Anathema - The Optimist
“Less experimental than 2014’s fractious and melancholy Distant Satellites, The Optimist showcases the blissful chemistry that now exists within this particular line-up. There are still plenty of looped electronics and skittering beats lurking amid the sumptuous wash of multitracked guitars on the likes of Endless Ways and San Francisco, but there’s also an urgency that highlights what a great, straightforward rock band Anathema have become over the last 27 years.”
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The Magpie Salute - The Magpie Salute
“For all his recent solo ventures, Rich Robinson clearly misses making music with the Black Crowes. The Magpie Salute connect to his old band in more ways than its avian moniker, the nine-headed collective feeding from the same riffy traditions of blues, soul and gospel.”
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Rise Against - Wolves
“Their strength is in their inclusivity – yes, they’re from a punk background, but this is melodic hardcore with killer choruses to stir the hardest of hearts, bursting with a positive energy that channels your adrenaline until passive listening becomes all but impossible.”
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Raven - Reissues
“Although routinely overshadowed by Venom and Motörhead in the pages of metal history, Raven did more than most to inject the genre with the youthful vitality and snotty aggression that eventually led to the birth of thrash. Now well into their fifth decade as a band, the Geordie trio deserve to be properly reassessed, and these reissues of their first and third studio albums, and 1984’s almost comically vicious Live At The Inferno, offer a sturdy starting point.”
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The best new rock albums you can buy this week
