Album review
Above Cirrus
Pure Reason Revolution
Phantoms puts an unusually large amount of Pure Reason Revolution into a short space. An electronic pulse, close vocal harmonies and a sudden increase in guitar force all have…
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Album review
Riot!
Paramore
Hayley Williams gives Riot! a voice that can move from a sharp accusation to an open, soaring melody without losing its character. Paramore build the songs to meet that range.…
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Album review
ArmaHeaven
Smash Into Pieces
Smash Into Pieces have built quite a world around their music. ArmaHeaven continues its story of digital conflict and survival, but the songs don't require homework. The band …
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Album review
Seasons in the Abyss
Slayer
Seasons in the Abyss gives Slayer's different approaches enough room to strengthen each other. Fast songs sound more frantic beside the slower material, and the patient tracks…
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Album review
King Animal
Soundgarden
Been Away Too Long is a fairly blunt title for an opening song. Fortunately, Soundgarden play it with enough force to make the announcement useful. King Animal begins briskly,…
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Album review
Billy Talent II
Billy Talent
There is nothing tentative about Devil in a Midnight Mass. The opening song on Billy Talent II puts a tense guitar figure beside Ben Kowalewicz's sharp vocal, then makes the c…
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Album review
Necropalace
Worm
Worm have never seemed especially interested in keeping things modest. Necropalace takes that approach and gives it an even bigger budget for keyboards, guitar solos and gener…
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Album review
As Daylight Dies
Killswitch Engage
The melody in As Daylight Dies is built into the guitars before Howard Jones begins to sing. Adam Dutkiewicz and Joel Stroetzel use bright, sustained lines around the heavier …
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Misplaced Childhood
Marillion
Misplaced Childhood moves through regret as if one memory keeps opening the door to another. Marillion connect compact songs and longer sequences into two continuous sides, gi…
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Album review
We Are the Tide
Blind Pilot
We Are the Tide gains much of its character from knowing when the whole band should enter. Blind Pilot have a wide selection of acoustic instruments and warm supporting voices…
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Album review
Superunknown
Soundgarden
Black Hole Sun is an odd song to become a huge hit. The tune is inviting, the mood is deeply wrong, and Chris Cornell sounds perfectly at home in the middle of it. That combin…
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Album review
Iowa
Slipknot
Iowa makes Slipknot's aggression feel heavy before it feels fast. The guitars have a dense, low sound, the percussion occupies nearly every available gap, and Corey Taylor's v…
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Album review
Dust
Screaming Trees
Halo of Ashes has the weight of a hard-rock song and the movement of something far stranger. The guitars circle rather than simply charge, while Mark Lanegan gives the melody …
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Album review
Siren Song of the Counter Culture
Rise Against
Tim McIlrath has a voice that can make a simple melody sound like a difficult decision. On Siren Song of the Counter Culture, Rise Against use that tension to connect fast pun…
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Album review
Dust
Tremonti
Dust combines fast, substantial guitar playing with a more assured melodic voice. Tremonti keep the heavier attack close to the broad choruses, giving the music a clear appeal…
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Album review
Cartoon Darkness
Amyl and the Sniffers
Amy Taylor has no interest in making her point politely. "Jerkin'" opens Cartoon Darkness with insults and enough force to make the album's position clear: Amyl And The Sniffe…
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Album review
Atlas
Parkway Drive
Atlas gives Parkway Drive more ways to make a song feel large. Strings, acoustic guitar, extra voices and changes in tone broaden the arrangements, while Winston McCall's hars…
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Album review
But Here We Are
Foo Fighters
Rescued puts a recognisable Foo Fighters sound to unusually direct use. The guitars open out, Dave Grohl pushes his voice hard and the chorus reaches for company in the middle…
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Album review
From Here to Infirmary
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio have a useful gift for making a terrible situation sound almost inviting. From Here to Infirmary is full of drinking, disappointment and badly managed relationsh…
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Album review
Love Is Not Enough
Converge
Converge waste very little time getting to the point on Love Is Not Enough. The title track barely clears two minutes, and most of the first half keeps that same sense of urge…
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Album review
Altered State
TesseracT
The bass gives Altered State much of its personality. Amos Williams moves through TesseracT's tightly controlled guitar patterns with a rounded, flexible sound, making their c…
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Album review
Vitalogy
Pearl Jam
Vitalogy can offer a huge chorus and then immediately make you wonder whether Pearl Jam want anyone to sing along. The songs pull towards an audience, while the little experim…
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Album review
Suffer
Bad Religion
Greg Graffin makes speed sound articulate on Suffer. Bad Religion race through fifteen short songs, yet the voice remains clear and melodic enough to give each argument a shap…
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Album review
Above
Mad Season
Above gives Layne Staley room to sing without a heavy guitar pressing against every line. That alone makes Mad Season worth exploring. With Pearl Jam's Mike McCready on guitar…
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