| (hed) p.e. New World Orphans | 2.0 |
| .hinge The Rise & Fall Of Living Great | 4.0 |
| The latest album from this Melbourne based rock group only gets better with time. What may not strike as anything of note at first listen - whether it be a persistent groove or catchy melody - will surely make it's presence known when the album finally gets under the skin and works it's magic. Only the occasional filler track stops this alt-rock magnum opus from achieving truly excellent status. Still a great set of songs that comes highly recommended for fans of The Butterfly Effect or similar. |
| 50 Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin' | 3.0 |
| A Life Once Lost Hunter | 2.0 |
| Akercocke Antichrist | 4.0 |
| Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill | 4.0 |
| Alanis Morissette Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie | 1.5 |
| Alchemist Tripsis | 4.0 |
| Alchemist Austral Alien | 3.0 |
| Amorphis Elegy | 4.0 |
| Amorphis Silent Waters | 4.0 |
| While it could be considered a little more accessible compared to earlier efforts, Silent Waters still has enough depth to compel over a period of time. The vocals are faultless, production good and the infectious melodies prove just as addictive as the aggressive highs. As a bonus, there isn't a bad song present either. A remarkable album that was understandably one of the highlights of 2007. |
| Anarion Unbroken | 1.5 |
After hearing opening track New Eyes, Old Lies on the radio, I was fairly impressed and sought out the record. A lot of metal doesn't blow me away, and this CD's much the same. As album's go, this truly is nothing spectacular.
The drumming's great, and some of the riffs are quite nice, but the unimaginative solos and frequently awful lyrics makes this CD rather forgettable. And the less said about bonus track Over The Wall, the better. |
| Andrew Morris Valleys | 4.0 |
| Anterior This Age of Silence | 3.5 |
| Antonio Vivaldi The Four Seasons | 2.0 |
| Apocalyptica Worlds Collide | 3.5 |
| Apocalyptica Cult | 3.0 |
| Atlas Weights Atlas Weights | 3.0 |
| Audioslave Out of Exile | 1.5 |
| Audioslave Revelations | 3.5 |
| Basement Birds Basement Birds | 3.0 |
| Be'lakor The Frail Tide | 3.5 |
| Beatallica Beatallica | 4.0 |
| Beatallica Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band | 3.5 |
| Believer Gabriel | 2.5 |
| Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five | 4.0 |
| Bernard Fanning Tea & Sympathy | 4.5 |
| Birds Of Tokyo Universes | 4.5 |
| Birds Of Tokyo Broken Strings | 3.5 |
| Birds Of Tokyo Birds Of Tokyo | 3.5 |
| Birds of Tokyo's self-titled album could well catapult them into the echelons of mainstream success, with its slick production and endearingly softcore balladeering. However, the harder edges on their previous releases will be missed by the current faithful, and some meandering filler doesn't add up to what could have been an entirely consistent effort. Solid but stolid. |
| Black Devil Yard Boss Black Devil Yard Boss | 3.0 |
| Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Baby 81 | 1.0 |
| Black Sabbath Sabbath Bloody Sabbath | 3.0 |
| Blind Melon Blind Melon | 2.5 |
| Blind Melon Soup | 4.0 |
| Bliss N Eso Running On Air | 4.0 |
| Breed 77 Breed 77 | 3.5 |
| Brian Eno Discreet Music | 4.0 |
| Bugdust Set To Snap | 4.0 |
| Bugdust Welcome to the City of Snakes | 4.0 |
| Caliban The Awakening | 2.0 |
| Catfight On A Hotdog Cats! Cats! Cats! EP | 3.0 |
| Catfight On A Hotdog We Have Reached A Tipping Point EP | 3.5 |
| Children Collide Theory of Everything | 3.0 |
| Closed Casket Thy Blood, Thy Word | 3.0 |
| Cog The New Normal | 3.0 |
| Cog Sharing Space | 4.5 |
After almost too long, Cog make a belated return to the Australian rock scene with their much anticipated second release Sharing Space. The songwriting here is much more straightforward than their successful debut The New Normal, and I honestly believe Cog prove a far better outfit with this approach, although I acknowledge I am most probably in the minority on that front. The lengthy track times and odd time signatures prevalent on their previous release have mostly given way to sweeter melodies - such as those found in the intense Say Your Last Goodbye and the moody How Long - and shorter, catchier songs in general, such as the stellar Are You Interested? and the brilliant title track. Bitter fans who were hoping for something as entirely progressive as The New Normal aren't completely without hope however, as epic tracks No Other Way and Problem, Reaction, Solution will surely tide them over until Cog's next (much anticipated) release.
