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

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]

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]

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]

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]

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 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]

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

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]

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]

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]

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

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

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

Scattershot. [20 Jan 2018, p.53]

Their diesel-soaked biker rock is an uncomplicated joy. [13 Jan 2018, p.52]

Occasionally one song simple bleeds into another. ... On the whole, however, Underworld bears the mark of a band redefining who they are and putting themselves back on steady footing after a wobble. [6 Jan 2018, p.52]

This young band sound so eerily similar Led Zeppelin, you wish they'd back off a little. [25 Nov 2017, p.52]

It frequently feels like one of those remix albums where tinkering guests have tried too hard to put their own stamp on proceedings, resulting in curios that are momentarily interesting, but will never replace the established versions in your affections on your playlists. [11 Nov 2017, p.50]

Propelled by Sergio Vega's springy bass, Walter Schreifels' effortless instantly recognisable vocal floats over everything. [11 Nov 2017, p.51]

It's radiant, bold and frequently brilliant. [4 Nov 2017, p.53]

This is Weezer experimenting a little, while still remaining recognisably them. For those down for this sort of thing, stick on your dancing shoes and go with Pacific Daydream's flow. [21 Oct 2017, p.50]

The results are much as you'd expect, with crazy lyrics and the occasional brilliant riff. [21 Oct 2017, p.52]

Sure, the songs sound unique to SWS because of their singer's inimitable voice, but several of the tracks are reminiscent of other artists. [23 Sep 2017, p.50]

An album without any clear standout or breakaway tracks. [23 Sep 2017, p.52]

Escalator Teeth, meanwhile, is another short, stabbing moment of clarity. The rest is largely exhilarating and occasionally meandering. More of the same, then, which is entirely the point. [23 Sep 2017, p.52]

An album that might not test the limits of artistry, but as with this closing track [Window], leaves you with a fuzzy feeling. [5 Aug 2017, p.51]

Rancid don't do anything new here, but they sound more fired-up than ever. [1 Jul 2017, p.51]

It finds the band indulging their darkest urges, often using nothing more than noise and soundscapes. Like everything the Melvins do, however, it remains compelling, clever, and absolutely unique. [24 Jun 2017, p.53]

The whole thing is suitably drenched with nihilism, once more conveying the sense that, in their world, smiles should result in a beating, because everything is truly hopeless. [1 Jul 2017, p.52]

There are also songs that will undoubtedly kick it live, but it's not enough to prevent this from sounding merely ...nice. [10 Jun 2017, p.52]

This album is long. [10 Jun 2017, p.51]

Holy Roller packs all the cloying jangle of a thousand mid-'00s forgotten filler tracks, while closer Palace doesn't so much dampen gunpowder as drop curtain with a watery "plop." But swagger frequently outweigh s stumble, and the band's innate sense of class shines brightly throughout. [10 Jun 2017, p.50]

You're Welcome stumbles through grating doldrums on garage-rock autopilot, with junkyard fuzz that's more crap-nasty than good-nasty. [3 Jun 2017, p.52]

It's hardly a reinvention, but it all adds to the OTT party DragonForce have been throwing for so long. [20 May 2017, p.53]

A record that's at times so flat. [13 May 2017, p.50]

8 isn't terrible, but it is boring, which is much worse. [13 May 2017, p.51]

Challenging, but intriguing. [15 Apr 2017, p.52]

It's an amalgamation of what they've done before but without the rapping, or hardcore, and with the pop dial turned to 11. [15 Apr 2017, p.51]

They're never going to be the heaviest band in the world, but Minus The bear are at their strongest when they threaten to get their claws out. [25 Mar 2017, p.52]

While the album does lose focus at times, loosening its initial invigorating grip, the jovial bounce of Let's All Go To Hades is a surefire live hit when you've had a few pints. [11 Feb 2017, p.52]

Full of weirdness and with groove to spare, this is a fascinating collection. [25 Feb 2017, p.53]

