Album review
Moroccan Roll
Brand X
Moroccan Roll expands Brand X's jazz-rock through softer textures, extra percussion and more open arrangements. The music is still demanding, but it does not rely on a constan…
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Reviews
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Album review
Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
The Ocean
Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic makes heaviness feel carefully arranged rather than constant. The Ocean combine thick guitar riffs, forceful drums and harsh singing with piano, stri…
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Album review
Psalm 9
Trouble
Psalm 9 shows how much drive doom metal can contain. Trouble build their debut around enormous riffs but rarely let the music stand still for long. Slow passages have faster o…
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Album review
The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume
Evans Blue
Evans Blue make familiar hard rock feel personal through Kevin Matisyn's voice. The Melody and the Energetic Nature of Volume surrounds his restless singing with smooth produc…
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Album review
Pretty Hate Machine
Nine Inch Nails
The anger on Pretty Hate Machine is easy to recognise, but the music around it is surprisingly accessible. Trent Reznor builds the Nine Inch Nails debut largely with synthesiz…
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Album review
The Demon Joke
Vennart
The Demon Joke gives Mike Vennart's detailed guitar writing a clear melodic centre. His first solo album still has the shifting rhythms and layered sound associated with Ocean…
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Album review
Moving Backwards
Wheel
Moving Backwards builds its songs around rhythm and pressure. Wheel combine heavy guitar, prominent bass and detailed percussion with a vocal approach that can be melodic or r…
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Album review
Heritage
Lionel Loueke
On Heritage, Lionel Loueke gives his music a firm rhythmic foundation without losing its flexibility. The guitarist and singer from Benin works with keyboardist and co-produce…
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The Shape Of Fluidity
Dool
The Shape Of Fluidity balances dark atmosphere with a strong sense of melody. Dool use heavy guitars, spacious arrangements and Raven van Dorst's distinctive voice to create s…
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Album review
Something More Than Free
Jason Isbell
Something More Than Free finds Jason Isbell looking closely at ordinary responsibilities. Work, family and the consequences of past choices give the songs their subjects, whil…
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Album review
Blonder Tongue Audio Baton
Swirlies
Blonder Tongue Audio Baton keeps attractive melodies and disruptive sounds close together. Swirlies use gentle voices and large guitars but continually change the music's shap…
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Album review
At the Heart of Winter
Immortal
At the Heart of Winter gives Immortal more space without losing its aggression. The guitars sound firm and clear, melodies carry greater weight and the drums provide variety w…
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Album review
The Greatest of All Lost Arts
Lower Definition
The Greatest of All Lost Arts makes its strongest impression through the playing. Lower Definition combine melodic singing, sudden screams and detailed guitar work with a rhyt…
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The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery gives his guitar a natural place beside piano, bass and drums on The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery. His tone is warm and the melodies remain clear ev…
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Album review
Welcome to the Neighbourhood
Boston Manor
Welcome to the Neighbourhood moves Boston Manor into a darker kind of rock. Synths sit beside the guitars, and Henry Cox shifts between an airy melodic voice and a rougher del…
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Album review
Unfold the God Man
Psychonaut
Unfold the God Man gives Psychonaut plenty of room to show what they can do. The Belgian trio move between heavy post-metal, progressive guitar writing and quieter psychedelic…
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Album review
Scream Bloody Gore
Death
Scream Bloody Gore draws its strength from a direct approach. The riffs hit hard, the drums keep pressing, and Chuck Schuldiner's voice carries a raw edge that suits the music…
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Album review
Dancing in the Face of Danger
Exploring Birdsong
Exploring Birdsong get a surprising amount of weight from piano, bass and drums. Dancing in the Face of Danger adds strings and synthesizers to that foundation, but the appeal…
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Album review
Souvlaki
Slowdive
Souvlaki finds Slowdive shaping their atmospheric guitar music into clearer, more memorable songs. The sound remains spacious and richly layered, but the melodies have a stron…
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Album review
Hymns
Godflesh
Hymns makes Godflesh more direct without losing the weight of their sound. Guitars stand firmly at the front, and Ted Parsons' drumming gives the music a different movement. T…
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Album review
A Day at the Beach
Airbag
A Day at the Beach does not hurry towards its biggest moments. Airbag let keyboards, guitar and restrained rhythms build a mood before opening the arrangements up. The Norwegi…
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Album review
Mental Funeral
Autopsy
Mental Funeral shows how much threat a slowly played riff can carry. Autopsy push their death metal further towards doom, using heavy chords and passages that linger uncomfort…
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Album review
The Inner Mounting Flame
Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Inner Mounting Flame treats jazz and heavy rock as parts of the same language. John McLaughlin's guitar has a sharp, distorted edge, while Jerry Goodman's violin adds anot…
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Album review
The Last Hero
Alter Bridge
The Last Hero finds Alter Bridge making their familiar melodic hard rock on a large scale. Myles Kennedy's singing rises above substantial guitars, and the instrumental playin…
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