The brutality of the breakdowns and throat-cutting growls are balanced by infectious melody and clean vocals, offering possibly their most complete package yet.

Some Kind Of Hate is at its best when it doesn't take itself too seriously.

For those unfamiliar with the band’s at times world-class back catalogue, this disc is a fine--if fleeting--new entry point.

One can’t help wish for less social commentary, and more hands-in-the-air/ feet-in-the-moshpit bangers.

These are songs of excruciating truth, eternally relevant and assembled with no lack of heart.

Eschewing their hard-edged, rockier side, the Pennsylvania five-piece have cultivated 40-plus minutes of intense but dreamy atmosphere on Light We Made.

The beauty of their sound is its unpredictability: fragments of rock, metal, folk, punk and pop collide and smash, creating Frankenstein monsters that spark into life and chase you down. And they've never sounded more convincing than this.

Revel in the gloom.

Though it doesn’t boast the bounce, style or solid gold hooks that we’ve come to expect from this lot, it’s the raw honesty found on There’s Nothing With Me that exhibits a level of songwriting and maturity that’s slowly pushing them ahead of their peers.

A right dirty dose of LA rocking is in order courtesy of Buckcherry, and boy, is it great to have them back!

While it's not a groundbreaking redefinition of what metal should be, it's a firm statement of intent from the London-based quintet.

Whether regaling us with an ode to a middle-aged prostitute or outlining their plans for solar domination, they're on fine form.

Being such an influential rock drummer, it's hard not to approach this expecting more of a crossover sound, but treat Travis Barker's debut like an eclectic hip-hop record and it won't disappoint.

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

Although not original at all, ‘No Guts. No Glory’ is another strong, balls-out full-length from the brothers O’Keeffe and co.

Blink-182 have delivered an album that recalls everything that makes this band great and gives it all a fresh twist, the end result is California being amongst the best albums they’ve ever produced.

The Glaswegians' real USP is the way in which they inject everything they do with equal levels of joyous celebration and outright aggression, conjuring up a uniquely delirious sound throughout this disconcertingly unpredictable, but never less than utterly delightful release.

There are enough early anthems included to warrant picking this up, if only as a gateway to their back catalogue.

Their jangly indie-rock explores the journey of two twin brothers separated at birth through a procession of the schizophrenic ('Drunken Birds') and the more accessible ('Warmer Warmer') with largely satisfying results.

While the 12 tracks here are built around conventional nu metal structures, what unexpectedly rolls out is a stubbornness and increasing force never present with Evanescence.

Ultimately Immersion adds nothing new to the Pendulum experience, but still sees the band doing what they do best. Go immerse yourselves.

A fine new outing.

It would be churlish to deny that some of the selections on Born Free feature tunes on which the listener can truly chew, but it would also be wrong to ignore the fact that without this music Kid Rock's lyrics are, at best, the work of a sentimentalist and at worst, the mewlings of a moron. [13 Nov 2010, p.52]

Fever is unlikely to win Bullet For My Valentine more respect amongst their peers, but this could be the album to persuade non-believers.

The dark-hued, hard rocking glory of 'Sinead' and the Evanescence-bothering theatrics of 'A Demon's Fate' should draw Within Temptation a wider audience, but it's the ferocious guitar/keyboard attack of the blazing 'In The Middle Of The Night' that might coax most bullet belts out of retirement.

Despite its more slippery moments, Underworld finds Tonight Alive honing in on and owning their identity again; and given the bigger picture, taking a huge step in the right direction.

If there's criticism, it's that Nightmare still falls back on cliches, building with aggressive force to then rely on a safe melodic chorus. However, there's enough of a change to see A7X lash out beyond their core sound, making Nightmare their greatest achievement to date.

A solid if not spectacular release from the king of wail.