|
| Cold Chisel Chisel | 4.5 |
| Cold Chisel Twentieth Century | 3.0 |
| Cold Chisel East | 4.5 |
| Coldplay X&Y | 3.5 |
| Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head | 4.5 |
| Coldplay Parachutes | 4.0 |
| Collective Soul Dosage | 1.5 |
| Contrive The Meaning Unseen | 4.0 |
| Contrive The Internal Dialogue | 3.0 |
| The latest effort from Melbourne heavy-metal act Contrive is solid but never amazing, thanks to some heavy yet uninspired production - mixed with the usual epic aplomb by Canada's metal king Devin Townsend. As a result, The Internal Dialogue is a smooth listen but longevity suffers as a result. Their debut album The Meaning Unseen is recommended for newcomers looking for a heavy-metal fix. |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival Chronicle, Vol. 1 | 4.0 |
| Crowded House Recurring Dream | 4.5 |
| Crowded House Woodface | 3.5 |
| Cynic Traced in Air | 2.5 |
| Dark Tranquillity Fiction | 3.5 |
| A solid release that proves to be as consistent as it is unspectacular. A few more catchy numbers and this may have entirely lived up to the hype. As it stands, Empty Me and Focus Shift remain my personal favourite cuts, and I'll certainly look to add some more Dark Tranquility to my collection - provided it's not quite full price. |
| Darwin Deez Darwin Deez | 4.0 |
| David Gilmour On An Island | 3.0 |
| Dead Letter Circus Dead Letter Circus | 4.5 |
Personally, the most exciting scene in Australian music at the moment would certainly have to be Alternative Rock, which has seen and is seeing the emergence of acts such as Butterfly Effect, Cog, Karnivool and recently Dead Letter Circus. To say this EP shows potential would simply be unfair, as it far exceeds the expectations one would have of such an early release. Every song brims with a confidence and style that makes every sweet melody and climactic high just that much more breathtaking, while also being brilliantly structured yet highly accessible.
Lines, Are We Closer? and Alien stand out, but then again so does the whole thing. Seek this out for a real treat, and also to jump on the growing bandwagon. You won't regret it. |
| Dead Letter Circus Next In Line | 4.0 |
| Dead Letter Circus This Is The Warning | 3.5 |
| Deftones White Pony | 2.5 |
| Delusion Twin A Damaged Machine | 3.0 |
| DevilDriver Pray for Villains | 4.0 |
| Devin Townsend Ocean Machine: Biomech | 4.0 |
| Devin Townsend Project Addicted | 3.0 |
| Django Django Django Django | 3.5 |
| Down NOLA | 4.0 |
| Down Down III: Over the Under | 3.0 |
| Dr. Dre 2001 | 2.0 |
| Drag The Way Out | 3.0 |
| DragonForce Inhuman Rampage | 2.0 |
| Dream Theater Octavarium | 3.0 |
| Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory | 4.5 |
| Dream Theater Falling into Infinity | 2.0 |
| Dream Theater Images and Words | 5.0 |
| Dream Theater Systematic Chaos | 2.5 |
| Dream Theater Train of Thought | 5.0 |
| Dream Theater Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence | 3.5 |
| Dream Theater Greatest Hit | 2.5 |
| Dream Theater Live at the Marquee | 3.0 |
| Dream Theater Black Clouds and Silver Linings | 2.0 |
| What an entirely unremarkable effort from a once exciting group. This may be a step up from Systematic Chaos, but the ideas on this record and execution of them by these well-known masters of "progressive" metal are tired and misguided, judging by Portnoy's constant reminders of everything being heavier and longer. I don't want longer songs or crunchier riffs - I want Images and Words pt2. |
| Dream Theater A Dramatic Turn of Events | 1.5 |
