Yes, it ultimately makes for predictable stuff, but Black Star Riders play bullshit-free unpretentious rock. [15 Jun 2013, p.54]

It'll be too sappy for anyone who likes their rock raw, but if simpler pleasures tickle your pickle, there are few bands in this sphere pulling it off as expertly as the veteran Buffalo trio. [8 Jun 2013, p.54]

What emerges from the new City And Colour album, then, is the sound of a man with frailties who makes sense of it all through song. [1 Jun 2013, p.54]

Most of Super Collider feels half-hearted and rushed. [1 Jun 2013, p53]

Tears On Tape isn't bad, then--it's just not as seductive as HIM can be. [25 May 2013, p.53]

Some inaudible lyrics and the lack of a real killer tune let Selfhood down, but even if Sharks no longer sound like they want to smash things up, they're still capable of delivering a a quiet riot. [4 May 2013, p.54]

When it works, it's brilliantly dumb fun. But when it doesn't, you end up with stuff like DD's. [4 May 2013, p.53]

Melvins are occasionally awful, but at least the contrary sods are never dull. [27 Apr 2013, p.53]

Despite the record's unabashed predictability, it's hard not to get caught up in their snub-nosed bluster. [6 Apr 2013, p.54]

It's easy-going, it's listenable, but it also sounds a bit, well, tired. [13 Apr 2013, p.59]

New singer Jasen Moreno has an adequate bark, but the songs themselves are the problem. [30 Mar 2013, p.54]

On this ninth album, they sound largely the same. [30 Mar 2013, p.54]

This is almost dangerously infectious stuff from ASIWYFA. [23 Mar 2013, p.54]

For all the whiskey-soaked swagger on offer here, there's little to distinguish these tracks from one another. [16 Mar 2013, p.53]

There's enough gritty social commentary and songwriting class amid the occasional cheese to suggest that, on the long road to credibility, Bon Jovi are finally more than halfway there. [9 Mar 2013, p.52]

The Raven is a solid offering, it's just not particularly as progressive as we know Steven Wilson can be. [2 Mar 2013, p.52]

It doesn't capture Buckcherry as big or as badass as they can be. [23 Feb 2013, p.51]

[Darkthrone] take a detour from the brawling, blackened punk of their last couple of albums and head into thrashier territory. It still sounds like Darkthorne, of course. [23 Feb 2013, p.52]

Boys Like Girls have crafted a record simple and effective enough for mainstream ears. It's just a shame that absolutely no punk 101 is required. [8 Dec 2012, p.52]

True, some of the reggae songs a re a bit lightweight, but on the punk numbers, Bad Brains' righteous fevour remains undimmed. [24 Nov 2012, p.53]

Much of Death Is the Only Mortal is notable principally for the band's skill in explosive brutality. [13 Oct 2012, p.54]

The fact that the real Black Sabbath are currently in the studio makes this fell more like a curtain-raiser than the real event. [10 Nov 2012, p.55]

There's nothing here that Cradle of Filth haven't done much better elsewhere. [10 Nov 2012, p.55]

He goes from pretty ditties to outright tedium as songs drag on interminably and eventually, unlistenably. [10 Nov 2012, p.53]

It's when they channel the early days of '70s metal on the Deep Purple-ish Endless Night that they're at their best.... A little more such magic, and Graveyard would be great. [3 Nov 2012, p.53]

It's a little one-dimensional in places, but there's no denying the strength of feeling raging underneath. [3 Nov 2012, p.53]

When it good, Music From Another Dimension! captures Aerosmith in all their shiny, glittering glory.... However, at over an hour in length, the party begins to sag after a while. [3 Nov 2012, p.52]

Longtime fans won't be disappointed by this hearty sixth effort. [20 Oct 2012, p.54]

Dethalbum III makes for further arse kicking. [20 Oct 2012, p.54]

While For Baltimore proves they can still write a grade A banger when they put their mind to it, too many songs are destined to have "must try harder" stamped on their report card. [13 Oct 2012, p.52]

Silver Age is a fun ride, then, but it won't warrant racing back for any tine soon. [6 Oct 2012, p.53]

