear, but it’s rarely inviting.

Lonely The Brave haven’t just succeeded in proving they were no one trick wonders here, they’ve gone and pulled another rabbit from the hat.

From the breakneck belligerence of ‘Balance The Odds’ to the nostalgic groove of ‘Step To You’, this is the purest strain of hardcore you could possibly mosh your life away to.

Drew’s definitely been reunited with his fury again, and it feels so good.

It's taken Title Fight a good while to release a full album, but it's been worth the wait.

Recitation finds the band at their genre-bridging best, sounding, if anything, even more euphoric and life-affirming than before.

Philly troubadour Dave Hause’s sophomore platter manages to stand proud while casually dipping into drive-time radio (‘Same Disease’) and blue collar balladry (‘Before’).

With beautifully harmonised vocals sitting alongside pared-down guitar lines, their lyrical themes of love and loss will hit nerves you never knew you had.

The Baltimore hardcore crew follow up their beloved 2015 debut full-length 'Nonstop Feeling' with an equally intense 13 tracks, dragging the best elements of 20th Century punk into the modern world.

While it’s not the career-defining milestone that some were anticipating, this album still offers up enough melancholy mayhem to keep ADTR ahead of the chasing pack.

An honest & emotional record.

The post-hiatus band are still angry and have something to say.... Welcome back, gang.

Dragging their new wave and post-punk influences to the fore, the Sacramento crew have produced their most dynamic, adventurous and downright strange album in years.

A relentlessly insistent, unexpectedly danceable record which manages to be as engaging as it is wilfully bizarre.

It's a brilliant, timeless debut and a must-listen.

Though ‘The Powerless Rise’ only signifies progression within strict genre parameters, AILD have stuck to their guns with flair.

Die Without Hope shows them at their most uncompromising, bleak and arse-splittingly heavy.

It may not be pushing the boundaries, keeping much of the stylisations of the band's debut, but the sum really is as great as all of its parts.

Common Courtesy is not the end of this band. If anything, it’s their new beginning.

Frantic opener ‘Praise Poison’ feels like the heaviest song they’ve penned in years, while elsewhere the slow, heavy-hitting riff of ‘Lock & Load’ and the desperate, raking soar of ‘Flyover States’ make this a versatile, and interesting album that manages to combine everything that’s great about this band’s rich back catalogue.

The Wilderness is the perfect title, too; the album’s nine songs exploring an expansive, evocative range of sounds, grooves, peaks and valleys. Which is to say, this is something really quite special.

This is a grower not a shower but persevere because White Silence has been worth the wait.

A compelling, intricate album in which to lose yourself.

Admittedly, it’s easy to sneer at this album for its lack of diversity, but it’s a tried and tested formula. And, for Airbourne it’s one that works.

Monolithic, streamlined and straight from the underworld, Snakes For The Divine is High On Fire's finest hour thus far.

Lyrics largely consist of nostalgic references, in-jokes and arch observations, but with a bummed-out charm that invites rather than excludes. If you’ve played the classics to death and want a fresh fix, this is among the best of the new breed’s offerings.

Five Serpent's Teeth is 100 per cent square in the Evile MO: twisted kinetic riffs from the Brothers Drake push the needle into the red before resolving themselves in anthemic choruses.

Beloved is both a reincarnation of old and a lesson in modern metalcore that makes IKTPQ the oldest newcomers to stake their claim for 2014.