Average Rating: 3.47 Rating Variance: 0.59 Objectivity Score: 77% (Well Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicColdplay Viva La VidaI owe part of my adoration for Viva La Vida to the experiences I associate with listening to the album (which of there are many), but I do not revere the album solely psychologically - Viva La Vida is a potpourri of terrifically produced and composed pop music that succeeds brilliantly on its own even before you even add emotional attachment to the mix. Expanding in every direction possible from 2005's lackluster X & Y, Chris Martin and gang's willingness to deviate and explore new territories (world music, more Radiohead, weird shoegazey, oriental-esque instrumentals) ultimately succeeds in creating what will likely stand as Coldplay's chef-d'oeuvre for many years to come. Minus the Bear Planet of IceTranquil and frantic all at once, Planet Of Ice utilizes every trick in the Minus the Bear book of awesome - it has outlandish freakout guitar solos, ambient and soothing interludes and plenty of sex (no euphemisms here, I mean that quite literally). All of Minus the Bear's earlier work hinted that a classic album was not a novel concept for the Seattle band - but now, the concept has been realized, Planet of Ice is absolutely perfect. My Epic YetNoisia Split The AtomRadiohead OK ComputerThe belief that Radiohead had made at least one classic album in their ongoing careers is a popular one - in most cases, the album in question is OK Computer. Whilst each and every album following OK Computer can be argued to be just as brilliant (yes, even Hail to the Thief), OK... has time and time again proven itself to be the quintessential Radiohead album in every sense - coincidentally, it's also likely the best album the 1990's managed to see released. The Decemberists The Hazards Of LoveThe Decemberists. I truly wonder how they manage to pull it off. They make a harpsichord sound right at home with a children?s choir, they make a 3/4 waltz of a song transition seamlessly into a classic rocker and, most importantly, they make an album with as ridiculous of a concept as The Hazards of Love absolutely incredible. An experience only made possible by listening to the album itself and taking the time to articulate the lyrics, The Hazards of Love is an impeccably crafted work of art that manages to transcend its own pretentiousness and ambitions in order to wed narrative and melody. I don?t know how you did it, Colin Meloy, but the world is surely a better place because of it. Good luck topping this one. 4.5 superb3 The End is BegunAlexisonfire Watch Out!In no uncertain terms, Alexisonfire's Watch Out! is an exhilarating and dynamic slice of post-hardcore that soars higher than any other of AOF's work (and that of their contemporaries too). Absolutely recommended to any fan of music. Anchor & Braille FeltAs Cities Burn Hell Or High WaterAs Tall As Lions You Can't Take It With YouBecoming the Archetype Terminate DamnationBetween the Buried and Me The Silent CircusBetween the Buried and Me Colors_LiveBetween the Buried and Me The Great MisdirectButch Walker Sycamore MeadowsCity and Colour Bring Me Your LoveCoheed and Cambria In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3Coheed and Cambria NeverenderCopeland You Are My SunshineYou Are My Sunshine is unremarkable, but 100% sincere and evocative -- something that is painfully missing from a handful of Copeland's indie-pop contemporaries. An absolute pleasure to listen to. Dan Mangan Oh FortuneEvergreen (UK) The Mountain, The Giant, The SeaExplosions in the Sky The Earth is Not a Cold Dead PlaceFiRES WERE SHOT Solacefun. Aim and IgniteIron & Wine Woman KingIron & Wine The Shepherd's DogJoey Eppard Been To the FutureLily Allen It's Not Me, It's YouMew No More StoriesMinus the Bear Menos El OsoOpeth Ghost ReveriesOpeth WatershedA friend once diagnosed me with "firstalbumitis", a terribly paralyzing condition that renders a listener incapable of loving anything more than the first album he/she heard from any given artist. In my case, this rings true with Opeth. I've heard all the Akerfeldt-glorifying testimonies on Blackwater Park, I've trodded through the murky waters in which Opethian devotees leech on to Still Life and I've even frequented the remote mountain ranges of which where Ghost Reveries-enthusiasts reside, scared of rejection from their peers. But even if Still Life or Blackwater Park are "objectively" the best albums ever - I heard Watershed first and, in my generally irrelevant opinion, it is Opeth's best album. It expands on the melodic side presented on Damnation with 'Burden' and 'Porcelain Heart', it continues the proggy rode taken in Ghost Reveries with 'Hex Omega' and 'The Lotus Eater' and it certainly makes good on the heavy promises made on Deliverance with the absolutely gut-churning 'Heir Apparent.' I honestly believe that Watershed is the sound of Opeth coming full circle with their sound and creating a masterpiece. Then again, it's also the first