Album review
Disappointment Island
TTNG
On Disappointment Island, TTNG make their difficult rhythms feel surprisingly natural. The guitar draws quick, clear lines while the drums shift smoothly beneath them. You do …
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Reviews
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Album review
Ascension
Paladin
Ascension gives Paladin a strong foundation for bringing different forms of metal together. The Atlanta band connect power metal melodies with sharper thrash guitars and harsh…
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Album review
Krushers of the World
Kreator
Kreator have become very good at making thrash metal for large crowds. Krushers of the World has the fast riffs and harsh vocals you'd expect, alongside choruses designed to b…
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Album review
Tall Fiddler
Michael Cleveland
Tall Fiddler offers plenty of speed and at least as much pleasure in playing together. Michael Cleveland places his fiddle among a large group of musicians without making the …
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Album review
Sundowning
Sleep Token
Sundowning makes its heavy passages wait. Piano, processed beats and Vessel's expressive singing occupy much of the album, allowing the low guitar attacks to arrive as changes…
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Album review
Concierto
Jim Hall
Jim Hall gathers an impressive group on Concierto, but the record depends mainly on how closely the musicians respond to one another. Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Roland Hanna, R…
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Album review
Mister Asylum
Highly Suspect
“Lydia” gives Mister Asylum a strong emotional center. Its verses have a firm groove, but Johnny Stevens makes the chorus sound as though the feeling has become too large for …
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Album review
The Skies Above Eternity
Fellowship
The Skies Above Eternity wastes little time. Fellowship keep the big choruses and upbeat melodies, but fit them into a much more compact album. About forty minutes is enough t…
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Album review
Yield
Pearl Jam
There is something disarming about Wishlist. A simple guitar figure, a measured vocal and a little patience are enough. Yield does not need Pearl Jam to sound permanently trou…
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Album review
Heaven :x: Hell
Sum 41
Sum 41 divide Heaven :x: Hell into two clear halves. The first goes back to fast, melodic pop-punk. The second gives their heavier influences more space. For a final album, it…
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Album review
Normal Isn’t
Puscifer
Normal Isn’t gives Puscifer’s strange ideas a firm musical base. The trio of Maynard James Keenan, Carina Round and Mat Mitchell bring post-punk, electronic sounds and darker …
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Album review
Red
King Crimson
Red gives heavy music an unusually alert sense of space. King Crimson can make a repeated guitar figure feel enormous, then leave a small sound exposed long enough for it to b…
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Album review
Just For A Day
Slowdive
Just For A Day turns guitars and voices into one gentle, slowly moving sound. Slowdive let the chords linger and use the singing to deepen the atmosphere. Their debut rarely s…
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Album review
Alien
Northlane
Alien makes electronic sound part of Northlane's weight. Distorted pulses, synthetic rhythms and low guitar notes often occupy the same space, making it difficult to separate …
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Album review
Full Circle
Pennywise
Pennywise do not respond to pain by becoming quieter on Full Circle. The album is fast, forceful and often openly encouraging, with Jim Lindberg singing as though keeping the …
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Album review
Ten
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam went big on their first album. Big guitars, big emotions, big choruses. Ten doesn't spend much time pretending that it would rather be somewhere else. It wants to re…
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Album review
The Path of the Clouds
Marissa Nadler
The Path of the Clouds gives Marissa Nadler's music more space and a stronger electric presence. The calm voice and dark stories remain recognisable, but the backing gains new…
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Album review
Clayman
In Flames
Clayman is full of guitar parts that function like vocal hooks. In Flames gives almost every song an identifiable melodic figure, then uses the heavier rhythm work to make tha…
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Album review
Colour Trip
Ringo Deathstarr
Colour Trip gets plenty from a familiar combination. Ringo Deathstarr place gentle singing against distorted guitars but keep the tracks short and their melodies clear. The sh…
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Album review
Dear Agony
Breaking Benjamin
Dear Agony finds Breaking Benjamin making small improvements inside a sound they already understand. The guitars remain heavy, the melodies are clear and Benjamin Burnley's vo…
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Album review
Make Some Noise
The Dead Daisies
Make Some Noise is easiest to enjoy when The Dead Daisies stop asking the songs to represent anything larger than a good hard-rock performance. John Corabi has a rough, capabl…
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Album review
In the Nightside Eclipse
Emperor
In the Nightside Eclipse makes grand music without smoothing away black metal's sharp edges. The guitars race, the drums keep pressing and the vocals bite. Above them, keyboar…
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Album review
Fiddler's Dream
Michael Cleveland
Fiddler's Dream uses impressive technique to give melodies more life. Michael Cleveland plays bluegrass with considerable momentum, but leaves room for gentleness and a sadder…
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Album review
Shattered
Reigning Sound
Shattered gives the soul side of Reigning Sound the leading role. Guitars dominate less and Greg Cartwright uses his voice with greater restraint. That does not make the recor…
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