Back catalogue: All genres

Review: While many would chalk California's Papa Roach up to being another flash-in-the-pan late 90s/early 00s nu-metal outfit who had a few major singles and nothing more, dig a little deeper and their consistency and longevity makes them quite the exception to the rule when compared to their once peers in other forgotten groups such as Spineshank. Gearing up for what will be their 12th full-length studio album to be released later in 2025, serving as follow up to 2022's Ego Trip, the band have opted to reissue their much adored ninth LP Crooked Teeth. Originally released in 2017, the record has been praised for its sonic balancing between the more radio-rock oriented sound of their latter-day output and the dusting off of their rap-metal "old school" style prevalent on cuts such as the lead single title-track that swings from grooving hard rock to full on digitally produced rap bars, while a further signalling to their past selves in the modern era comes from the guest feature by hip-hop/pop-punk/pop star Machine Gun Kelly on 'Sunrise Trailer Park'.

Review: Dense, brooding riffs, macro-melodic tidal waves... Pelican's signature blend of post-metal-sludge is a piscine gulping of tsnuami-sound. Formed in the proverbially thalassic sonic expanse of Chicago, this band flocked together in 2000 at the core whim of guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec. Radically, Pelican initially described their approach to music creation as "rule-free", mirroring the perception of 1990s Chicago as a barbaric "free-for-all" in which an empty beaker of potential was confronted, and partially refilled, by the oceanic outpouring that was experimental post-rock. Long after their debut Australasia (2003) and career-migrations such as City Of Echoes and Arktika, came Flickering Resonance (2022), a record which was deemed to reflect a more "humanistic side of the band." The bleak landscapes evoked on 'Cascading Crescent' and 'Indelible' are no discourager for this band; they still maintain cavalcades of riffing stridencies and amphibious drumming.

Review: Having recently struck internet-age meme-gold thanks to iconic frontman (and sole original member) Bobby Liebling's iconic, seemingly "drugged out" gaze whilst performing live on stage, there really could be no more ample time for doom metal pioneers Pentagram to be releasing a new album. Returning a full decade on from 2015's Curious Volume, the band's ninth full-length Lightning In A Bottle offers up yet another entirely new revitalised lineup featuring guitarist/producer Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere), drummer Henry Vasquez (Legions of Doom, Saint Vitus, Blood of the Sun) and bassist Scooter Haslip (Mos Generator, Saltine), while the decades of performing, touring and admitted drug addiction have done little to dilute Liebling's looming presence and powerful vocal cadence. Unmistakeably still Pentagram, complete with heaving grooves and occult charisma, the material doesn't simply rethread past glories, but makes a vital case for the band's inarguable place in the doom metal cosmos, with Liebling balancing his aura with sobering introspection of his own years of opioid abuse on standout cuts such as 'Dull Pain' or the haunting 'Lady Heroin', where he ponders - "Lady Heroin, have I seen the last of you?" We hope so, Bobby, but we hope to see plenty more of you eyeballing fans in the front row whilst getting your macabre groove on.