Opeth album I heard - the symptoms of firstalbumitis may have simply made me delusional. Phil Wickham Phil WickhamPinback Summer in AbaddonPorcupine Tree Fear of a Blank PlanetSteven Wilson, as whiny and pretentious as ever, tells the sad story of an oversaturated, commercialized American youth broken up by media influence and ultimate boredom - and as immature as the lyrics and concept seemingly get, Wilson gets his "teenaged society in a coma" message across very clearly on Fear of a Blank Planet. Employing a handful of guest musicians, the incredible girth and dynamic of the 17-minute Anesthetize and an array of surprisingly heavy riffs/patterns, Fear of a Blank Planet paints upon an eery canvas an incredibly bleak but ultimately captivating collection of songs that eclipses all of Porcupine Tree's earlier efforts. Oh, and did I mention the positively explosive drumming a la Gavin Harrison? Fan-freaking-tastic. Radiohead AmnesiacI have come up with an infallibly wise and completely objective slogan for Radiohead's "Kid B" - "Amnesiac: better than Kid A." That, my friends, is called honest advertising. Radiohead Kid ARadiohead In RainbowsRush A Farewell to KingsRush Permanent WavesRush HemispheresRush R30: 30th Anniversary TourRush In RioSimon Hoskyn The Seen and UnseenSubmotion Orchestra Finest HourThe Anniversary Designing For a Nervous BreakdownThe Appleseed Cast SagarmathaThe Dear Hunter Act II: The Meaning of, & All Things Regarding Ms. LeadingThe Dear Hunter Act III: Life and DeathThe Dear Hunter The Color Spectrum (Complete Collection)The Dear Hunter YellowThe Dear Hunter VioletThe Dear Hunter WhiteThe Decemberists The Crane WifeThe Mars Volta OctahedronThe Number Twelve Looks Like You Worse Than AloneThom Yorke The EraserThrice The Alchemy Index Vols. I & IIThrice The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IVTrespassers William Different StarsUlcerate Everything Is FireUnderoath Lost in the Sound of SeparationVince Guaraldi Trio A Charlie Brown ChristmasThe only tangible form of Christmas spirit. Yes Fragile4.0 excellent3 Wake PigAidan Baker and Thisquietarmy A Picture of a PictureAlexisonfire CrisisAnberlin Dark Is The Way, Light Is A PlaceIt'll be easy for a lot of Anberlin fans who weren't head-over-heels for New Surrender to dismiss Dark Is the Way, Light is the Place as another mid-tempo'd, half-hearted exercise in sold out pop-rock balladry but, really, they'd be missing the entire point. See, New Surrender suffered from a suffocating laziness on the band's behalf; Dark Is the Way does not. By leaving space and truly working together as a functioning band, Anberlin both accentuate their mid-tempo'd compositions and make the rockin' numbers even more impressive. I'd reckon, with Dark Is the Way, Anberlin's blown New Surrender out of the water and jostled the throne Cities sits on a little more convincingly than I would've expected. Anberlin Vitalbest birthday present ever Andrew Bird The Mysterious Production Of EggsAndrew Bird Armchair ApocryphaAnimal Collective Merriweather Post PavilionAntoine Dufour ConvergencesArghoslent Hornets of the Pogrombansheebeat GalacticsBaroness Red AlbumBaroness Blue RecordBecoming the Archetype DichotomyA flawlessly produced marathon of slightly-cliched metal that succeeds on account of it's excellent vocal work and musicianship. Part of me knows that I really should think this album is average, but alas. Bedouin Soundclash Sounding A MosaicBelle and Sebastian Dear Catastrophe WaitressBetween the Buried and Me AlaskaBolt Thrower The IVth CrusadeBon Iver For Emma, Forever AgoBrand New The Devil and God Are Raging Inside MeBright Eyes Digital Ash in a Digital UrnBright Eyes I'm Wide Awake, It's MorningBrooke Fraser FlagsBruce Springsteen Born To RunButch Walker Leavin' the Game on Luckie StreetCarcass HeartworkCatfight On A Hotdog Men Of The Cloth EPCeleste Morte(s) Nee(s)Church of Misery Houses of the UnholyCity and Colour City and Colour LIVECity and Colour Little HellAs Alexisonfire steadily declines in quality, Dallas Green's solo work simply can't help but be more and more delightful with each release. Little Hell is certainly no exception. City of Ships Look What God Did To UsClosure in Moscow First TempleCoalesce OXCoheed and Cambria From Fear Through the Eyes of MadnessColdplay A Rush of Blood to the HeadColdplay X & YColin James LimelightColosseum Valentyne SuiteConor Oberst Conor OberstConverge Axe to FallCynic FocusCynic Traced in AirDan Mangan Nice, Nice, Very NiceDevics My Beautiful Sinking ShipDream Theater Black Clouds & Silver LiningsDustin Kensrue Please Come HomeEllie Goulding LightsEllie Goulding Bright LightsExplosions in the Sky Take Care, Take Care, Take CareFleet Foxes Fleet FoxesFlorence and the Machine LungsFour Tet PauseFour Tet DialogueGlass Casket We Are Gathered Here Today...Glass Casket Desperate Man's DiaryGreat Northern Remind Me where the Light isHe Is Legend I Am HollywoodHillsong United United we StandHorse Feathers Words Are DeadI Am Spoonbender Buy