It's a fuzzed-out, heavy-arsed, thoroughly soulful blast of glorious rock thunder that salutes the past with one arm, while bringing in an ultra-cool identity of Rival Sons' own with the other. [9 Feb 2019, p.55]

A solo album that is both deceptively effervescent and dependably well executed. [9 Feb 2019, p.55]

They might not always move in straight lines, but as odd as Spielbergs can sometimes seem, they're also capable of great things with whatever they fancy turning their hands to. [2 Feb 2019, p.55]

Funny and poignant, it marks Max out as one of the most intriguing songwriters of his scene. [12 Jan 2019, p.55]

Freewheeling spirit and casual non-sequiturs are all over Almost Free, with a cornucopia of ‘anything goes’ creativity on offer, comprising flashes of hip-hop, glam rock, fuzzed-out funk, punk and everything in between. Yet not once does it sound contrived or anything but an album very much of the here and now. ... An absolute joy to behold. It’s a trip to listen to, and an instant modern classic.

Its slick, sxy grooves coming over as both a stab at the mainstream and a bold reboot of their established format. [12 Jan 2019, p.55]

It's BMTH's innate ability to stay one step ahead, like they do here, that means the future remains firmly theirs. [19 Jan 2019, p.54]

Papa Roach’s 10th album, then, is neither the unexpected triumph or dated nu-metal fail you might expect. There’s plenty of killer, but it’s held back by an equal amount of filler. [12 Jan 2019, p.53]

A (sad-hearted) joy from start to end. [17 Nov 2018, p.71]

While what's here is good, there could have been more to get your teeth into. At eight songs in length, this collection feels a little slight. [17 Nov 2018, p.69]

The unreleased and rare recordings here make this a brilliant salute to a much-missed hero. [17 Nov 2018, p.70]

The resulting tracks are notably more upbeat than you might expect from a band so normally noted for their sad-lad overtones. [10 Nov 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

An album that's by turns gut-wrenching, hauntingly desolate and emotionally devastating. [3 Nov 2018, p.57]

As a neon-lit tonic to Drones, Simulation Theory is bang on the money. But as an exploration of a new frontier, it's a genuinely exciting musical adventure in its own right. [10 Nov 2018, p.53]

This is not a giant sonic leap from her day job. Where it differs, though, is in the breadth and feel of the material. ... Lyrically, Laura is on blistering form. [10 Nov 2018, p.54]

Once again, it's a sonic petrol bomb that makes you feel like you've been set on fire, and once again The Prodigy have proved nobody does it better. [3 Nov 2018, p.59]

Through the Wall plays more like a scrappy, occasionally impressive side project. [27 Oct 2018, p.55]

A pleasingly aggressive, frequently trash-happy affair that has plenty of life to it. [29 Sep 2018, p.55]

Thankfully, the band approached this follow-up with exactly the same extravagant, OTT mindset that made Everybody Wants such a riot. [Oct 27 2018, p.53]

It's another masterful, kaleidoscopic trip from your favourite freaked-out uncle. [13 Oct 2018, p.55]

They might have over-egged the acoustic balladry here, leading to their airiness unbalancing the syncopated beefiness elsewhere, but it's delivered so slickly and confidently that few fans will care. [20 Oct 2018, p.55]

It's a record that lives up tot he hype preceding it without seeming like it's trying to, and that shows off this youthful quartet as a truly skilled band, musically wise beyond their years. [20 Oct 2018, p.53]

Compounding shades of this all-encompassing bleakness and newfound furore to an already formidable plateau of emo, indie and shoegaze could just about make it mewithoutYou's finest work to date. [20 Oct 2018, p.55]

A cohesive, hard-hitting and bold album. [13 Oct 2018, p.53]

Some of the year's catchiest most accessible alt. pop tunes of the year speaks volumes of the level upon which they're operating here. [13 Oct 2018, p.54]

This is raw, loud and obscenely good. [6 Oct 2018, p.55]

Vocal contributions from a slew of guests keep things unpredictable on a set which often feels like a multi-genre playlist. ... Time spent getting your head around this craziness is time well spent. [6 Oct 2018, p.55]

I Loved You At Your Darkest offers conclusive proof that their Satanic majesty remains intact, even as they embark on their most ambitious artistic expression to date. [6 Oct 2018, p.53]

