TDWP's "sufferings" are modern-metal fans' "glory."

For all their masks and uniforms, the emotions at the heart of Slipknot’s music have always been real and raw, and as they--and the audience that’s grown up with them--have no doubt discovered, the youthful angst that fired their early records has nothing on the grim realities of adulthood. From that deep well of pain, another great Slipknot record has emerged.

Anyone worried that the last decade had dulled TBS' edge, a listen to the post-hardcore rager "El Paso" confirms that it's never been sharper.

Calling the album a return to form does Skeletonwitch injustice, but the blackened thrashers definately sound rein quintet definitely sounds reinvigorated here.

The second full-length offering from The Shine finds the Chuck Dukowski–approved Los Angeles skater/stoner-rock trio more or less picking up where their last album, 2012′s Primitive Blast, left off.

Sure, White Crosses is the most polished and pop-inflected album of Against Me!'s polarizing punk career--but underneath the studio sheen, the Butch Vig-produced disc also contains some of the band's best material to date. [Jul/Aug 2010, p.92]

Between the Stars is tight and melodic and unrelentingly hook-driven, poppy enough in places to recall Paramore or even (on the great new single “Set Me on Fire”) a more ferocious No Doub

Royal Thunder display a soulful sonic acumen that's as dynamic as it is compelling.

From the anthemic confidence of “Back in the Game” to the speed-metal boogie of “Hungry,” frontman Joel O’Keeffe rasps out memorable, bluesy melodies without sacrificing the AC/DC-inspired passion of 2007’s Runnin’ Wild.

As sonically beautiful an album as R.E.M. has made. [May/June 2001, p.114]

A 12-song set that went through a couple of permutations but still bristles with industrial-strength angst.

Wherever Tombs travel, they create evocative metallic nightmares most of their contemporaries only dream of crafting.

The songs here have every frequency not only covered but cranked to 11. That's a plus when the writing is equally heroic, as with "My Questions," "Born to Lose," or the stunning "Holdfast," but when the songs don't measure up melodically or thematically, as with the overly ornate "R.I.T.," the sonic heft only underscores the failings

With Shelter, Alcest have abandoned bracing storm bursts, leaving a too monotonous calm.

As ever, frontman niVek ohGr manages to make his vocals just as laceratingly intense as the saturated distortion of the electronics, while the lyrics are as angry as they are eloquent.

Raucous and honest, this album rocks with their trademark down-home stoner swagger.

Producer Jens Bogren (Opeth, Amon Amarth) respectfully maintains the video game splendor that grabbed fans on 2006’s “Through the Fire and Flames,” but 'Reaching Into Infinity' shows this sextet still has more universes to explore.

A prog-intensive album that often sounds closer to soggy Jethro Tull outtakes than anything in his band’s mighty back catalog.

On their eleventh studio album, CoF’s schlock-black metal sound is more alive than it has in a while.

Aptly named Queensrÿche, just like the band’s debut was titled 30 years ago, this album is a fresh new beginning of a revamped lineup that we will likely be hearing from for years to come.

Despite some high points, this is hardly the definitive live Springsteen album. [May/June 2001, p.116]

Real demonstrates that, even as the group’s chosen subgenre has lost the trendiness it possessed in the ’00s, metalcore can still sound fresh and exciting when done right.

The Tyranny of Will is all aces, too: From politically-charged rippers (“In Greed We Trust,” “Patriotic Shock”) to pants-pissing punk mischief (“Eyeball Gore,” “Your Kid’s an Asshole”), Iron Reagan have got you covered.

Instead of Meanderthal's rich sonics and expansive melodies, Torche about-faces into bracing, aggressive cuts like "Cast into Unknown" and "U.F.O." and even though "Out Again" delves into sludgy pop, it's done in such a lackadaisical fashion that's it;s clear that Brooks' heart is more in the faster, louder numbers. [Sep/Oct 2010, p.90]

Undulating under shimmering waves of feedback is either a gorgeously fragile heavy metal record or the ballsiest Smashing Pumpkins ballads ever.

While the album will please the band's fans, it doesn't stand out from similar releases in the subgenre today. [Jul/Aug 2011, p.92]

On this solid, moving album, Wolves Like Us keep that tradition alive.

Musically, AOI melds the compufunk of 'Stakes' with the soulystics of the trio's earlier work, adding in a healthy supply of guitar twang to boot. [#2, p.109]