Hidden PersuadersImogen Heap Speak For YourselfImogen Heap EllipseEllipse is dense, dark and unknotted; broiling like a galvanized stew of hooks and infallible songwriting. Her voice is smooth and tranquil; her songs are minimalist and serene; her debut 'Speak For Yourself' was superb and her latest release is even better. The combination of the hugely layered digitized vocals, the blips and bloops of synthetic instrumentation and the brooding atmosphere of creative lyricism and songwriting together form the heart that beats rhythmically beneath the glossy studio sheen on Imogen Heap's sophomore album 'Ellipse'. While being a distinctively poppy artist, her individualistic sound resonates clear and uniquely. Irepress Sol Eye Sea IQwe Qwetherington thinks this album has a title track. It doesn't. It does however have an opener that goes by the name 'Diaspora', and it is the post-metal song of 2009. The rest of the album's alright too. Iron & Wine Our Endless Numbered DaysIsis In the Absence of TruthIsis Wavering RadiantLed Zeppelin MothershipLisa Hannigan Sea SewLocal Natives Gorilla ManorLuke Pickett Blood Money EPManchester Orchestra Mean Everything To NothingMastodon Blood MountainMates of State Bring it BackMates of State Re-Arrange UsMaybeshewill Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part HarmonyMetric FantasiesmewithoutYou It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's allMGMT Oracular SpectacularMiike Snow Miike SnowMinotaur Shock Amateur DramaticsMinus the Bear Highly Refined PiratesMinus the Bear Into the MirrorMinus the Bear yet again refuses to make bad music. Go figure. Mono Hymn To The Immortal WindMuse Origin of SymmetryMuse Black Holes and RevelationsMuse H.A.A.R.PMy Epic Broken VoiceI haven't words adequate enough to describe Broken Voice nor this band. I'll let the ratings speak for themselves. Nada Surf LuckyNecrophagist EpitaphNeurosis Through Silver in BloodNeurosis Times of GraceNeutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the SeaNeverending White Lights Act II: The Blood And The Life EternalNorah Jones Come Away with MeOff Minor InnominateOff Minor The Heat Death of the UniverseOff Minor Some BloodOh, Sleeper When I Am GodOpeth Still LifeOrbs Asleep Next to SciencePark It Won't Snow Where You're GoingPendulum ImmersionPeriphery Periphery (Instrumental)Phil Wickham CannonsProtest the Hero KeziaRadiohead Hail to the ThiefRay Lamontagne God Willin' & The Creek Don't RiseReflux The Illusion Of DemocracyRelient K Forget and Not Slow DownRosie Thomas If Songs Could Be HeldRush Vapor TrailsRush FeedbackRush Snakes & ArrowsSam Roberts We Were Born In A FlameSam Roberts Love at the End of the WorldSaosin SaosinSean Fournier Put the World on StopShe and Him Volume OneShugo Tokumaru Night PieceSikTh The Trees Are Dead and Dried Out SikTh Death of a Dead DaySilversun Pickups SwoonSilversun Pickups Neck of the WoodsSnow Patrol Eyes OpenSomething Corporate Leaving Through The WindowSt. Vincent ActorSteve Taylor MeltdownSufjan Stevens IllinoisSufjan Stevens MichiganSwitchfoot Eastern Hymns For Western ShoresThe Antlers HospiceThe Classic Crime Seattle SessionsThe Constellation Branch The Dream Life, The Real Life, The Empty GlassThe Dear Hunter BlackThe Dear Hunter IndigoThe Dear Hunter GreenThe Dear Hunter RedThe Dear Hunter OrangeThe Dear Hunter BlueThis is personally the most consistent EP on the entire record. I'm not sure why anybody would find this lacklustre, it's stunning. The Decemberists PicaresqueThe Decemberists Castaways and CutoutsThe Decemberists The TainThe Decemberists The King Is DeadColin Meloy! Watch him detoxing from a hazardous album of the yesteryear! See him write a celtic song! A country song! An REM song! Hear him and his fabulous Decemberists play sexy tunes on The King is Dead (with 100% less pretense) before you let 2011 get off to a poor start! rAlso, rate the album higher than a four and win the automatic approval of anybody dapper enough to recognise brilliance. The End ElementaryThe Envy Corps DwellThe Essex Green The Long GoodbyeThe Fall of Troy ManipulatorThe Fall of Troy Phantom on the HorizonThe Februarys Brighter Side of ThingsAn amalgam of typical indie-rock stylings, Brighter Side of Things doesn't so much succeed on a level of originality as it does by its careful attention to dynamic and melody. 