The sound of a band who are wide awake again, not just finding their feet, but coming out confidently swinging. [29 Sep 2018, p.53]

It's diverting stuff, even for those who don't have even the vaguest idea of the plot. [29 Sep 2018, p.55]

It's a voyage down the rabbit hole, and in there nothing is what it seems. [29 Sep 2018, p.55]

It's Arabot's noiser moments that are their most gleeful here. [1 Sep 2018, p.55]

Their sound remains a punk-informed take on the abandon of '60s garage rock, a well-trodden style which they've nonetheless made their own. It turns out that shitty times make for an intriguing album. [29 Sep 2018, p.55]

Here is something far looser and more fun, while still being brilliantly crafted and played with absolute power. [15 Sep 2018, p.53]

10 short, smart nuggests of power-pop perfection. [22 Sep 2018, p.55]

Good Charlotte have written an album for the modern era: honest, powerful and, most importantly, real. [22 Sep 2018, p.54]

A deliberate and delightful mess of punk and rock'n'roll out to deliver a black eye, Master Volume ends with the almost beautiful strains of Evil Side which buzz with an infectious, if troubled, vitality. But rather than falling apart, The Dirty Nil are simply solid. [15 Sep 2018, p.55]

This album announces IDLES as one of the most exhilarating and necessary punk bands of right now. [8 Sep 2018, p.53]

Finally adding a bassists to PD's ranks has robbed them of some of their personality. [8 Sep 2018, p.53]

This is another collection as thrilling as back catalogue classics like The Elephant Riders (1998) and Blast Tyrant (2004). [1 Sep 2018, p.54]

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

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

Dissolution is entirely convincing in its maturity and intelligence. [25 Aug 2018, p.55]

It's prime Alice In Chains, and the work of a band still managing to hit new peaks of their powers. [25 Aug 2018, p.53]

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]

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

Rituals is a bold, yet ultimately auspicious step forward. [4 Aug 2018, p.53]

A record that is surprisingly flat and unremarkable. [21 Jul 2018, p.55]

It's bigger, louder and better in almost every department. [28 Jul 2018, p.53]

Fifteen years into their career, the Witch have never sounded more spellbinding. [21 Jul, p.54]

The Proverbial Bellow could almost be all that this chapter comprised and not irk their faithful. The other three tracks deliver too, but were destined to always pale by comparison. [14 Jul 2018, p.55]

This is a splendid return. [7 Jul 2018, p.55]

Deafheaven have flourished magnificently here. Not just by making a god album, but by creating something that perfectly captures what they have become--a genuinely brilliant creative force unencumbered by genre, going wherever they will. [7 Jul 2018, p.53]

Have You Considered Punk Music feels like a missed opportunity to drip the verbal shields and let people all the way in. [30 Jun 2018, p.55]

Throughout, layered vocals sit gloriously atop it all, like a doomed Bruce Dickinson. [16 Jun 2018, p.59]

It feels harsh to criticise a Panic! At The Disco record for being bold and exploring its brash nature to the fullest. ... But there's no getting around the fact this one feels like it could have done with a defter touch and some sonic restraint. [30 Jun 2018, p.53]

Justice For None is an album that delivers Five Finger Death Punch's wallop adequately. 19 May 2018, p.53]

This remastered package in all its various formats is worth buying for the absolute bonanza of extra stuff include wit it. ... At the cene of it all still sit 12 of the most charged, arrogant, piss-and-vinegar songs ever written, perfectly captured, and played by a gang of reprobates genuinely out to take on the entire world. [23 Jun 2108, p.54]

[Trent has] ended up somewhere unique, exciting, and genuinely of his own making. [16 Jun 2018, p.57]

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

It's an important, thoughtful album that will serve to unite the grief-stricken with a new-found sense of purpose to find some form of healing. [9 Jun 2018, p.53]

In the resultant dizzying whirl of kaleidoscopic guitars and life moving at 100 miles a minute, Culture Abuse sound right at home. [16 Jun 2018, p.58]

A compelling, dizzying blend of chaos, commotion and beauty. [2 Jun 2018, p.55]

The cloud of heaviness that hangs over the whole thing is matched only by the emotion on display, and the momements of beauty once again reveal YOB to be not just another doom outfit, but one of the finest heavy bands on earth. [9 Jun 2018, p.55

