Meshuggah – The Violent Sleep Of Reason
“The first thing you will notice about Meshuggah’s eighth full-length is how organic and, more importantly, disgustingly heavy it sounds. Eschewing the more digitally focused, robotic perfection of their last few records in favour of living, breathing ensemble performances blasted through real amplifiers and speakers, they instantly sound more terrifying than ever before.” Read the full review here.
Alter Bridge - The Last Hero
“What really sets them apart from their radio rock peers is the ying and yang of two exceptional talents fighting for space. Where the range, tone and richness of Myles Kennedy’s vocals could make even the flattest meat’n’potato rock song soar, here he has to compete with guitarist Mark Tremonti’s never-ending arsenal of gut-punching precision riffs and wildly inventive solos for top billing.” Read the full review here.
Dayshell - Nexus
“The SoCal trio ply a trade in bouncy post-hardcore that fuses clean guitars with massive pop-tinged hooks. Shayley has obviously experienced his share of personal revelations, and these resonate throughout tracks like earworm Carsick and current single Improvise – the latter of which focuses on ‘giving up to give in’ when it comes to relationships.” Read the full review here.
Sonata Arctica - The Ninth Hour
“There’s a peculiar blend of boldness and blandness, Glee Club pop-rock alongside double-kick-heavy rivethead riffing, treading a path between 2012’s divisively experimental Stones Grew Her Name and 2014’s solid reversion-to-type, Pariah’s Child.” Read the full review here.
- The Story of Alter Bridge's Blackbird
- If Whiplash was about a Meshuggah covers band
- Meshuggah album review – The Violent Sleep Of Reason
- The Top 10 Best Alter Bridge Songs
To The Wind - The Brighter View
“With three albums released in just over three years, you could be forgiven for dismissing To The Wind as lacking the requisite fire to distinguish themselves within an over-saturated metalcore genre. Thankfully, the follow-up to 2014’s critically heralded Block Out The Sun & Sleep possesses that abrasive dynamism and doles out infectious energy, passion and aggression in equal measures.” Read the full review here.
Wovenhand - Star Treatment
“Superficially, Star Treatment is simply more of the same sublimely stormy and electrified neo-folk. No less compelling than anything else its primary composer has done, it feels more like a consolidation of the current Wovenhand lineup’s intuitive chemistry than an attempt to expand their sound, and yet despite lacking any one definitive money shot to rival the mid-song ascension of the previous album’s Corsicana Clip, there are golden moments in abundance.” Read the full review here.
The Devil Wears Prada - Transit Blues
“Their sixth album picks up where the Sempiternalisms of 2015’s excellent Space EP and 2013’s 8:18, left off. The band’s first release since the departure of long-time drummer Daniel Williams (he’s replaced by Haste The Day’s Giuseppe Capolupo), is bold, assured and awash with ethereal textures.” Read the full review here.