| dredg El Cielo | 3.0 |
| Echo and The Bunnymen Ocean Rain | 3.5 |
| Econoline Crush The Devil You Know | 3.0 |
| Electric Six Fire | 3.0 |
| Eleventh He Reaches London The Good Fight For Harmony | 4.0 |
| Eleventh He Reaches London Hollow Be My Name | 4.0 |
| Eminem The Eminem Show | 4.0 |
| Eminem Encore | 1.5 |
| Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP | 4.0 |
| Eminem The Slim Shady LP | 4.5 |
| Eminem Relapse | 3.0 |
| Perhaps Encore was just a bad dream? All I know is that this album is actually quite good. Yeah, I know, right? |
| Eminem Recovery | 3.0 |
| Eminem Relapse: Refill | 2.0 |
| Eminem Infinite | 2.0 |
| Eminem The Slim Shady EP | 3.0 |
| Engine Three Seven E37 | 4.0 |
| Engine Three Seven Atmosphere | 3.5 |
| Eskimo Joe Black Fingernails, Red Wine | 4.0 |
| Eskimo Joe Inshalla | 3.5 |
| Eskimo Joe A Song Is A City | 3.0 |
| Eskimo Joe Girl | 3.0 |
| Extortion Loose Screws | 3.5 |
| Eyefear A World Full of Grey | 3.0 |
| Ezekiel Ox Winter In Suburbia | 3.5 |
| Fleetwood Mac Rumours | 4.0 |
| Foo Fighters There Is Nothing Left to Lose | 3.0 |
| Foo Fighters Greatest Hits | 3.5 |
| Foo Fighters Wasting Light | 3.0 |
| Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand | 4.0 |
| Full Scale Revolution Full Scale | 3.0 |
| Full Scale Revolution Symptoms of Chaos | 2.0 |
| Gary Numan The Pleasure Principle | 3.5 |
| Genesis Turn It On Again: The Hits | 3.5 |
| Golden Era Records Golden Era Mixtape 2011 | 3.5 |
| Gotye Making Mirrors | 4.0 |
| Grinderman Grinderman 2 | 3.5 |
| Grinspoon New Detention | 2.0 |
| Grinspoon Best in show | 3.0 |
| Grumblecunt I Piss Shit | 3.5 |
| Grumblecunt's courageous revelation is a breath of fresh air in a stale genre. May I suggest a uroscopy, though? |
| Hellsongs Hymns In The Key Of 666 | 3.5 |
| Hilltop Hoods The Calling | 3.5 |
| Hilltop Hoods State of the Art | 4.0 |
| HORSE the band A Natural Death | 3.0 |
| Hunters and Collectors Human Frailty | 4.0 |
| Hunters and Collectors Living Daylight | 3.5 |
| I Heart Hiroshima The Rip | 3.5 |
| Ian Moss Matchbook | 2.5 |
| Icehouse Primitive Man | 2.5 |
| Incubus (USA-CA) A Crow Left of the Murder... | 1.5 |
| INXS Listen Like Thieves | 3.0 |
| INXS Kick | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast | 4.0 |
| Iron Maiden Brave New World | 3.5 |
| Iron Maiden A Matter of Life and Death | 2.5 |
| Iron Maiden Powerslave | 4.5 |
| Jackson Jackson Tools For Survival | 3.5 |
| Jericco Nice To See You | 3.5 |
| Jet Get Born | 2.0 |
| Jimmy Barnes For the Working Class Man | 2.5 |
| Jimmy Barnes Two Fires | 3.5 |
| Jimmy Barnes Soul Deep | 4.0 |
| John Butler Trio April Uprising | 3.0 |
| John Farnham Whispering Jack | 3.0 |
| The production on John Farnham's most famous album has aged badly, but there's no denying its wealth of singles and - of course - the great voice himself. A number of fillers spoil proceedings but Whispering Jack still stands as a pure, archetypal product of the mid-eighties Australian pop scene. |
| Kalisia Cybion | 4.0 |
| Approximately 10 years in the making, French metal virtuosos Kalisia have created a record that is almost as epic as the story behind it's creation. Beginning with the intention of creating an ambitious concept album comprised entirely of one whole song, Kalisia have certainly succeeded in this regard, as Cybion flows effortlessly from one part to the next for it's lengthy duration, leaving the listener little time to take a breather. More impressively, Kalisia leave few sub-genre's untouched, moving swiftly from symphonic to progressive death, industrial and even jazz metal all with a grace missing from most bands who flout so many genre boundaries. Even though Cybion lacks direction at times, it stands as an intriguing listen that has surprisingly eluded a record deal or official release even today. |