From gritty social commentary to '80s metal cheese and retro-futuristic space rock, this is an album that sees Ghost spreading their dark wings. [2 Jun 2018, p.53]

Black Labyrinth is an interesting, if flawed distraction from this icon--though it doesn't justify a 10-year wait. [26 May 2018, p.53]

A deft and skillful trio, here songs such as the effervescent Annabel, the spacious and confident It's A Trap and the irrepressible, bouncing Buzzkill make this point with insouciant ease. [19 May 2018, p.55]

There are a few more stately and sombre moments, like the atmospheric Daggers Of Black Haze, bu this is still At The Gates absolutely owning their sound and their legacy. [19 May 2018, p.55]

A couple of tracks two-thirds of the way through could probably have been left on the side of the road, but Attention Attention concludes just the way it started--with defiant power, immense vocals and thunderous, thirst-quenching melody. [5 May 2018, p.55]

Beautifully arranged and commandingly composed, Be More Kind is a great work from an expert in his craft. [5 May 2018, p.55]

It might not be the Melvins at their most essential, but their status as rock's quirkiest heroes remains irrefutable. [Apr 2018, p.55]

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]

Not as romantic as their debut album, or as dynamic as the second, third album proper Eat The Elephant instead comes swathed in captivating coat embroidered by growth and maturation that doesn't unbutton easily. [14 Apr 2018, p.53]

A record that feels completely at ease with itself. [Mar 31 2018, p.53]

America is an odd album, one that requires patience to unlock. [7 Apr 2018, p.54]

Erase Me is not a perfect record, but it is a solid statement from a band who believe they still gave unfinished business to attend to. [7 Apr 2018, p.53]

Used Future comes embedded in a murderous groove and with enough trippy melodies to give off a genuinely psychedelic edge. [17 Mar 2018, p.55]

Reiði is an album that's as difficult to get the measure of at first as its title is to pronounce. But, like any journey worth taking, it's one that rewards involvement and ceaseless exploration. [17 Mar 2018, p.54]

This second self-titled album in a row feels like a new start for Stone Temple Pilots, and they're clearly determined to make it count. [17 Mar 2018, p.55]

The Canterbury quartet have cemented an incredibly engaging style all of their own. [10 Mar 2018, p.55]

Their lengthy hiatus has clearly not dulled Hot Snakes' razor-sharp edge, one bit, making Jericho Sirens a very welcome return. [17 Mar 2018, p.55]

It's as sharp as can be, as powerful as an atom bomb, and exactly the sort of thrilling metal adventure you want from them. [17 Mar 2018, p.53]

Admittedly, they do occasionally disappear up their own collective backside, with too much noodling trying your patience, but their ambition and scope show no signs of diminishing. [10 Mar 2018, p.55]

Overall you might have to go back to 1989's The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste to find Ministry sounding quite as vital and engaged as they do here. [10 Mar 2018, p.55]

Time Will Die is a hugely satisfying listen, with the longer songs in particular allowing the band free rein to indulge every experimental urge. ... This album sounds like a multi-part epic made up entirely of multi-part epics. And also, undoubtedly, like a career high. [3 Mar 2018, p.50]

It's absurd, OTT stuff. But who wants anything else from Andrew W.K. [24 Feb 2018, p.51]

Already legends, American Nightmare's iconic reputation should only be enhanced by this mighty return. [17 Feb 2018, p.52]

Wait for Love sees them largely sticking with what worked last time. [24 Feb 2018, p.51]

With Time & Space they've made a record that will blow minds as surely as it will elevate them from beyond an emboldened, resurgent and vital scene. [24 Feb 2018, p.50]

A largely drab album. [10 Feb 2018, p.51]

It's 14 tracks of craziness to be embraced and shouted at the rafters. [10 Feb 2018, p.50]

The pairing makes more and more sense everytime you listen to it, perfectly rounding off 37 minutes of bubbling, stoned fuzz. [3 Feb 2018, p.52]

Epic, bonkers album. [3 Feb 2018, p.51]

Light and breezy strummer Her majesty's Service occasionally reads like a string of Fallon-isms (rolling stones, a girl named Elsie, etc.), but it's blown away by the hulking brass of Sleepwalkers, which straddles the line between grandness and outrageousness perfectly. [10 Feb 2018, p.52]

Scattershot. [20 Jan 2018, p.53]

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

Fantastic album. [27 Jan 2018, p.51]