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]

At its best, Hvman:||:Natvre has the impressive magic that has made Nightwish one of Europe’s biggest bands. But there’s a feeling this time that for such a big concept, things haven’t gone quite far enough.

Ultimately, there are enough ideas on display here to just about see Twin Atlantic right. While it may not be a clear-cut success, Transparency does prove once again that its creators have it in them to be bloody great.

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

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]

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]

Although everything is rendered with a high-shine gloss and sanitised precision that makes it more saccharine than Sex Pistols, there's still an enjoyment to be had on a basic level. [5 Jul 2014, p.53]

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]

It's another diverse and engaging album from a band proudly aging like a fine malt whiskey. [28 May 2011, p.51]

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

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

While Dave's guitars are still engaging, their spirit is undone by a lack of soul underneath. [28 Aug 2010, p.54]

Anthemic opener Lords Of Abbadon, Indian Summer and the gutter-sleaze of Cocaine are the crowd-pleaser, but the main thing is that Loaded sound like a proper band now. [16 Apr 2011, p.51]

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

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

Some people may find this outdated, but it's an absolute treasure chest for slavish fans. [19 Jul 2014, p.53]

It plays out like a sulking child trapped in the seat of a supermarket trolley. [18 Jul 2015, 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]

Despite Tom’s superlative guitar playing tying it all together, the way it switches genres and atmosphere so chaotically ultimately makes it too uneven to really work as an album. Still, there are plenty of gems here, and – given how disparate it all is – probably something for everyone, no matter where your musical tastes lie.

It has one or two fine songs, A Song For A Son is probably Billy's best since Adore in 1998 but , decent though it is, it's not a Smashing Pumpkins record. [5 Jun 2010, p.50]

Scattershot. [20 Jan 2018, p.53]

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

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]

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]

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]

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

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]

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]

Despite only clocking in at 42 minutes it feels like it drags on for ages. And the copious use of samples to remind you it’s an industrial record gets tiring.

It’s very pleasantly chill, but after a while it does start to get a touch samey. Still, for those looking for something with vibe firmly in place, as ever, Turnover deliver exactly what you’re looking for here.

These days, you sense, they'd rather have cheese and wine than kegs, coke and skipful of strippers. There are still some fine moments here, however. [31 Jul 2010, p.50]

This is an album that works best when at its most obscure. [19 Mar 2011, p.50

The Lunar Injection… is too long and could easily be trimmed of material most diplomatically described as ​‘non-essential’, particularly the little instrumentals/sample-laden wig outs between tracks. The rub is, of course, that these short sonic mood boards are often the bits where Zombie tries something new.

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]

Too many songs utilise the same plodding, mid-paced grooves and simple, one-line refrains. [5 Oct 2013, p.54]

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]

Perhaps more a flight of fancy than a labour of love, this is still a striking offering from the Transplants. [29 Jun 2013, p.54]

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

Where it fails as a cohesive piece of art is the lack of continuity, save for Travis' own considerable drumming. [26 Mar 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]

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]

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

The album just needs a standout moment among Blood Red Shoes' moods to make these songs genuinely memorable. [1 Mar 2014, p.54]

Radkey's greatest strength is sounding urgent but never rushed. The greatest weakness is that they wear their influences like face tattoos. [22 Aug 2015, p.52]

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

The overall result being that Dananananaykroyd have finally made actual songs rather than the exercises in unpredictability they have in the past. [11 Jun 2011, p.51]

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]

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

Greetings From California is an album that shines a light on The Madden Brothers' mature side. [13 Sep 2014, p.53]

With its emphasis on freedom, this is the kind of stuff beloved of American who are heavily armed, piss-drunk,or both. The rest of the world need not apply, however. [13 Nov 2010, p.52]

While World On Fire isn't the finest thing Slash has, or will ever, put his name to, it still shows an iconic talent doing what he does very well. [6 Sep 2014, p.52]

When they're good, they are astounding, and almost impossible to adequately describe. When they miss the mark, though, this lot grate. [7 Mar 2015, p.54]

On the whole, though, while this is flawless and expertly crafted, it's also pretty unsatisfying. [26 Mar 2011, 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]

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

With Vice & Virtues Panic At The Disco sound like the kind of people your grandparents would like. That doesn't mean that they are people who make bad music, but it does mean that they are creators of an album that does not rock. [26 Mar 2011, p.50]

Every tracks leaves you wanting more (and not in a good way), and while Mates of State don't do anything wrong, they don't do much right, either. [6 Jun 2015, p.52]

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

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]

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]

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]

The vocals are hopelessly submerged in the mixing. Thankfully, the DVD provides brilliant (and necessary) distraction from the deflated vocal mix. [19 Mar 2011, p.52]

Cheap Girls aren't the most original band around, but they rock in all the right places. [10 May 2014, p.54]

Expect to get sonically clobbered. Expect big things from Capture The Crown just down the line. [2 Aug 2014, p.54]

It's an uneven album. [10 Jan 2015, p.53]

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]

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

10 tracks that are easily the weirdest, the boldest and – yes – most powerful material that the group have stuck their name on.

The instrumental epics remain compelling, but, as a complete work, this is too enveloped in its diverse attempts to please everyone to truly wow anybody from start to finish. [21 Aug 2010 ,p.51]

While this retains their characteristic strangeness, you could argue it isn't the best use of their considerable talents. [8 Nov 2014, p.54]

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]

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]

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

There's a certain dumb fun attached to the gonzo country rock of Drinking Beer With Dad, but, in truth, we'd be lion to you if we said First Kiss was good. [14 Feb 2015, p.53]

There's nothing on the album that's going to suddenly turn them into queen bees again, but Alien Ant Farm here prove themselves to be an enterprise running on more than just the fumes of nostalgia. [14 Mar 2015, p.53]

This is a collection of classic covers and reimaginings if Primus gems done country-style. [25 Jan 2014, p.54]

This is straight-up post-hardore. [14 Sep 2013, p.53]

It might attract a few Mumford fans, but if you prefer Yellowcard to sound like, well, Yellowcard, stick to the original. [10 Aug 2013, p.55]

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]

The Oracle sounds like it was written on autopilot, with the band ticking off the ingredients that made previous albums sell with out injecting any fire or imagination. [3 Jul 2010, p.51]

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]

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

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 a pleasant enough record, but not one that will rouse or inspire beyond Dallas' already charmed following. [12 Oct 2019, p.55]

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

All the usual COF ingredients--the abrasive vocals, the dexterous buzzsaw riffage, the furiously prop propulsive drumming--are present and correct, but here they're channeled into more streamlined songs while the more melodic elements are often pushed to the fore. [23 Oct 2010, p.50]

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

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]

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]

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

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

So while it's a typically polished affair, it is by no means lacking in genuine emotion. [4 Sep 2010, p.51]

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

The bad news for Disturbed fans, and unsurprising news for their detractors, is that Divisive is an average record. Hearing the first three tracks – opening single Hey You, the leaden Bad Man, and the forgettable title-track – one hopes they’re mere aberrations and that the quality high-octane arena fodder will arrive imminently. Alas, it never does.

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

As much of Go Now And Live proves, these days they've embraced a more mainstream, hook-fuelled sensibility. It's one that works well, but there are problems. [23 Apr 2011, p.50]