Album review
Gnosis
Russian Circles
Gnosis puts Russian Circles' heaviest instincts close to the surface. The instrumental trio still leave room for melody, but the guitars and bass spend much of the record pres…
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Album review
Title of Record
Filter
Title of Record gives Filter's heavy guitar sound more room to change. Richard Patrick still uses a harsh vocal attack, and the industrial elements remain easy to recognise, b…
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Album review
Feast of Love
Pity Sex
Feast of Love brings a direct melodic appeal to Pity Sex's noisy guitar sound. The band surround their songs with warm distortion and hazy feedback, but the melodies remain im…
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Album review
Pool Kids
Pool Kids
Pool Kids bring strong melodies and intricate playing together on their second album. The guitars and drums can be busy, but the arrangements keep Christine Goodwyne's voice c…
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Album review
Living Proof
Drain
Living Proof keeps Drain's heavy hardcore concise and energetic while allowing a few useful changes of direction. The fast guitar playing and substantial breakdowns remain cen…
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Album review
One Drop of Truth
The Wood Brothers
One Drop of Truth finds The Wood Brothers moving comfortably between blues, folk, country and soul. The playing has an easy rhythm, but the songs have enough changes in mood t…
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Album review
Tomorrow Is My Turn
Rhiannon Giddens
Tomorrow Is My Turn brings together folk, blues, country and gospel through the strength of one voice. Rhiannon Giddens treats these songs as material with something left to s…
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Album review
Us and Them
Shinedown
Us and Them gives Shinedown's guitars more to do alongside Brent Smith's powerful singing. The second album works within familiar hard rock structures, but its southern rock t…
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Album review
Charcoal Grace
Caligula's Horse
Charcoal Grace asks for more patience than a collection of short, direct rock songs. Caligula's Horse build their sixth album around a four-part central suite, with long openi…
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Album review
Wanderer
The Intersphere
The Intersphere keep their songs compact on Wanderer. The German band combine alternative rock with progressive details, but the ten tracks favour clear melodies and immediate…
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Flying in a Blue Dream
Joe Satriani
Flying in a Blue Dream gives Joe Satriani's guitar music a wider range of settings, including several songs with his own vocals. The instrumental melodies remain the strongest…
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Album review
Surfing with the Alien
Joe Satriani
Surfing with the Alien makes its technical guitar playing easy to enjoy through clear melodies. Joe Satriani can move quickly across the instrument, but the strongest pieces g…
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Album review
Another Language
This Will Destroy You
Another Language makes a strong case for texture as the main voice of an instrumental band. This Will Destroy You combine heavy guitars with blurred electronics, quiet keys an…
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Album review
The New Normal
Cog
The New Normal gives heavy rock time to grow. Cog build their songs around thick guitar riffs, active bass and drums, and Flynn Gower's direct singing. The music has some of T…
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Album review
Heart
Eric Church
Heart brings Eric Church's country-rock writing into a concise nine-song sequence. There is room for driving guitars and large choruses, but the album spends just as much time…
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Album review
Mr. Misunderstood
Eric Church
Mr. Misunderstood gives Eric Church's country-rock sound a more concentrated shape. The ten songs move easily between guitars, soul and quieter reflection, with Jay Joyce keep…
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Album review
Sci-Fi Crimes
Chevelle
Sci-Fi Crimes gives Chevelle's heavy rock a darker, more varied setting. The thick guitar sound and large choruses remain familiar, but Pete Loeffler explores a wider vocal ra…
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Album review
Unmaker
LLNN
LLNN get to the point quickly on Unmaker. The Danish band’s third album combines rough guitars, heavy bass and drums with electronic sounds that make the music feel even more …
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Album review
Endangered Species
Flaw
Endangered Species gives Flaw's heavy sound a smoother, more melodic direction. Chris Volz's voice remains the main attraction, but the arrangements allow the singing to carry…
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Album review
Saturate
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin sound impatient on Saturate. Their debut puts heavy guitar riffs and sharp changes in vocal intensity ahead of subtlety, but it also shows a clear instinct f…
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Album review
No Code
Pearl Jam
No Code finds Pearl Jam making more room for quieter playing and less predictable rhythms. The guitars can still hit hard, but the record does not depend on a constant supply …
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Album review
The Weight Of The Mask
Svalbard
The Weight Of The Mask brings heavy music and difficult feelings into close contact. Svalbard combine the urgency of hardcore with ringing guitar melodies, fast black metal rh…
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Album review
The Weight of These Wings
Miranda Lambert
The Weight of These Wings gives Miranda Lambert a large, unhurried setting for songs about leaving, uncertainty and the habits that make change difficult. Its twenty-four trac…
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Album review
Cure
ERRA
Cure finds ERRA making their technical metalcore feel direct without removing the detail. Jesse Cash's melodic singing and J.T. Cavey's harsher delivery give the songs a clear…
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