Album review
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
Hybrid Theory rarely lets a musical idea sit unused. A piano figure becomes the center of a chorus, a scratch fills the space between vocal phrases, and a guitar attack arrive…
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Reviews
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Album review
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
This Is a Call sounds like someone discovering that a simple tune can take a great deal of noise. The opening song on Foo Fighters' debut puts a bright melody inside distorted…
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Album review
Unself
Conjurer
Conjurer make the quieter parts count on Unself. The Rugby band’s third album still has the thick riffs, harsh voices and sudden changes of speed expected from their heavy sou…
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Album review
Americana
The Offspring
There are two good reasons to look beyond Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) on Americana. One is that The Offspring have sharper songs here. The other is that the album eventually …
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Album review
I Want Blood
Jerry Cantrell
Jerry Cantrell's guitar tone and vocal harmonies can make a song feel uneasy before the words have really started. I Want Blood puts those strengths back into a heavier settin…
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Album review
Voice
Hiromi
Voice brings together three musicians with enough energy to make a piano trio feel much larger. Hiromi leads on piano and keyboards, with Anthony Jackson on bass and Simon Phi…
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Album review
New Levels New Devils
Polyphia
The guitar lines on New Levels New Devils often behave like a lead vocal cut into small pieces. Polyphia place short melodic figures over trap-influenced drums and deep bass, …
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Album review
Under a Godless Veil
Draconian
The gentler singing gets plenty of room on Under a Godless Veil. Draconian let Heike Langhans sound clear and vulnerable while Anders Jacobsson's deep, rough voice pulls the m…
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14 Shades of Grey
Staind
So Far Away is a useful surprise on 14 Shades of Grey. Aaron Lewis sounds willing to recognise some progress, and the melody gives that feeling a clear, accessible shape. Stai…
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Album review
God Has Failed
RPWL
God Has Failed offers a warm, melodic introduction to RPWL. The German band's debut draws heavily from Pink Floyd, particularly the spacious guitars and relaxed vocals of thei…
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Album review
Brand New Eyes
Paramore
Paramore spend much of Brand New Eyes trying to make difficult feelings impossible to avoid. The guitars sound tense, Hayley Williams sings with a sharper edge, and even the b…
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Album review
American III: Solitary Man
Johnny Cash
American III: Solitary Man finds a useful balance between Johnny Cash alone with his guitar and a more welcoming group of supporting musicians. Rick Rubin keeps the arrangemen…
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Candlebox
Candlebox
Candlebox put a bluesy hard-rock voice inside a thick nineties guitar sound, and their debut gets a lot of mileage from that combination. Kevin Martin can sing with a rough ed…
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Album review
I Let It In and It Took Everything
Loathe
The quiet music on I Let It In and It Took Everything can feel as disorienting as the heaviest passages. Loathe lets soft guitar tones blur at the edges, places voices at diff…
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Album review
Inmazes
VOLA
A soft vocal can make a very heavy riff sound stranger. On Inmazes, VOLA repeatedly place calm, inviting melodies against guitars that hit with a blunt, mechanical force. The …
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Album review
Burn It Down
The Dead Daisies
Burn It Down has a convincing weight in the space between its instruments. The Dead Daisies give the riffs room to settle, let the drums land firmly and leave John Corabi enou…
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Album review
Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs
Alkaline Trio
Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs has a reassuringly unpleasant title. Alkaline Trio haven't become a particularly cheerful band, but the music is full of life. Matt Skiba and Dan And…
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Album review
Take as Needed for Pain
Eyehategod
Take as Needed for Pain turns a filthy guitar sound into a surprisingly mobile form of metal. Eyehategod keep pushing blues riffs and slow grooves against hardcore aggression.…
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White Pony
Deftones
The opening of Digital Bath makes a small amount of sound feel remarkably deep. A measured drum pattern and softly detailed guitar create an uneasy space, then Chino Moreno's …
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Album review
Insurgentes
Steven Wilson
Insurgentes is full of beautiful sounds that refuse to stay comfortable. A melody can establish a calm surface, then distortion or a low, persistent texture starts to change t…
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Album review
The Strange Case Of...
Halestorm
Four songs into The Strange Case Of..., Halestorm have already made a convincing argument for excess. The guitars are forceful, the drums leave little room for hesitation, and…
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Album review
Spiderland
Slint
Spiderland finds much of its tension in what Slint delay. The guitars play separate, closely connected patterns and the drums avoid a simple supporting beat. Bass provides a f…
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Album review
The End Will Show Us How
Tremonti
Mark Tremonti's name on an album gives you a fairly good idea of where the guitars will sit. The End Will Show Us How has plenty of large riffs and demanding playing, but some…
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Album review
Ghost Reveries
Opeth
A keyboard can change the temperature of a heavy song without becoming its main attraction. Per Wiberg's playing does that repeatedly on Ghost Reveries, adding organ, atmosphe…
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