| Kamelot The Black Halo | 4.0 |
| Karnivool Sound Awake | 3.0 |
| Katatonia Brave Murder Day | 4.0 |
| Katatonia Viva Emptiness | 4.0 |
| Katatonia For Funerals to Come... | 3.0 |
| King Crimson Discipline | 3.0 |
| Kings of Leon Only By The Night | 3.0 |
| Ko Otani Shadow of the Colossus: Roar of the Earth | 3.5 |
| Lano & Woodley Sing Songs | 4.0 |
| Led Zeppelin Early Days/Latter Days | 4.0 |
| Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy | 3.5 |
| Liam Finn Champagne in Seashells (with Eliza Jane) | 4.0 |
| Limp Bizkit Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water | 1.5 |
| Linkin Park Reanimation | 3.0 |
| Linkin Park Hybrid Theory | 2.0 |
| Live Secret Samadhi | 3.0 |
| Live Birds Of Pray | 1.0 |
| Living Colour Vivid | 3.5 |
| Mammal Vol 1: The Aural Underground | 4.0 |
| Mammal The Majority | 3.5 |
| Mammal's debut studio album The Majority is the politically fueled rap-rock effort we were all expecting, minus quite the excitement one would expect from seeing them live (or listening to their brilliant live album Vol 1: The Aural Underground). Lead singer Ox holds no punches lyrically, and the instrumentation fluctuates wildly from soulful funk to hard rock with little effort, but while Mammal offer a little more variety than expected in terms of pure excitement or pure emotion, there's something missing here that withholds The Majority from reaching the electrifying heights they rise to in their live shows. Mammal have still created a great album, but it comes a distant second to witnessing the full Mammal experience in person, and that's slightly disappointing. |
| Mammal Mammal | 4.0 |
| Mammal Vol 2: Systematic/Automatic | 3.5 |
| Massive Attack Mezzanine | 2.5 |
| Mastodon Crack the Skye | 3.5 |
| Mastodon Blood Mountain | 2.5 |
| Matchbox Twenty Yourself or Someone Like You | 4.0 |
| maudlin of the Well Bath | 2.0 |
| Melodyssey The Two Windows | 3.0 |
| The Two Windows is yet another alt rock offering from a promising Australian band, whose music will sound eerily familiar to fans of most alternative rock in the country at the moment. Unfortunately, while this second long playing effort from Melodyssey was born out of much passion and hard work (it took the band 2 years to finally release the finished product), it doesn't quite stand up to recent releases by such bands as Trial Kennedy or Bird's of Tokyo, to name only a couple. Opener The Constant Rain is high in standard, and acoustic wonder Fall of the Star stands out as a highlight, but the rest only amounts to above average alt rock fare that fails to knock the socks off, which is what the public has come to expect from the current herd of Australian alternative rock bands. Instrumentally, Melodyssey are more than proficient (for trivia's sake, both they and Gold Coast darlings Dead Letter Circus share the same drummer), but the songs are going to have to take some serious spit and polish if Melodyssey are to break away and stand out from a rather impressive crowd. |
| Metallica Master of Puppets | 4.0 |
| Metallica S&M | 4.5 |
| Metallica ...And Justice for All | 4.5 |
| Metallica Ride the Lightning | 4.5 |
| Metallica Kill 'Em All | 3.5 |
| Metallica St. Anger | 3.0 |
| Metallica Reload | 3.0 |
| Metallica Load | 3.0 |