The reassuring thing about Self/Entitled is that NOFX are still gobby, snotty and obnoxious for punk's sake. [29 Sep 2012, p.54]

Blaqk Audio deliver faithfully realised fare, then, but about as 2012 as Betamax videotapes [22 Sep 2012, p.53]

Minus The Bear are back on track. [22 Sep 2012, p.51]

They offer no hits or immediately accessible anthems, but when they do engage, they show why they're beloved of so many. [25 Aug 2012, p.54]

It's a good album, but one undone by its more extreme moments. [25 Feb 2012, p.52]

If you can look beyond this band's inherent safe-ness, there's plenty her for fans of the sugar rush offered by Paramore, All Time Low, Simple Plan et al to enjoy. [11 Aug 2012, p.53]

It lacks a little cohesion and substance beneath all of the surface clatter. [18 Aug 2012, p.53]

This is unashamed brooding, biker rock. [28 Jul 2012, p.54]

Somewhat surprisingly, it lacks some of the droning, distorted fuzz of yore. [21 Jul 2012, p.53]

It's an energetic debut that certainly shoes that this band is full of--as yet untapped--potential. [11 Feb 2012, p.52]

Perhaps a little of the sparkle the absent Alkaline Trio two bring is missing here, yet pleasingly little else is. [12 May 2012, p.54]

They may tick all the metalcore boxes, but do so with aplomb. [30 Jun 2012, p.54]

They've not skipped a beat, picking up where they left off. [30 Jun 2012, p.54]

Too often, Living Things is the sound of a band with vast talent, but also one that hasn't figured out where to go next. [23 Jun 2012, p.52]

It's not what you came in for, but quite pleasant all the same. [10 Jun 2012, p.53]

The Industrialist doesn't quite live up to the band's former glories. [[9 Jun 2012, p.53]

For every ELO-meets-Panic!-At-The-Disco pop gem that makes you think Fun. are great, there's also an Auto-Tuned-to-buggery vocal or irksome trumpet riff that simply grates. [26 May 2012, p.53]

It's edgy. inventive, and occasionally frustrating. [2 Jun 2012, p.53]

It's an album that will divide and delight. [2 Jun 2012, p.54]

Lex Hives may not re-write The Hives' rulebook, it does offer proof that this band sounds heftier and, somehow, even more colorful than before. [2 Jun 2012, p.54]

Something's horribly lacking here. Namely, actual songs. [May 2012, p.53]

Twelve years puts the emotion back into emo. [5 May 2012, p.54]

The fury here comes from an ominous intensity and oppressive claustrophobia. And that makes this album raw, anarchic, bleak and enjoyably nasty. [45 May 2012, p.53]

In the larger context of the lack of musical progression and creative imagination, the inertia that is Off!'s modus operandi is nothing less than depressing. [5 May 3012, p.53]

Weather Systems is entirely devoid of death growls and contains only the barest hint of volume and aggression. What it does have is lush instrumentation and a sense of drama without the use of distortion. [28 Apr 2012, p.53]

Perhaps it's too monochrome, too arty. [28 Apr 2012, p.52]

These four pieces make a case for Pelican's future being far brighter than expected. [14 Apr 2012, p.54]

Slave To The Game shows that they've made no attempt to advance from the tedious, well-worn and weary chug, breakdown and death growl routine. [14 Apr 2012, p.54]

It's weighty and impressive in places, but without Pepper's howl it also sounds curiously incomplete. [3 Mar 2012, p.53]

The production is big on bluster and stadium-sized punch, but, sadly all of the passion's also been squeezed out here. [19 Feb 2012, p.51]

It's not bad but Bleeding Through have proved they're capable of a lot, lot more. [11 Feb 2012, p.51]

Separated from the narrative and visuals it's designed around, the music emanates an isolated, dissociated air, but that only adds to its jarring overall effect. [3 Dec 2012, p.52]

This is a solid, talented and very decent record. But it lacks sparkle. It lacks charisma and personality. [12 Nov 2012, p.52]