'Charismatica' easily recalls Minus the Bear and many sections from the 'Part 1/2/3' suite take cues from basically any adequate post-rock band in existence - but the strange pacing of the album makes the whole ordeal an engaging journey. Successfully encompassing appropriately cliche folk and frantic alternative rock (clashing cymbals, effect-laden leads, panicked vocals and all!), The Februarys' independently produced and released debut is a well-crafted, strangely organized and altogether pleasant record from Vancouver's best kept secret. The Fray How to Save a LifeThe Mountain Goats The Life of the World to ComeThe National BoxerThe New Pornographers Twin CinemaThe Red Chord Fused Together in Revolving DoorsThe Red Chord Fed Through the Teeth MachineThe Reign Of Kindo Rhythm, Chord & MelodyThe Snake The Cross The Crown Cotton TeethThe Tallest Man on Earth Shallow GraveThe Weepies HideawayThird Day Wherever You AreThrice VheissuThrice BeggarsThrice Major/MinorA very pleasant surprise. During the infrequent moments on Beggars where I felt there was a little punch missing, this more than makes up for it. Trenches The Tide Will Swallow Us WholeUlver Perdition CityUnderoath Define the Great LineUnderoath DisambiguationVersaEmerge VersaEmergeYear of No Light NordYoung the Giant Shake My HandSouth Californian barely-indie group The Jakes are off to an extremely promising and confident start with Shake My Hand: the choruses soar, the composition and production is crystal clear and vocalist Sameer Gadhia knows his way around a vocal hook like no other. Despite a full track hiccup in 'Schizophrenia', Shake My Hand proves that The Jakes are a band to keep an eye on as they prepare for their major label debut in 2010. Young the Giant Young the Giantlife's too short to even care at all, oh whoa-ohri'm losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control oh-whoa-oh 3.5 great3 Paint By Number3 RevisionsJoey Eppard steals the show and leaves the rest of the band a bit aimless and confused - but for what it's worth, the band's set of "revisions" is a fun set of old songs and poppy hooks. As good as The End Is Begun? Hell, no. Worth a listen? Obviously. Akitsa La Grande InfamieAlexisonfire Old Crows / Young CardinalsAll That Remains Behind Silence And SolitudeAlter Bridge BlackbirdAnberlin Blueprints For The Black MarketAnberlin Never Take Friendship PersonalAnberlin CitiesFinding Anberlin on a creative high, Cities is comfortably precise and exacting. The band's unique combination of soaring vocal melodies, engaging riffs and clever songwriting make up the bulk of what is one of the most stylistically diverse and experimental albums in their niche. But despite Cities tugging on all of the right heartstrings, a cluster of lackluster tracks keep it from being the masterpiece Anberlin record we'd all pretend it is. Andrew Bird Music Of HairAs Cities Burn Come Now SleepAs Tall As Lions As Tall As LionsAtheist Unquestionable PresenceAtlas Sound LogosAugust Burns Red ConstellationsAh, it's a beautiful thing to witness potential finally being realized -- and that's exactly what August Burns Red do with Constellations. Carrying over the positive qualities and disposing of most of the discrepancies on Messengers, August Burns Red manages to make a varied, relatively technical and generally consistent metalcore album. Color me surprised. Autumn Leaves As Night Conquers DayBecoming the Archetype The Physics Of FireBlindside SilenceBlindside About A Burning FireBolt Thrower Those Once LoyalBolt Thrower Realm of ChaosBolt Thrower War MasterBolt Thrower ...For VictoryBon Iver Blood BankBright Eyes Lifted or the Story is in the Soil...Bright Eyes Letting Off the HappinessBright Eyes Fevers & MirrorsBright Eyes Four WindsBright Eyes CassadagaBroken Records Until the Earth Begins to PartBruce Springsteen Darkness On The Edge Of TownBruce Springsteen MagicCeleste Misanthrope(s)City and Colour SometimesCoconut Records DavyColdplay ParachutesConverge You Fail MeConverge Jane DoeCopeland Eat, Sleep, RepeatCynic Demo 1991Dance Gavin Dance HappinessDethklok Dethalbum IIDOOMRIDERS Darkness Come AliveEmery ...In Shallow Seas We Sailinicialmente no sab?a la verdad. lo siento, sputnik... te amo Evergreen (UK) March Is ComingEvery Time I Die New Junk AestheticNew Junk Aesthetic (appropriate title and all) is a brash, testosterone-enthused, beard-growing, snake-stomping release that is all bark and no bite. Then again, it's also a lot of fun. Fences The Ultimate Puke EPFour Tet RoundsGnarls Barkley St. ElsewhereGreat Lake Swimmers Lost ChannelsLost Channels will be the same for you the first time you hear and every time after that. It will not grow on you and it probably won't lose any points with repeated listens. What you hear is what you get; banjos, nostalgic production, folk-y Fleet Foxes mimicking. The question for you is, then: will it be love at first sight or will it be be merely a 'like'-affair? He Is Legend Suck Out The PoisonHe Is Legend It Hates YouHe Is Legend playing at their worst is still pretty good. Horse Feathers House With No HomeInhale Exhale I Swear...I Swear... is surprisingly fun in it's mediocrity -- it certainly helps that Ryland Raus is one of the best vocalists in the genre. Cue Inhale Exhale's next release Bury Me Alive to find out if the band can progress enough to be truly interesting. Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other CleanSam Beam is as consistent of a songwriter as he's ever been but Kiss Each Other Clean dresses him up polarising fashion. Fans expecting another The Shepherd's Dog may get a bitter taste in their mouths upon tasting the sugary, 70's AM radio treatment his new songs have been given but those eager to move forward with Beam will embrace the change. I feel I stand somewhere in the middle but there's nothing inside me that can deny Beam's infallible songwriting. Isis OceanicIsis PanopticonJack's Mannequin Everything In TransitJonezetta PopularityJonezetta Cruel to Be Youngk-os Atlantis: Hymns For DiscoLamb of God WrathLed Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin Houses of the HolyLuke Pickett For Every Petal Lost, Another Gained EPMae The EverglowManchester Orchestra I'm Like a Virgin Losing a ChildMariachi El Bronx El BronxAccessible, creative and surprisingly close to authenticity. One of the quirkiest yet most enjoyable surprises of 2009 for me -- and it's not just because I live in Mexico. Mastodon Crack the SkyeMatthew Good VancouverMinotaur Shock MaritimeMuse AbsolutionMuse ShowbizMuse The ResistanceThe Resistance is, in a matter of a terms, a passable sequel to Black Holes and Revelations in the sense that it continues to indulge in faux-climactic Queen-isms, electronic pop experimentation and a supreme lack of interesting guitarwork. In what is an expansion and a natural progression from Black Holes..., Muse have simultaneously created some of their strongest and weakest work to date. The Resistance is still Muse and it's still fairly enjoyable, but those expecting another Absolution will undoubtedly be left with a bitter taste in their mouth. Mutemath ArmisticeMy American Heart Hiding Inside the Horrible WeatherMy Broken Hero Man of Science, Man of FafithMy Broken Hero Man of Science, Man of FaithNada Surf Let GoNeurosis The Eye of Every StormNeurosis A Sun That Never SetsNeverending White Lights Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly BodiesNoah and the Whale Peaceful, the World Lays Me DownNorah Jones Not Too LateOff Minor Problematic CourtshipOh, Sleeper Children of FireAn improvement over Son of the Morning in every way possible. Although they haven't quite topped When I Am God yet, Micah Kinard's vocals thankfully sound back to form and Shane Blay's guitarwork has never been so impressive. What the album lacks in creative restraint, it entirely makes up in fun factor - it's not perfect by any means, but it's an entertaining performance from each musician and a welcome return to form. Opeth Blackwater ParkOpeth DeliveranceOpeth My Arms, Your HearseOwl City Ocean EyesPan American White Bird ReleaseParamore Riot!Paramore Brand New EyesBrand New Eyes sees Paramore rely (once again) too heavily on Hayley Williams' charisma. No amount of huge hooks, power chords and "BA-DA-DA-BA-BA-DUH"s can disguise the fact the band's routine has grown a tad stale. Yet for what it's worth, Brand New Eyes succeeds quite well under Williams' rule, regardless of the record's immediate familiarity. Phil Wickham Heaven and EarthPhoenix Wolfgang Amadeus PhoenixPhrase ClockworkPoison the Well The Tropic RotPrayer for Cleansing Rain In Endless FallProtest the Hero FortressPygmy Lush Mount HopeRegina Spektor FarRelient K mmhmmRosie Thomas These Friends of MineRosie Thomas Only with Laughter Can You WinRush Moving PicturesRush 2112Rush Fly by NightRush RushRush CounterpartsSam Roberts Chemical CityScary Kids Scaring Kids Scary Kids Scaring KidsSean Fournier Paper TigerSecret And Whisper Great White WhaleSherwood QUShugo Tokumaru ExitSomething Corporate Ready...BreakSteve Taylor I Want to Be a CloneSteve Taylor On the FritzSufjan Stevens Seven SwansSwitchfoot Nothing is SoundTelekinesis Telekinesis!The Clientele Bonfires on the HeathBonfires on the Heath is a bit too drowsy. It's pretty, pleasant and beautiful all the same but it's a bit too hard to stay attentive (or awake for that matter) when the entire album is so darn lulling. The Dear Hunter The Color SpectrumThe Devil Wears Prada ZombieThe Earth Bleeds Keepers of Values (Demo)The Fall of Troy DoppelgangerThe Head And The Heart The Head And The HeartThe Mars Volta The Bedlam in GoliathThe Number Twelve Looks Like You Nuclear, Sad, NuclearThe Number Twelve Looks Like You Put On Your Rosy Red GlassesThe Number Twelve Looks Like You MongrelThe Weepies HappinessHappiness is appropriately titled and - unlike other records from The Weepies - it is also appropriately short. Less than half an hour of winsome folk-pop songs make up the barely-LP's body. While it may be underequipped a bit undercooked, it's cute, it's happy and it doesn't overstay it's welcome. Thursday Common ExistenceTilly and the Wall OTowers Full CircleUnderoath They're Only Chasing Safety3.0 good3 Summercamp NightmareA Plea for Purging DepravityAll That Remains The Fall of IdealsAlter Bridge AB IIIMyles Kennedy sings really high, Tremonti fingerpicks and shreds, everybody tunes down reallll low and it sounds good. Not memorable or lasting, but good. I guess. Anberlin New SurrenderArsonists Get All The Girls PortalsAtheist ElementsAtheist Piece of TimeAutumn Leaves Embraced by the AbsoluteBetween the Buried and Me Alaska [Instrumental]Backwards Marathon is dependent on Tommy Rogers' vocals and therefore would be useless as an instrumental. Between the Buried and Me The Parallax: Hypersleep DialoguesAs always, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues is chock full of some of the best ideas in music today and - as always - Between the Buried, for the most part, don't know how to string those ideas together. 