| Metallica Metallica | 4.0 |
| Metallica Garage Inc. | 3.0 |
| Metallica Death Magnetic | 4.0 |
| Sometimes there's nothing more oddly enjoyable than a primitive riff or insanely catchy chorus, things both prevalent on Metallica's much anticipated new album Death Magnetic. Epic The End of the Line recalls classic tracks Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning in both structure and authoritative style, while catchier offerings Cyanide and the brilliant All Nightmare Long present a pleasing mix of nostalgic thrash with the band's more recent foray into bluesy hard rock. Complaints of overly distorted sound quality are mostly hyperbolized, as such instances occur infrequently and have very little bearing on the album as a whole. And as a whole, Death Magnetic proves unashamedly fun, which considering the shambles that preceded it, is nothing short of triumphant. |
| Metallica Beyond Magnetic | 3.5 |
| Midnight Oil 20,000 Watt R.S.L | 4.5 |
| Midnight Oil 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 | 3.5 |
| Millencolin Home From Home | 3.5 |
| Mos Def The Ecstatic | 3.5 |
| Murder by Death Good Morning, Magpie | 3.5 |
| Muse Black Holes & Revelations | 3.5 |
| Nas Illmatic | 4.0 |
| neath The Spiders Sleep | 4.5 |
| With The Spiders Sleep, Brisbane band 'neath have delivered a progressive death metal LP that's anonymity beggars belief. With death vocals that sound eerily similar to famed Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt (and very nearly match in quality), and crunching riffs that deliver mostly on a purely primal level, 'neath have created an exciting piece of Australian metal that deserves attention. From the opening, thunderous moments of When the Birds Lie Dead to the truly epic soundscapes of closer Blank Identity Crisis, this promising act have created a highly consistent debut album that deserves to stand among the world's best in the genre. |
| neath The Small Untruths | 4.0 |
| Neil Young Harvest | 3.5 |
| Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea | 4.0 |
| Nevermore This Godless Endeavor | 4.0 |
| Nevermore Dreaming Neon Black | 4.0 |
| New Order Power, Corruption and Lies | 3.0 |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Let Love In | 4.0 |
| Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! | 3.0 |
| Nightwish Once | 3.5 |
| Nirvana Nevermind | 2.5 |
| Nobuo Uematsu Final Fantasy IX: Original Soundtrack | 4.0 |
| Nobuo Uematsu Final Fantasy X: Original Soundtrack | 3.0 |
| Nobuo Uematsu FINAL FANTASY IX Original Soundtrack Plus | 4.0 |
| Novembre The Blue | 3.5 |
| Obie Trice Cheers | 4.0 |
| Opeth Blackwater Park | 4.0 |
| Opeth Ghost Reveries | 3.0 |
| Opeth Damnation | 4.0 |
| Opeth Still Life | 4.5 |
| Opeth Deliverance | 4.0 |
| Opeth Watershed | 3.5 |
| Opeth Heritage | 2.5 |
| Over-Reactor Lose Your Delusion: Vol. 1 | 3.0 |
| Over-Reactor Lose Your Delusion Too | 3.0 |
| Parades Foreign Tapes | 4.0 |
| Paul Dempsey Everything Is True | 3.5 |
| Pendulum Hold Your Colour | 3.0 |
| Phil Collins Hits | 4.0 |
| Phoenix Down Under a Wild Sky | 1.5 |
| Phrase Clockwork | 4.0 |
| Phrase Babylon | 3.0 |
| Pink Floyd Meddle | 4.0 |
What you get with this record, is two diametrically opposed styles of Pink Floyd's sound. At one end, we have the simplistc blues and swagger of the likes of Fearless, Seamus and Roger's delightful San Tropez. The other sees the band move into the more atmospheric style they would stick with until the late 70's, with epic Echoes and brilliant opener One Of These Days giving hints at what was to come.