Aside from brief moments in songs such as Satellites and Why Can't We Do It Again, the best thing about The Trigger Complex is its title. [11 Feb 2017, p.52]

It would be remiss not to point out that Iron Reagan are retreading familiar ground, but it would be churlish not to recognise that they do so with ferocious relish. [4 Feb 2017, p.52]

Too often, each song's relentless march toward the kind of chorus you can imagine providing the soundtrack for a bevy of beautiful, suburban cheerleaders is too much to take. [4 Feb 2017, p.52]

Hardcore devotees can rest assured that Kreator have shed little of their original skin. [28 Jan 2017, p.52]

A mostly sluggish record. [8 Oct 2016, p.52]

Some songs float by without leaving much of a mark, but Balance And Composure's dedication to reinvention should be lauded. [5 Nov 2016, p.52]

It doesn't eclipse any of its members' day-job bands, but Surveillance is worth scoping out. [26 Nov 2016, p.52]

It's hard to shake the feeling that this is music more learned than lived. [12 Nov 2016, p.52]

The title-track harks back to the spirit of golden-era Bon Jovi, though, and there are dashes of it scattered throughout. [22 Oct 2016, p.68]

Korn haven't reinvented their own here, but it's still a worthy addition to their canon. [22 Oct 20163, p.67]

Mostly, though, Red Fang rock, with pile-driving riffs and monstrous grooves that you can't simply laugh off. [15 Oct 2016, p.53]

Maintaining their business-as-usual ethic it's nonstop Americana-a-go-go. [15 Oct 2016, p.52]

Classically Yellowcard in sound, all violins and driving drum rolls, it's a fitting tribute to their two decades on the job. [1 Oct 2016, p.52]

Two albums into their 21st century reunion, and the unhinged genius of early albums Surfer Rosa and Doolittle is largely lacking, replaced by the not unpleasant sound of old friends having a blast. [8 Oct 2016, p.52]

Occasionally, they can get bogged-down in their particularly scuzzy groove, but for those who prefer their duos nasty inside and out, this is a wonderful caterwaul to get lost in. [24 Sep 2016, p.52]

A record packed with starry-eyed guitars, almost as if they were being beamed back down from the International Space Station. [24 Sep 2016, p.53]

For all its spells when it's thick with vitality and feeling, it rarely breaks free of being anything more than a good record, never an exceptional one. [24 Sep 2016. p.50]

If you're kind of person who needs some wallop in your music, Your Wilderness is probably not for you. However, if you're partial to ethereal music so gentle it feels like it might break if you pay too much attention to it, then prepare to fall in love. [20 Aug 2016, p.68]

Away from the band which he made his name, the fingerprints of one of America's finest rock bands are present and correct. But away from the stripped down monster-balladry of It Ain't Easy, under his own wing Steven is capable of a few surprises. [6 Aug 2016, p.52]

Robert Schwartman may well looted Rivers Cuomo's brain given how wonderfully Weezer-y it gets. [6 Aug 2016, p.52]

It all moves along at a slow-burning pace, rather than the usual cocky swagger. [20 May 2016, p.52]

Command The Weather quickly becomes boring through repetition. [9 Jul 2016, p.52]

Ultimately, the record's slower moments, Life Can't Get Much Better and Reason To Stay, keep Youth Authority from reaching the heights of their triple-platinum The Young And The Hopeless. Nevertheless, this collection of bright and lively summer anthems makes Good Charlotte's return a welcomed one. [9 Jul 2016, p.50]

It's not a "big" listen, and there are no killer tunes, but seeking such obvious moments would be missing the point. [16 Jul 2016, p.52]

They might not be as abrasive as they once were, but Whitechapel still know how to bulldoze the opposition. [25 Jun 2016, p.52]

Some of the tracks judder with a rhythm to which you cam only dance when in the throes of an electric shock. But as wearisome as these sections tend to be, they are almost wholly redeemed by moments of musical brilliance, moments which border on the sublime. [25 Jun 2016, p.50]

