Genres

Read on to find out why I think that "Miami" is a sonic journey that is richly limned by a wide range of synth moods, tones and timbres and given colour by the well-constructed lyrics and impassioned vocals.

Read on to find out why I feel "Beyond the Fallen Sky" is an album that surges with fun retro energy as it roams through a wide swathe of stylistic territory.

Helloween's 2021 studio album is the first to feature the band's all-star "Pumpkins United" lineup, including Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen.

Read on to find out why I enjoy the interwoven synth parts, contrasting emotions and sounds and shadowed moments on "Requiem Aeternam."

Read on to find out why I feel that "Invasion" is a tribute to all of the richness and complexity of synth-based music, along with a liberal dose of fun!

Read on to find out why I enjoy how Astoria Legend is bursting with glowing light, aching with nostalgia and full of emotional expression.

Read on to find out why I enjoy the mixture of surging energy, the rocking sensibility and eclecticism in the usage of synths on "Kitty Hate Machine."

Read on to find out why I enjoy "Forerunners" galactic journey across vast starfields that is painted with rich synth tones and timbres and moments of melodic beauty.

Read on to find out why I enjoy the way "Boardwalk Arcadia" is drenched in mingled melancholy and hope.

Read on to find out why I think "Can We Talk…" caresses the ears and touches the heart with a mixture of gentleness, melancholy and soft emotion.

Read on to find out why I feel "FALL OV MEN is a powerful maelstrom of battering drums, writhing synths with an atmosphere swollen with fear.

Read on to find out why I feel that Krusciovke Starship's self-titled album is melancholy, delicately glowing and touched with lost voices from a vanished era that echo out into the emptiness of space.

Read on to find out why I think "Disco Aggro Sessions" is an aggressive, entertaining and musically rich album.

Read on to find out why I enjoy the musical contrasts, dark New Wave synthpop sounds and expressive vocal performances on "Wild Imaginings."

Read on to learn about "Summers in Anniston" and find out why I enjoy this album's drifting magenta clouds, jazzy riffs and a sensation of enfolding warmth.

Aerosmith appeared on "MTV Unplugged" in the fall of 1990. Their performance has never been officially released on CD, but bootleg copies are fairly easy to find.

"2-4-1" is a compilation of the first two albums by the Ohio-based heavy metal band CJSS, featuring guitar wizard David Chastain.

Read on to find out why I feel that "WAVES" is an album exploring issues of being and becoming, along with loss and pain against a cosmic backdrop.

Read on to find out why I enjoyed Flamingo Jones' unique take on synth-based music on the emotive "A Cup of Good Smelling Coffee."

Jermaine Cole's sixth studio album might as well be his best-ever album in my book, due to the fact that it sees him reclaim the drive and hunger for the rap game that saw him burst into mainstream hip-hop. Check out "The Off- Season" review here.

Read on to find out why enjoy the feelings of energy, dynamism and the open road unfurling under the tires of a powerful car that "Runner" creates.

Read on to find out why I enjoy how "Home" creates luscious, intricate soundscapes that are full of hope, but touched by melancholy.

"Party Killers" is a collection of cover tunes by NWOBHM legends Raven, paying tribute to Slade, Deep Purple, Cheap Trick, and more.

Read on to find out why I feel that "Omnia in Omnibus" is a shimmering, lush synth tapestry that weaves together all manner of sonic textures and moods which inspire nostalgia and emotion.

"The Lost Songs: 1978-1981" is a collection of demos and rare tracks from the early days of Dokken.

While picking a cool rapper name for yourself can initially make you gain in popularity, it won't replace good rhymes and rhythm. If you have both, then you've got something good.

Read on to find out why I enjoyed the palette of contrasting auditory textures, melodies, harmonies and synth sounds on "Afterlife."

Read on to find out why I feel that Death Trap evokes feelings of terror and desperation and takes listeners into a disturbing journey into a homicidal slasher’s twisted mind.

Read on to find out why I enjoy the combination of diverse synths, intricate guitar work and unique musical touches on "Step Into Something New."

Girl In Red's debut album was described by Taylor Swift as spectacular. The Norwegian released the album on April 30, 2021 and I feel it is a masterpiece.

Read on to find out why I enjoyed the brooding horror movie feeling of "Resurrection." It's an album drenched in shadow, steeped in intricate guitar playing and touched with classical influences.

Read on to find out why I enjoyed the fresh but respectful takes that each of the remixers brought to the original material on "Let the Light In."

Read on to find out why I enjoyed how EP II seethed within a vast abyss of fear, darkness and unspeakable things.

"Tales, Sagas & Legends" is the latest album from Grimgotts, a symphonic power metal band from the UK.

Read on to find out why I enjoyed the mixture of billowing clouds of ambient synth, melodies that glow and shimmer with summery warmth and deeper, blue undercurrents of rich sound on "Curio."

"False Reality" is the first album by Project Resurrect, a new power/speed metal band from New York.

"Danzig 777: I Luciferi" is the 7th studio album released in 2002 by Danzig. It is an album that's like an acquired taste.

Read on to find out how "I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds" uses bleak sonic landscapes to create feelings of desolation, despair and darkness.

Ed Sheeran is a chart-topping talent; however, he can create a bad song (or 10) every now and then. These are the top 10 worst songs by singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.

"The Rack" is the very good debut album by Dutch doom and death metal band Asphyx released in 1991. It features the contributions of bassist and vocalist Martin Van Drunen.

Suicidal for Life is the very controversial studio album by American crossover thrash metal band Suicidal Tendencies released in 1994. It has the contribution of bassist Robert Trujillo (current bassist for Metallica).

Read on to find out why I enjoyed how "Process S" explores the fears, anxieties, hopes and dreams of people living in a futuristic dystopian worl

Read on to find out why I enjoyed the way that EP swims in shadows and is shot through with piercing moments of tension and terror.

In 1968, legendary jazz pianist Thelonious Monk performed at Palo Alto High School and gave perhaps one of his best live performances of his career. The recording was discovered by his son, T.S. Monk, some 36 years later—previously, it just sat on the shelf of the man who organized the event.

Read on to find out why I thought "Dawn of Delusion" was an unsparing attack on the ears and a stark, bleak, blunt comment on the parts of human life we don’t like to look at or discuss.

The 1988 debut album by German/American hard rock act Kingdom Come was constantly compared to Led Zeppelin, with many accusing the band of plagiarism.

Read on to find out why I thought that "Synthia" was a study in surprising, contradictory emotions woven from a synth palette.

Timeless Haunt, a horror-themed melodic metal band from Pennsylvania, released "Dark For Life" on Stormspell Records in March 2021.

Read on to find out why I enjoyed how Temporal uses a diverse combination of sonic textures to create a portrait of the emotions experienced by the time traveler in the tale.