This meshing of styles shouldn't work, but with a little patience it eventually does. |
| Pink Floyd Animals | 5.0 |
| Pink Floyd The Wall | 5.0 |
| Pink Floyd The Division Bell | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd The Final Cut | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd Pulse — The Film | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon | 4.5 |
| Pink Floyd A Collection of Great Dance Songs | 2.5 |
| Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse of Reason | 3.0 |
| Pink Floyd A Saucerful of Secrets | 2.0 |
| Pink Floyd The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | 3.5 |
| Pink Floyd Relics | 3.0 |
| Pink Floyd Obscured by Clouds | 2.5 |
| Pink Floyd Pulse | 4.0 |
| Pink Floyd Echoes | 3.0 |
| Pink Floyd Delicate Sound of Thunder | 3.5 |
| Porcupine Tree Fear of a Blank Planet | 4.5 |
| Porcupine Tree In Absentia | 4.0 |
| Porcupine Tree Deadwing | 4.5 |
| Porcupine Tree Nil Recurring | 3.5 |
| Porcupine Tree Stupid Dream | 4.0 |
| Porcupine Tree The Incident | 3.0 |
| Powderfinger Double Allergic | 4.0 |
| Powderfinger Vulture Street | 5.0 |
| Powderfinger Odyssey Number Five | 5.0 |
| Powderfinger Internationalist | 4.5 |
| Powderfinger Fingerprints: Best of 1994-2000 | 4.5 |
| Powderfinger Parables for Wooden Ears | 3.5 |
| Powderfinger These Days: Live in Concert | 4.0 |
| Powderfinger Dream Days At The Hotel Existence | 3.0 |
| Powderfinger Mr Kneebone | 3.0 |
| This third EP by Australian rock veterans Powderfinger was the straw that broke the camel's back, as far as their management was concerned. After slow sales for their debut album Parables for Wooden Ears - which was let down by convoluted and ultimately poor songwriting - Mr. Kneebone was released and did little to deviate from what the LP had to offer. The stuttering song structures and sludgy production found here was enough for the band's management to sit them down and tell them to write shorter, catchier songs. A year later they released the Alt Rock masterpiece Double Allergic, which effectively launched Powderfinger into the echelons of Australian rock royalty for the next decade. Thank goodness for that. |
| Powderfinger Transfusion | 4.0 |
Prior to the release of their debut album Parables for Wooden Ears, Australian rock veterans Powderfinger
created two EP's steeped heavily in the swampish style their influences also shared. Transfusion walks a fine line
between bluegrass and grunge, and rarely falters providing the two. Killer opening track Reap What You Sow
sounds like a strange melding of Neil Young and Soundgarden, while the soulful epic Blind to Reason
highlights Fanning's striking, raspy voice that would soon mature into one of the most recognizable the country
would ever produce. The grunge in their sound mostly dominates on the eventual LP, which is a real shame
considering the awesome combination of styles here. |
| Powderfinger Powderfinger (The Blue EP) | 4.0 |
| Powderfinger's first ever release proves to be predictably dark, yet ultimately charming. The melodies are sweet, the chord progressions are familiar, and everything is presented in a tight, youthful presentation that will move you on either end of the emotional spectrum. Opener Take a Light immediately seems grunge, yet there's a subtle southern influence certainly playing it's hand here and throughout the record. Perhaps it's the playful harmonica and ramshackle piano in the gorgeous Freedom? Perhaps it's the almost hymn-like vocals and acoustic guitars of highlight Save Your Skin? Or maybe it's just Fanning's slight southern-American drawl, which he thankfully drops entirely on later releases? All I know is that Powderfinger were obviously capable of producing simple gold before they're much gloomier grunge-oriented releases. |
| Powderfinger Golden Rule | 4.0 |
| Protest the Hero Kezia | 4.0 |
| Protest the Hero Fortress | 4.0 |
| R.E.M. In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 | 3.0 |
| R.E.M. Automatic for the People | 3.0 |
| Rage Against the Machine The Battle of Los Angeles | 1.5 |
| Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine | 4.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium | 2.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers By the Way | 4.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication | 3.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Greatest Hits | 4.0 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magik | 3.5 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers One Hot Minute | 2.0 |
| Regurgitator Unit | 3.0 |
| Richard Wright Broken China | 2.0 |
| Robbie Williams Sing When You're Winning | 4.5 |
| Robbie Williams Intensive Care | 3.0 |
| Robbie Williams Escapology | 2.0 |
| Robbie Williams Reality Killed the Video Star | 3.0 |
| Roger Waters Amused to Death | 4.0 |
| Roger Waters In The Flesh | 4.0 |
| Roger Waters Radio K.A.O.S. | 3.5 |
| Roger Waters' second solo effort is flawed conceptually and hard to swallow occasionally, due to its overuse of now tired eighties production and corny synths. However, as usual his wonderful lyrics and songwriting talents save Radio K.A.O.S from falling through the cracks that so many dodgy solo albums have fallen through before. |
| Rook Add Colour | 4.0 |
| ROOT! Surface Paradise | 3.5 |
| Sepultura Nation | 2.0 |
| Serj Tankian Elect the Dead | 2.5 |
System of a Down are a hard band to categorize, yet have entertained me and many of my peers for many years, with their unique blend of nu-metal-esque rock with the occasional polka influence and social activism thrown in for good measure.