'Specular Reflection' is a fantastic exception however. Blindside The Great DepressionBolt Thrower In Battle There Is No LawBolt Thrower MercenaryBolt Thrower Honour - Valour - PrideBright Eyes There Is No Beginning To The Story EPBruce Springsteen Born In The USABruce Springsteen The RisingBruce Springsteen Devils & DustBruce Springsteen Working On A DreamButch Walker This Is Me... Justified And StrippedButch Walker The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker...Caverns Kittens!Coheed and Cambria Year of the Black RainbowCopeland In MotionCryptopsy And Then You'll BegCryptopsy Whisper SupremacyCynic '90 DemoDethklok The DethalbumDream Theater Systematic ChaosEibon EibonFour Tet Everything EcstaticFour Tet LateNightTales: Four TetFour Tet RingerGeddy Lee My Favourite HeadacheHillsong United All of the AboveHyponic The Noise of TimeJack's Mannequin The Glass PassengerJohn Mayer Battle StudiesLady Gaga The FameLed Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IVLed Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IIMastodon RemissionMastodon LeviathanMumford and Sons Sigh No MoreNecrophagist Onset of PutrefactionOpeth OrchidOpeth MorningriseOpeth HeritageSince we've been getting rewritings of Still Life for the past decade, you certainly can't fault Opeth for finally instigating some variety. Those Still Life rewrites were pretty damn good though... Panic! At the Disco Pretty. Odd.Passion Pit MannersPeriphery PeripheryPeriphery, in more ways than not, is an album that warrants the hype that it receives. The technicality, flow and prowess of the band is astonishing at times - when the band has their shit together, they really make the wheels turn. On the other hand, Periphery also is way too long to stomach in one listen and has an overwhelming amount of aimlessness and repetition - vocal melodies are easily forgettable, Meshuggah chugging gets uninventive and the incessant recycling of ideas tarnishes the sacred name of Bulb. But don't get me wrong, Periphery still rules despite its disadvantages. Phil Collins Face ValueProtest the Hero Fortress (Instrumental)Pygmy Lush Bitter RiverRadiohead The BendsRelient K Five Score and Seven Years AgoRise Against Appeal to ReasonRosie Thomas When We Were SmallRush Grace Under PressureRush Rush Replay X3Rush Different StagesRush A Show of HandsRush Snakes & Arrows LiveScale The Summit Carving Desert CanyonsSikTh How May I Help You?Sky Eats Airplane Sky Eats AirplaneSomething Corporate NorthSomething Corporate Songs for Silent MoviesSunset Rubdown DragonslayerSwitchfoot The Beautiful LetdownSymphony X Paradise LostTaking Back Sunday New AgainThe Chariot Wars And Rumors Of WarsA pleasantly short brain-beating of a record that provides lots of raw and rough riffs, but little to no differentiation. Not bad at all, Scogin, but a little variation never hurt anybody. The Decemberists Always the BridesmaidThe Decemberists Long Live the KingThe Fall of Troy The Fall of TroyThe Knife Tomorrow, In a YearSome of the most titillating moments you'll never hear because you fell asleep during 'Ebb Tide Explorer'. The Knife's latest is a smorgasbord (or lack thereof) of what the fuck; a pretentious stew compromised of a few spectacular moments, the obviously brilliant 'Colouring of Pigeons' and an overdose of aimless ambience. Were it a little less gratuitous in its ambitious approach, I can't tell you how much happier I'd be with Tomorrow, In a Year. As it stands, however, I'm uncertain where The Knife even intended to go with this marathon of purposelessness. Still very cool on the occasion though, I must say. The Mars Volta De-Loused in the ComatoriumThe Mars Volta AmputechtureThe Weepies Say I Am YouThe Winter Sounds Church Of The Haunted SouthThem Crooked Vultures Them Crooked VulturesThrice The Artist In The AmbulanceUnderoath The Changing of TimesWhy? Eskimo SnowYukon Blonde Yukon Blonde2.5 averageAll That Remains This Darkened HeartAndrew Bird Weather SystemsAs I Lay Dying The Powerless RiseAugust Burns Red Thrill SeekerAugust Burns Red Lost Messengers: The OuttakesAugust Burns Red LevelerIf the band admits to not really listening or caring about metalcore anymore, do they still have fun playing it?Between the Buried and Me ColorsBlessthefall WitnessLet me get it out of the way: Witness is fun. Despite it's incessant, poor breakdowns and the mediocre harsh vocal delivery, the record really isn't bad. It is, however, a white-washed marathon of mixed influences and little-to-no varation. Blindside The Black RoseCreed WeatheredCryptopsy None So VileCryptopsy Once Was NotFlyleaf FlyleafHe Is Legend 91025Headlights WildlifePeppy and drowsy all at once, Wildlife is a record