When a genre-defining group like Metallica, whose past albums have rocked the charts with virtually no airplay, enlists the aid of a hit-making producer like Bob Rock, the result is bound to be monumental. METALLICA, their sixth studio release, surpasses ...

To its legion of fans, everything the band Tool does is an event, but the elaborate plan behind their sporadic release schedule--roughly five years, on average, between albums--is due primarily to the time and effort the band packs into each ...

"Schism" won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Approaching Tool's LATERALUS with a casual ear would be a careless endeavor, to say the least. The sheer magnitude of the musical and emotional textures is as heady as it is ...

In the grand tradition of Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. genre-hopper Kid Rock chooses to lay down his raps over a bed of rock-oriented electric guitar riffs instead of traditional hip-hop tracks and beats. Unlike the aforementioned ...

Metallica turned the metal world on its ear with their debut album, KILL 'EM ALL and then blew its mind with the follow-up, RIDE THE LIGHTNING. The riffs and arrangements are more intricate, the lyrics are more intelligent and biting ...

UNDERTOW is an example of nimble heavy metal in the angtsy/artsy tradition of Jane's Addiction. Tool favors medium tempos, which gives several of the group's songs a modern-day Black Sabbath feel, but fortunately lead singer Maynard James mostly steers clear ...

The shortest album of Black Sabbath's glory years, Master of Reality is also their most sonically influential work. Here Tony Iommi began to experiment with tuning his guitar down three half-steps to C#, producing a sound that was darker, deeper, ...

Following the death of Avenged Sevenfold drummer James "The Reverend" Sullivan in 2009, the band marched on, enlisting the help of Sullivan's drumming hero, Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy, for their fifth studio album Nightmare. Luckily, the sound of the band ...

Working with Hatebreed and Limp Bizkit producer Josh Wilbur, Lamb of God return to deliver the metal fury on their seventh album, Resolution. The album finds the band delivering one of its trademark sonic pummelings while refining its sound with ...

If you were wondering why Slash, one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, chose to throw in his lot with Myles Kennedy, one of the greatly undistinguished hard rock vocalists of his generation, consider this: if you spent your ...

Recording information: Area 51 Recording Studio, Celle, Germany; RMS Studio, Selhurst, England; SW Sounds; The Core, USA. Personnel: Phil Mogg (vocals); Vinnie Moore (guitars); Paul Raymond (keyboards); Lars Lehmann (bass guitar); Andy Parker (drums); Alexa Wild, Marino Carlini (background vocals). Audio Mixer: ...

SOME THINGS just go together...heavy metal and thunder...denim and leather...Saxon and Wacken. "When we first played Wacken, it was a small festival with a small stage in a small field, driven by nothing more than raw enthusiasm, which appealed very ...

The fans demanded it and the fans finally got it. After 20 years apart, the long-awaited Triumph reunion (of vocalist/guitarist Rik Emmett, bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine, and vocalist/drummer Gil Moore) took place at Sweden Rock Festival, on June 7, 2008. And ...

Track Listing: Levitation; Witchtripper; Open Coffins; Curse Is A Lie, The; This Work Is Timeless; Misfortune Teller;

As always, frontman Chad Kroeger's gritty voice remains Nickelback's calling card, and his emotive singing carries every tune, most notably the nostalgic "Photograph" and "Far Away," a tender, echo-laden ballad. Kroger has never met a guitar effect that he didn't ...

This is a Hyper CD, which contains regular audio tracks and also provides a link to the artist's website with the help of a web browser. It will always be a mystery how a grown man can spend his life wearing ...

Rising from the ashes of his old band the Yardbirds, session guitarist Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin, one of the most powerful, influential, and enduring British bands to emerge in the '60s. Despite the presence of such classic thrash-o-ramas as ...

By 1973, Led Zeppelin was getting used to being the biggest band on the planet (both financially and sonically). Letting their guard down and their spirits wander, they came up with the most widely varied album in their discography. Stylistically, ...

Left to their own devices on Here and Now, Nickelback have embraced who they are. Chad Kroeger's brow is no longer furrowed, treating rock & roll as an ordeal; he's stepped back a bit, allowing himself to have a good ...

Whether or not you're a fan of Steel Panther's ridiculously over the top glam metal, you have to appreciate their dedication. For a comedy rock band, they manage to tell a joke with a surprisingly straight face, jamming out sleazy ...

As Kiss approach 40 years of ridiculous rock & roll fun, it makes sense that their 20th studio album, Monster, is more self-referential than anything. Following 2009's Sonic Boom, the album marks the second set of tunes by a revamped ...

Nu-metal stalwarts Linkin Park return with their fifth album, Living Things, a more personal effort than their previous releases. Teaming again with Rick Rubin, who's worked on all of their albums since Minutes to Midnight, they continue to refine their ...

Forget Metallica, forget Megadeth, Anthrax, and even Slayer! The most formidable on-stage thrash metal powerhouse of 2011 was arguably the (mostly) reconstituted classic lineup of Testament: singer Chuck Billy, guitarists Alex Skolnick, and Eric Peterson, plus returning bass badass Greg ...

Chevelle have always been an interesting product of the post-grunge era. Imagine if Tool had a clean-cut younger brother who, while bearing a strong family resemblance, went off and played ball for a state college instead of going off to ...

The first in a two-part concept album, House of Gold & Bones finds Stone Sour returning from the relatively subdued sound of their last outing with fire in their belly, bringing some of the aggression back into their sound while ...