The lyrics are cheesy and uninspiring at best.

Much like peer Frankie Cosmos, the sugarcoated uneasiness works, especially when done well. Swear I’m Good At This is a solid debut.

Coming Home scrubs away the band's aggression and tries to get more emotional, but all it does is end up sounding like that perv you'd never leave a drunk friend around.

It’s a solid listen in its own right.

Working again with producer Brendan O’Brien, Mastodon maintains their polished technical expertise. The album is clean but not scrubbed of feeling.

This time, they're much more versed and diversified, expanding their borders in terms of storytelling as well. Chris Loporto's vocals drive the record home, especially on slow melodic burns like "Quitting" and "Molly's Desk", which all pop with a loud bang at the end, signifying what Can't Swim are about.

Most of the album is way over-polished and creatively stifled. MTB try to maintain a sense of how well they did prog-punk but this is a line they can't even straddle anymore. The beauty that was once there is gone. Voids is aptly titled.

These are the songs that cut deep and cut slowly.

It’s on par with recent great stuff by Testament, Exodus or Death Angel. It’s another excellent addition to the already impressive Overkill discography.

While it’s unlikely to have the same influence as his earlier work in Guided by Voices, this is an album that is likely to get repeated spins on the turntable. It also is a solid reminder, that Tobin Sprout is every bit the songwriter and musician that his former GBV cohort Rob Pollard is.

WHY? remains an ever-changing experiment. Moh Lhean pays off for the patient listener.

As a whole, Pissed Jeans have put out the best, harshest, yet most listenable album of their career.

Ultimately, they’re doing retro-thrash with a modern feel, and they’re pretty damn good at it. If you like to bang your head, Power Trip should be on your radar.

The Crystal Fairy debut self-titled LP certainly feels like it was made in a flash. The eleven tracks speed by, flipping from riff to riff, track to track. In fact, the whole album has such an impulsive energy, it almost feels like it was recorded in a single, continuous take... and that’s a good thing.

Apocalipstick isn't just a record, it's an experience about being hungry, fearless and restless in a world that condemns those for being such.

The album could have done with a few tracks less but apart from the tightening up, it's a great move forward, placing you in the shadows or running through said corridor trying to escape an axe-wielding murderer.

The thought of trying to recreate “Abolish Government” or “Code Blue” a dozen more times for a new record probably didn’t appeal much to him [Jack Grisham]. If that’s the only TSOL stuff you like, you should pass on this. If you can keep an open mind, there’s lots to like about The Trigger Complex.

If you’re mostly into pop-punk, you probably won’t like this. Everyone who likes it rougher needs to check out Iron Reagan and Crossover Ministry.

The big hooks, crunchy guitars and foot-stomping jams will surely have fans erupting at live shows for these songs, because the album's such a rich, full novel, musically and lyrically which we all can, or will end up, relating to.

It feels like a few tracks could have been cut to make it crisper and tighter but that aside, you definitely want in on this, what appears to be Hause's diary used as a eulogy.

John Paul Pitts’ melodic prowess is what keeps me listening, even on a more chill album like Snowdonia. Something about his melodies and vocal timbre just hooks me and won’t let go. I just wish they would pump the volume back up!

While not all the songs pack the same punch, Near To The Wild Heart Of Life succeeds on its earnestness.

While some of it lacks creativity, expression, and comes off a tad bland, you do get a sense of what could have been, had they just unchained themselves a bit more. Ironically, the songs that stand out the most here are the ones that ape tracks off Sing The Sorrow.

This is their best work to date and the great thing is, you can tell they're still evolving and fleshing out which direction to head in. It feels like a state of limbo, but in the best way possible.

11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory is all about our conviction, belief, the redemption we seek... and ultimately, triumph of the human spirit. Not a bad way to dropkick off the year.

This isn’t simply a rap album. It’s a political album. It’s an educated album. It’s a creative hodgepodge of beats, ideas, and idealisms. And most of all, right now, it’s an important album.

Keith Buckley's masterminded so much raw emotion, power and helped provide an experience that's always as vicious as it is captivating. Low Teens is another example of this, encapsulating the best of the eight LPs that came before, and really representing the history of the band--dynamic metalcore at its best.

Fans will be glad to hear the new material and to know that ST is more than just a nostalgia act. This album, like the last, is rock solid.