with an identity issue and a mixed message -- it's all also been done way too many times before to be taken seriously.Inhale Exhale The Lost, the Sick, the SacredIvoryline There Came A LionMadina Lake Attics To EdenMadina Lake strives for an edgy, dance-rock record that widely fails to impress. Melodies are repetitive, electronics are awkwardly used and the sugary up-tempo formula wears thin by the end of the first three songs. Misery Signals ControllerNelly Furtado Mi PlanNickelback All the Right ReasonsNoah and the Whale The First Days of SpringAllow the sincerity of Charlie Fink's lost love tug at your heartstrings for just a moment. Sure, the lyrics tend to be clich? at times and the concept of a heartbreak record is well worn by now - but from the first notes of the climactic, haunting title trick to the closing acoustic guitar patterns of the conclusive 'My Door Is Always Open', The First Days of Spring is an often harrowing, but never hopeless heartbreak phenomenon from a band nobody expected could create something nearly this good. Panic! At the Disco A Fever You Can't Sweat OutRush Caress of SteelRush SignalsRush Power WindowsRush Roll the BonesRush All the World's a StageRush PrestoRush Test for EchoRush Clockwork AngelsSecret And Whisper Teenage FantasyTeenage Fantasy is much like a cave. It's dark, mysterious, and strangely serene. It's also unfortunately completely ruined by the presence of screeching bats. Thanks a lot, Charles Furney, for your incapability to sound like anything but a wailing banshee with no sense of restraint. Showbread The Fear of GodStory of the Year The ConstantSusan Boyle I Dreamed a DreamSwitchfoot Oh! Gravity.The Almost Southern WeatherThe Black Dahlia Murder DeflorateMusical reiteration sells and Deflorate buys in bulk. The Civil Wars Barton HollowThe Classic Crime AlbatrossThe Classic Crime VagabondsThe Classic Crime aimed their crosshairs at simplicity and undoubtedly struck their target with Vagabonds. After two albums worth of songs that screamed 'we have so much potential, just you wait until we fulfill it', The Classic Crime have publicized their unfortunate failure to evolve. Despite having arguably written their best (and at the very least, most fun) song ever with 'Solar Powered Life', most of Vagabonds is an unfortunately boring schlop of pop-punk and otherwise that will ultimately disappoint fans of the band who were hoping for the band to follow up songs like 'Abracadavers' and 'I'm Just a Man'. The Devil Wears Prada Dead ThroneDead Throne is a shockingly and strangely decent progression for The Devil Wears Prada. I'll leave that as the compliment that it is and let the rating and the band's back catalogue justify that judgment. The Fall of Troy In the Unlikely EventIn The Unlikely Event is proof that The Fall of Troy are as instrumentally strong as ever. Even the stubbornest of listeners will be impressed by the many delicious moments of sheer technicality peppered throughout the record. 'Walk of Fame' heralds some of the band's most bizarre time changes and Erak's most impressive guitar wankery to date, 'Dirty Pillow Talk' boasts some catchy guest vocals from Rody Walker (who coincidentally isn't singing about prison guards or beheading mongols) and 'Panic Attack!' illustrates the band finally getting a grip on writing a poppier song that doesn't suck. Yet these gems on In The Unlikely Event are outweighed by a thousand other mishaps. 'Battleship Graveyard' highlights how tone-deaf Erak has finally become, 'Empty the Clip, the King Has Been Slain, Long Live The Queen!' boasts an incredibly terrible/tacky pop chorus and 'Nature vs. Nurture' contains one of the most laughable spoken word parts in modern music - the sad thing is, I could go on and on about In The Unlikely Event's flaws. It really is The Fall of Troy's weakest effort yet and there are very few redeemable qualities beyond the ones I mentioned - take a listen and vindicate me. The Mars Volta Frances the MuteThe Number Twelve Looks Like You Here at the End of All ThingsThomas Giles PulseDon't read into the "average" rating too far, Tommy Rogers is a talented kid. If anything, Pulse finally proves this to anyone who really doubted him: playing every instrument on the record aptly, spanning every genre under his little progressive umbrella and self-producing the whole affair takes a lot of chutzpah and talent - nobody should question this. His songwriting choices, however, are certainly subject to scrutiny; panicked harsh vocals over recycled club beats, dissonant polyrhythmic intros with little to no cohesion and half-rate metalcore jams are hardly the creative vehicle Rogers seemed to have been hoping for. Sure, songs like 'Sleep Shake' and 'Hypoxia' are obvious Pink Floyd-esque highlights and Rogers definitely gets his fifteen minutes of fame in a band where he's not the weakest link (in fact, he's the only link!), Pulse is lacking direction and feels like it maybe needed a little more time in the oven before mama bear squeezed