While this will probably please Bleeding Through's fans, sticking with the path most traveled doesn't result in a particularly memorable record.

No one delivers big, punch-in-the-face motifs better than Amon Amarth, and the Swedish melodic-death-metal titans have excelled themselves on their ninth studio album.

Suffice it to say, Tears on Tape is a sentimentally sweet, sonically stunning, and beautifully packaged album.

While the formula may sound intriguing, lackluster songwriting makes much of the record sound repetitive and uninspired.

This sprawling set would not be the ideal introduction to Guided by Voices... but Suitcase does provide a fascinating chronicle of one man's lifelong love affair with songwriting. [#2, p.104]

Bolstered further by very solid production, clever use of effects, and strong clean vocals, The Hollow is quite simply one of the best metalcore albums in a long time.

Interesting, but hardly the band that made Meantime. [Sep/Oct 2010, p.90]

An inconsistent record with flashes of brilliance, In Waves should keep diehard Trivium fans happy.

Cynic’s shredders utilize their skills to construct great melodies and riffs, which often blossom into solid tunes that demand the listener’s attention.

While the record packs the occasional wallop, it loses steam in quieter moments ("Saving Grace") that sacrifice depth and density for pop hooks, due in part to predictable song structures.

The tracks on Halo of Blood sound more like computerized vessels for showing off their considerable skills than songs played by actual human beings.

The bottom line: Emery may have done what they wanted, but that doesn't mean that listeners will want the result-at least, not all of it.

The Constant is best when going fast and loud, keeping your heart racing (and your mind off the subpar lyrics), but it loses momentum with cookie cutter ballad "holding On To You and a track, "Remember A Time," that oddly sounds more like Weezer than Warped Tour. [Mar/Apr 2010, p.92]

The result of all these change-ups is an album that is both aggressive and progressive, while still maintaining Linkin Park’s innate pop sensibility.

The album tells a loose story about a man breaking up with his girlfriend but the songs are written in a way that work outside of the narrative, too.

If success means overpowering the senses with creepy, captivating dissonance, KEN Mode are clutching a real triumph.

From the lumbering “Lungs” to doomy, dynamically intense epics such as “On Wretched Son,” “Swarming Funeral Mass,” and “See No Shelter Fevered Ones,” the relentless sturm and drang is not for the faith of heart, and there’s always a sneaking sense that Twilight is making this stuff up as it goes along.

This restless Texas prog-metal outfit, best known as the former protégés of Serj Tankian (and the best Tool-aping act since Chevelle), have yet to make an epic game-changer of an album, but Arrows & Anchors, their fourth, comes close.

Unfortunately, every song ends up sounding too similar, even as the band breaks, as always, from black metal's norms.

You can't too wrong when an albums starts with cowbell and kick-drum--and truth be told, you can't go too wrong with a Buckcherry album, period. [Jul/Aug 2010, p.88]

Too many songs build and build and never explode, and though Keenan has never sounded growlier, Parole never really breaks loose.

Overall, Max & Co. keep things tasty on Savages.

At times, the album can be a little much; after the 17th grinding breakdown decked in plucking harp strings, things can blur together--but the things that make Takasago Army stand out are worth any flaws it possesses as an album (the weird jungle insert of "Root Regeneration" makes you feel like you're at a spa with the devil).

Nothing here grabs you as immediately as "Bring Me To Life" did. Still, the group's pummeling disco-grunge version of "Like A Prayer?" Totally awesome. [May/Jun 2010, p.100]

It’s considerably more difficult to listen to than ‘Aesthetica’--the vocals often sound like a skipping CD--and largely forsakes that album’s triumphal feel for grating noise mash-ups (“Follow” and “Follow II”), angular electro jams (“Quetzalcoatl”) and synthetic horns (“Fanfare”).

While her vocals alone are unlikely to gain Within Temptation too many new listeners, fans who have stuck with the band throughout their career will likely forgive The Unforgiving's occasional missteps.

Perhaps sensing the imminent death of the album format, Zombie has thrown all caution to the wind.It's an approach he should have taken long ago. [Mar/Apr 2010, p.90]

Apocalyptic Love is at heart a collection of lean, high-octane rock-and-roll tunes built to be blasted out of open-top sports cars or, more suitably, open-air stadiums.