It's the quirky structures and finely drawn lyrical observations that provide the real hooks here. [28 Jan 2012, p.53]

As usual, Attack Attack! will polarize opinion but artistically and technically, this is a serious step up. [14 Jan 2012, p.52]

Iron Balls Of Steel ultimately raises eyebrows more often than it does fists. [14 Jan 2012, p.51]

The result is a bouncy, punk-fuelled album that's entertaining enough if throwaway in the extreme. [12 Nov 2011, p.53]

The result is a treat for diehard fans only and entirely dispensable for anyone else. [12 Nov 2011, p.54]

Basically a single with extra padding, Recorrupted is nothing more than a forgettable stopgap release. [19 Nov 2011, p.51]

It can be boring and not much fun. [19 Nov 2011, p.50]

With its obvious choruses and routine abrasive sections,, the more discerning ear will recognize that this band wield far more force than they do finesse. [29 Oct 2011, p.52]

In truth this is pale goth rock crap. [5 Nov 2011, p.52]

Megadeth are simply a little bit mid-paced, even monochromatic. [5 Nov 2011, p.51]

As far as comebacks go, sadly, this is not a good one. [29 Oct 2011, p.52]

At his worst it feels more like a parody than a tribute. [29 Oct 2011, p.51]

It will probably prove overly sweet for some tastes but when they hit top form, they're an absolute joy. [29 Oct 2011, p.51]

LuLu is an album that will require many plays before the music contained within beings to make sense. [29 Oct 2011, p.50]

It's very difficult to dislike music this unashamedly cheery. [8 Oct 2011, p.52]

Neighborhoods might never quite land a knockout blow, but it certainly does enough to earn them a rematch int he future. [24 Sep 2011, p.50]

Where the joke on Feel The Steel has yet to feel old, the laughs on Balls Out grow stale. It's fortunate then that, once again, the music holds up. [15 Oct 2011, p.50]

As ever, they do a fine job here juggling endless solos among intricate vocal passages and harmonies. [Sep 2011, p.51]

They are creative and explorative, restless and even daring. For the most part, though, these days they're also not that good. [Sep 2011, p.50]

Nu-Metal stars release a solid effort. [Sep 2011, p.52]

A five year pop-rock trilogy concludes in audacious style. [Sep 2011, p.52]

This is an interesting unexpected extra--pretty, rather than essential. [Sep 2011, p.51]

Its lo-fi, organ-heavy, cheap drum machine-driven jams reveal his ear for fusing classic team-dream rock'n'roll with demented pastiche. [Sept 17 2011, p.51]

It's an album that succeeds on its own terms but if it really does mark the effective end of Opeth as a metal band, that will remain our loss. [Sept 17 2011, p.50]

There is nothing incendiary here. [27 Aug 2011, p.51]

Impeccably executed as it all is, though, the songs lack genuine distinction and the whole thing plays out in a series of weary cliches. [13 Aug 2011, p.52]

Black Tide possess a thrash influence; they've suppressed it to make something they consider commercial metal. The result are neither, though do give rise to a new genre: boy-metal. [13 Aug 2011, p.51]

While the band delights in surprising you, it's still slowburning doom that finds Wino at his best. [23 Jul 2011, p.51]

The Verge is the sound of a band trying far too hard to hit the mark--and falling short as a direct result of that. [2 Jul 2011, p.52]

Throughout, his sandpapered larynx lends a satisfying serrated edge here, only occasionally undermined by incongruous metalcore balladeering and the odd interchangeable riff here and there. [2 Jul 2011, p.52]

If all you're after is a pit-bothering lurch 'n' grind then My Damnation has it in spades, but if you're looking for anything more memorable, you'd best be looking elsewhere. [30 Jul 2011, p.52]

Flat, uninspired riffs dressed up in pointless electronics and presided by the watery wailing of Darroh Sudderth. [30 Jul 2011, p.51]

It's mid-tempo, arena-ready rock that won't challenge. [9 Jul 2011, p.52]

This is the first suicide Silence album where each song has an identity of its own, and the first suggestion that true greatness is within their reach. [16 Jul 2011, p.51]