Unfortunately, lead singer Tankian has produced an effort that is nothing more than a poor caricature of what his band does much better. It's average, at times promising, but mostly silly. |
| Silverchair Diorama | 4.5 |
I've had a Silverchair surge recently. I've always been partially into them, and am a long-time fan of Neon Ballroom, but it's only recently that I've decided to fully delve into the rest of their collection.
Needless to say, Daniel Johns is an amazing song-writing talent, and this album perfectly represents his prowess in the studio. I think all of their albums have something to offer, but I find Diorama to be something really special if you want a musical experience a little different, but still hard-rock at heart.
Favourite tracks are probably Across the Night, The Greatest View and The Lever. It's solid throughout though, and I'd recommend it entirely. |
| Silverchair Young Modern | 3.0 |
| Silverchair Neon Ballroom | 4.5 |
| Silverchair Freak Show | 2.5 |
| Silverchair Frogstomp | 3.0 |
| Sleep Parade Things Can Always Change | 3.5 |
| Sleep Parade Mr. Identify | 2.5 |
| Sleep Station Blood of Our Fathers | 2.5 |
| sleepmakeswaves In Today Already Walks Tomorrow | 3.0 |
| Slipknot All Hope Is Gone | 2.0 |
| Something For Kate Beautiful Sharks | 3.5 |
| Soundgarden Superunknown | 2.5 |
| Soundtrack (Film) O Brother, Where Art Thou? | 4.0 |
| Soundtrack (Film) Moulin Rouge! - Music From Baz Luhrmann's Film | 3.5 |
| Soundtrack (Film) Rent | 4.0 |
| Sparkadia The Great Impression | 4.0 |
| Spineshank Self Destructive Pattern | 4.0 |
| Spineshank Strictly Diesel | 2.0 |
| Didn't dig this that much. Best tracks are probably Detached and the surprisingly impressive cover of George Harrison's sacred While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Much prefer the following two albums, which kick some serious bee-hind. |
| Spineshank The Height of Callousness | 3.0 |
| Staind Break The Cycle | 3.0 |
| Steven Wilson Insurgentes | 3.5 |
| Strapping Young Lad City | 4.5 |
| Strapping Young Lad Alien | 3.0 |
| Strapping Young Lad The New Black | 3.0 |
| Strawberry Switchblade Strawberry Switchblade | 3.0 |
| Syd Barrett The Madcap Laughs | 4.0 |
| Syd Barrett Barrett | 4.0 |
| Symphony X Paradise Lost | 4.0 |
| System of a Down Mezmerize | 3.5 |
| System of a Down Hypnotize | 2.5 |
| System of a Down System of a Down | 4.5 |
| System of a Down Toxicity | 4.0 |
| System of a Down Steal This Album! | 3.5 |
| Talking Heads Remain in Light | 4.5 |
| Talking Heads Little Creatures | 3.5 |
| Template I Thought I Turned the World But It Turned On Me | 3.5 |
| The Beatles Abbey Road | 5.0 |
| The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | 4.0 |
| The Beatles Love | 4.0 |
Wow. This is simply amazing. They changed enough without destroying what made the material great in the first place. Too many favourite tracks to mention, but I will urge you to listen to the renewed Within You, Without You with the added percussion from Tomorrow Never Knows. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds is a little bolder, and Get Back is oddly groovier than before aswell.
