The Final Frontier might sound alien at first, but Iron Maiden's DNA is splashed all over it.

MCR have made an album that is as fun as it is meaningful, as experimental as it is familiar. Let's see the Daily Mail hijack this one...

Never pandering to trite post-rock tricks, I Was Here... is pretty damn special.

Far from being an inter-album stop-gap, this EP represents nothing less than the fruits of a musical brain that simply doesn't know how to stop creating goodness.

Pop sensibilities like these make some of the rhymes in the lyrics a bit predictable, but as they also result in choruses like those on 'The Joyride' and 'Circle Of Lies', it's forgivable.

While certainly an accomplished progression from 09's "Union" in terms of tempo, it's still a bit too midlevel and the band might stand out from their contemporaries if they were a bit more rough around the edges.

The album's extended title track take the catchier parts of their newer material (vocalist Chris Conley's infamous Beatles influences seem to mesh much better with their punk rock sound here), and then deliver it so tightly and concisely that it would be a total waste to rehash their glory days.

An impressive third effort indeed, designed to compel you to throw your fist skyward and indulge in a good old sing-song.

While Sean Slug Daley's heartfelt lyrics, reflecting humorously on fatherhood, love and loss, are given full vent by producer Ant, the addition once again of keyboardist Erick Anderson and guitarist Nate Collis brings Atmosphere's trademark sound to another level.

The Summer Set have conjured up a bubblegum-stained blast of modern pop rock that sounds just as good at the start of the weekend as it does at the end.

Phantom Anthem is an awful lot to stomach in one sitting, but those prepared to strap in and take the ride from guttural beginnings to dramatic conclusion will be rewarded with an album of intense grandeur and unmatchable ambition.

While Afraid Of Heights may fail to break any new ground, if you love this band’s idiosyncrasies, there is plenty to enjoy here.

Those of thinkers Catherine Keller and Gaston Bachelard--are more complex than you might at first imagine, making Asleep On The Floodplain an album whose surface you can lazily drift upon or one into which you can dive as deep as your lungs will allow.

While they’ve ramped up the production values on this follow-up, its nine tracks retain the reckless zest for life that have defined their creators’ output.

Although there are storming successes amongst the album's 11 tracks (such as 'Slaves To Substance' and 'You Only Live Once') The Black Crown falls a fraction shy of the pack-shedding statement it needs to be.

More than a decade on from ‘Orchestra Of Wolves’, Frank is still singing from a different hymn sheet to everyone else, and that’s well worth celebrating.

There is a sense of funk and bounce characterised by RATM on display here that gives the songs an underlying sense of conviction on top of Morello's already biting vocal approach.

These songs might not be the complete, finished product yet, but as signals of intent go, they’re a crystal clear demonstration that Mallory have what it takes to break through the glass ceiling--to make truly exceptional music of soul-stirring quality.

While none quite make it all the way, they do end up nestling rather nicely among the planets.

Asylum won't set the world alight, but it's certainly not monotonous enough to send anyone to the madhouse.

Born of isolation and introspection, Stomachaches is hugely likeable, and leaves everything on the table.

While it may have been captured through a somewhat disjointed creative process, though, there's no sense of No Name No Color lacking cohesion.

It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s nevertheless a formidable collection of songs by a formidable gathering of musicians.

The five-piece's dramatic Orient metal (their words) might not brace consistently but when it does it's unstoppable.

There are strings, spoken word sections and sweeping solos, so while the themes and melodies may sound familiar, the overall tapestry rarely wears thin.

This is still above average dude rock from the Canadian five-piece.

From the barbed, Blink-182-esque pop-punk of ‘A Million Miles’ and grouchy, tongue in cheek call-outs of ‘Am I Deaf’ to sun-drenched ska numbers like ‘Don’t Let Me Go’, this is a mix of music for lounging by a pool, and tearing up a sweaty basement venue.

This album is a perfect representation of what this band has and always will be--brave, real, and resolutely striving for something different.