Occasionally its brilliant--as on the thumpy disco electronics of V.I.T.R.O.L. and the sweetly memorable Hold Your Fire. Sadly, an equal amount of it flounders in a haze of boring shoegaze. [11 Jun 2016, p.53]

It does meander in the middle, but mostly this is an admirable step in Katatonia's ongoing quest to keep their identity fresh. [18 Jun 2016, p.52]

The opener The Silver String is somewhat plodding and predictable isn't the best start, and unfortunately these are two words that can be applied with far too much frequency. [21 May 2016, p.52]

Material continues the experimentation in conjoining the macabre drama of the pair's day job with pulsating, mid-tempo dance. [16 Apr 2016, p.53]

Yes it gets samey, but in Hatebreed's hands predictability doesn't tend to mean boring. [30 Apr 2016, p.68]

As a collection of songs, it's their strongest in some time, and certainly proves that it's not too late to convert to the scriptures of Metal Church. [2 Apr 2016, p.52]

This is music that has no mind for the commercial, which is a quality we all might applaud. But be warned, this is intense stuff. [16 Apr 2016, p.53]

All Downhill From Here should have been track two, not seven because [Figure Me Out] is unbeatable. ... Skip this one [Missin' You] if you're a fan of One Direction. Guys, guitars... use them. [2 Apr 2016, p.51]

On Cheap Trick's 17th album--and that is the most Cheap Trick title ever Cheap Trick'd--the man's ability to write sugar-coated riffs that stick in your head as though made of golden syrup has not diminished. [2 Apr 2016, p.53]

It's got markedly better machine-gunning riffs than wilderness years albums like 1999's Speed Of Sound. [27 Feb 2016, p.53]

These inoffensive songs will take up almost none of your mind's capacity for thought or pleasure. [12 Mar 2016, p.53]

Limitless is often thwarted by its execution rather than its ambition. [27 Feb 2016, p.50]

It's an interesting trip, if one that occasionally sees ATW stray too far into self-indulgence. [27 Feb 2016, p.52]

Lyrically, [frontman Pierre Bouvier] and his bandmates have barely matured from the whimpering youngsters they were when they made it big 14 years ago.... However, if you accept Taking One For The Team for what it is, which is just another Simple Plan album, then there's lots to enjoy. [20 Feb 2016, p.50]

Their 11th album, is a heaving smorgasbord of all those [quality meaty metal] sounds. [30 Jan 2016, p.52]

This is a decent redneck honk that could earn them some new friends while they're away. [23 Jan 2016, p.53]

Like its two predecessors, this is solid Skunk that doesn't quite have the songs to match their ground-breaking first two albums. [9 Jan 2016, p.51]

For the most part, this is an awkward journey that sounds like no-one else. Try it but don't expect an easy ride. [9 Jan 2016, p.52]

The album is one long ambient jam and precisely as exciting as that sounds. [16 Jan 2016, p.53]

You can hear where he's heading with ideas, but, for the most part, these are more sketches than fully-formed songs. [16 Jan 2016, p.52]

Occasionally songs hand around a little too long, but all the bruises Black Breath leave linger in the best kind of way. [10 Oct 2015, p.41]

You get exactly the sort of greasy grooves you'd expect, but with a whole lot of Cuban cool thrown in as well. [14 Nov 2015, p.52]

With a demo-like production, it's not as good as the Ramones' similarly sourced Acid Eaters, but hearing him Danzig-up these tunes is still highly entertaining. [5 Dec 2015, p.52]

It's a collection of suitably mixed results, but Fall Out Boy should be applauded for continuing to do whatever the hell they feel like. [7 Nov 2015, p.52]

Obviously, we'd much prefer to have a new Tool album, but in the interim, Money Shot won't leave you feeling short-changed. [31 Oct 2015, p.54]

From the meandering opener, Weave, it's a record that's entirely absorbing. [31 Oct 2015, p.54]