Overall, the best Beatles mix tape ever!  |
| The Beatles Revolver | 3.5 |
| The Cat Empire The Cat Empire | 3.5 |
| The Dandy Warhols Welcome To The Monkey House | 2.5 |
| The Dissociatives The Dissociatives | 4.0 |
| The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots | 2.5 |
| The Herd Summerland | 4.0 |
| The Herd stand as one of the premiere hip-hop acts in Australia at the moment, and their latest release Summerland only confirms this title, with infectious grooves, great vocals and the expected political slant contributing to what will no doubt be an even more enjoyable listen when summer actually rolls around on this side of the equator. Diva Jane Tyrrell provides soothing - almost sexy - vocals throughout, while leading men Ozi Batla and Urthboy keep the rhymes relatively fresh and smooth as ever. Catchy tracks ZUG ZUG and the stellar King is Dead add to what is already a pretty impressive album otherwise. Hip-hop has never been considered a traditional Australian musical genre, but this exciting octet nearly make you believe that it always was, or - at least - was always meant to be. |
| The Herd Sun Never Sets | 3.5 |
| The Killers Sam's Town | 3.0 |
| The Living End The Living End | 4.5 |
| The Living End State Of Emergency | 4.0 |
| The Living End White Noise | 4.0 |
| The Lonely Island Incredibad | 3.0 |
| The Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium | 3.0 |
| The Presets Apocalypso | 3.5 |
| The Presets Beams | 2.0 |
| The Presets Pacifica | 4.0 |
| The Rex Wicked The World Could Turn Around | 4.0 |
| The Smiths The Queen Is Dead | 3.5 |
| Third Eye Blind Third Eye Blind | 2.5 |
| Titus Andronicus The Monitor | 4.0 |
| To-Mera Delusions | 3.0 |
| Toehider Toe Hider | 4.0 |
| Toehider Metaltarsus | 3.0 |
| Toehider Old, Old, Old | 4.0 |
| Toehider Not Much of a Man | 4.0 |
| Toehider Children of the Sun | 3.0 |
| Toehider Toehider Too! | 3.5 |
| Toehider How Did Counterquistle Lose His Pyjamas? | 2.5 |
| Toehider In All Honesty | 3.5 |
| Tonic Sugar | 2.5 |
Compared to the rather successful Lemon Parade which preceded it, Sugar is a truly unspectacular effort. Whereas their near-perfect debut delivered big rock anthems with sweet melodies and no filler, this is watered down commercial rock which fluctuates from mediocre to alright throughout.
To verify it's banality, one of the songs featured on the soundtrack for American Pie. Now you have an idea. |
| Tonic Lemon Parade | 4.5 |
| Tonic Head On Straight | 3.5 |
| Tonic Tonic | 3.0 |
| Tool Opiate | 3.5 |
| Tool Ænima | 4.0 |
| Trial Kennedy New Manic Art | 4.0 |
| The Trial Kennedy's New Manic Art is one of the best Australian rock albums of the year. Simply catchy and amusingly whimsical in execution (the childlike vocals on single Colour Day Tours are cute and unexpected), this debut from a promising alt rock act should have flown a little higher over the radar upon release, yet unfortunately hasn't. Should we really expect such classy taste from the masses? Highly recommended for fans of catchy pop rock with an alternative twist. |
| Trial Kennedy Living Undesigned | 3.5 |
| Twelve Foot Ninja Smoke Bomb | 4.0 |
| Type O Negative October Rust | 4.0 |
| Type O Negative Dead Again | 3.5 |
| U2 The Best Of 1980-1990 | 4.0 |
| U2 The Best Of 1990-2000 | 3.0 |
| Urthboy The Signal | 3.5 |
| Various Artists (Hip Hop) 8 Mile OST | 2.0 |
| Wolfmother Wolfmother | 3.0 |
| Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) | 3.5 |