this one out. U2 No Line on the Horizon2.0 poorAll That Remains OvercomeAugust Burns Red MessengersBecoming the Archetype Celestial CompletionCryptopsy The Unspoken KingDemon Hunter The World Is A ThornWith their fifth effort The World Is a Thorn, Demon Hunter churn out yet another collection of blandness that will titillate the nostalgic few who enjoyed the band's earlier work, but deter any onlookers away with its inconsistent songwriting, terrible harsh vocals and surplus of mediocrity. Desire CrowcifixHawthorne Heights SkeletonsI, Omega Tale of the Complex CircuitSimply put, Tale of the Complex Circuit is an immature album. Granted, it's a young band with an independently released debut record but that doesn't wholly excuse poor songwriting and needless self-indulgence. While bright spots are undoubtedly present, too much of the record is marred by completely unnecessary shredding and gratingly bad vocal delivery. Yet there is potential: when The Syncope Threshold learn how to write songs and make an album that does more than scream "look what I can do!", they might have something worthwhile. Inhale Exhale Bury Me AliveIt Dies Today LividityMetalcore as a genre has enough difficulty staying afloat without the help of bands like It Dies Today. I'm sorry Jason Wood, welcome to the scene, but stop making a market for decade-old stereotypes - it's angering fans of intelligent metal. Jet Shaka RockLawrence the Wardrobe HushLinkin Park MeteoraMinus the Bear OmniNorma Jean Bless the Martyr and Kiss the ChildOh, Sleeper The Armored March Oh, Sleeper Son of the MorningOh Sleeper aims high with their lofty concept but fall flat on their faces in terms of execution. No amount of technical prowess and catchy moments seem capable to save 'Son of the Morning' from amassing to nothing more than a completely forgettable metalcore release. Protest the Hero ScurrilousThe question on Scurrilous is as simple as "how much Rody Walker is too much?" Rudimentary Peni CacophonyRush Hold Your FireSaosin In Search Of Solid GroundMost "true" listeners of Saosin have written the band off to a steadied descent into mediocrity ever since Cove Reber replaced Anthony Green. While I didn't find that to be true with their self-titled full-length, their sophomore release 'In Search of Solid Ground' undoubtedly works in the theory's favor. Playing more like a B-sides of the self titled, the record does far too little to differentiate itself from it's predecessor. 'Fireflies' is a self-indulgent "epic" version of 'You're Not Alone', 'It's All Over Now' is a rehashed version of 'I Never Wanted To' and songs like 'Say Goodbye' are much like any other upbeat song on the debut (minus the interesting riffs). The experimentation (screamed vocals in 'I Keep My Secrets Safe' or the shuffling introduction of 'Changing') is too far and few between to be laudable and solidifies 'In Search of Solid Ground's place as the essential step down on Saosin's journey of regression. Sean Fournier Oh MySky Eats Airplane The Sound of SymmetrySwitchfoot Hello HurricaneSwitchfoot Vice VersesThe Almost Monster, MonsterThe Devil Wears Prada With Roots Above and Branches BelowIt's great for TDWP's standards, but that still doesn't change the fact that it's painfully mediocre compared to everybody else's standards.The Last Goodnight Poison KissUnderoath Survive Kaleidoscope1.5 very poorAiden KnivesOkay, not as bad as it's made out to be, but sweet jones, it is by no means good... or even close to it. Anberlin Lost SongsAnullaby Anullaby EPAnullaby. Ugh. Oh, Sleeper fans have been getting it wrong, guitarist Shane Blay hasn't been holding the average metalcore band atop his capable shoulders - he's been the problem! The poor guy, while certainly a righteously-shredtastic-god-fearing-rastaman, can't write a song for shit. Or beans. Or something else worth writing good music for. Which isn't what he's written here, no, no, no. This doesn't deserve beans at all, no, it deserves all the overzealous scrutiny I'll inevitably be giving it. Blay has written bad music. Again. For goodness sakes, the man can shread and sing, why can't he write music? You lazy schmuck, stop teasing us! That being said, Anullaby might deserve chick peas. And when unprofressional music critics give you chick peas, you make hummis, damn it! You better have a greek buffet prepared when you try to release music again. Fuck. Fuck. Attack Attack! Someday Came SuddenlyBoys Like Girls Love DrunkWhat did you honestly expect to get from a Boys Like Girls album? Hawk Nelson Hawk Nelson Is My FriendNever Shout Never What Is Love?Relient K Two Lefts Dont Make a Right But Three DoSaosin The GreySkillet AwakeThousand Foot Krutch Welcome to the MasqueradeThree Days Grace Life Starts NowUnderoath 777 (DVD)Various Artists (Punk) Punk Goes Classic Rock1.0 awfulbrokeNCYDE I'm Not A Fan, But The Kids Like It!Crazy Frog Crazy Frog Presents Crazy HitsRelient K Relient KRelient K The Anatomy of Tongue In Cheek
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