This may sound like sacrilege to some, but back in the ye olde days, I wasn't the biggest Guns 'n' Roses fan going around. I liked them, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't fanatical about them. When the band apparently folded in the early 90's, I didn't shed any tears.

I guess that's why I was surprised to find myself drawn into the hype around Chinese Democracy.

Any album that takes 14-15 years to make has to be worth a listen, if for no other reason than to see if it was worth the wait, and the expense.

To be honest, I can't see Chinese Democracy as being a Guns 'n' Roses album. To me, it's an Axl Rose solo project. He's clearly surrounded himself with some of the best hired guns that money can buy. Robin Finck and Buckethead are two names that spring to mind, and two reasons why I decided to give the album a shot. When I popped the disc into the player, I have to say I was expecting the tracks to have a more 'industrial' tinge to them, based upon the 'Oh My God' track that popped up on the 'End of Days' soundtrack.

While all the hype pointed to a sample laden, prog style rock extravaganza, Chinese Democracy does not quite go that far. Many of the tracks are traditional guitar rock, introduced by some loops or samples, with some piano thrown in for good measure. Actually, far to much piano. A few tracks leave you wondering if Axl was trying to recapture the November Rain vibe.

Here's a track by track, blow by blow run down.

1. Chinese Democracy
Fade in intro and samples run for a solid minute before the song gets cracking. Might build anticipation on first listen, but is just plain annoying the next time you want to listen to the song. Once the guitars kick in though its a solid heavy rock track. 7/10

2. Shackler's Revenge

This track sounds like it was heavily influenced by Buckethead. There's a driving industrial vibe to the track and it'd rate as one of my favorites off the album. It's more like I'd expected the album to sound. 8.5/10

3. Better

I don't know what to think about this track. It verges on pop, has a catchy hook, has a tasty guitar solo, but still leaves me feeling a little 'blah'. 7/10
» Read the rest of the entry..

Even though it was released in 2006, "Louder Now", the third album from Taking Back Sunday, has become one of those albums I just can't take out of my cd player.

The tone of the album is heavy rock "happy hardcore", with liberal lashings of pop thrown in for good measure. I'm sure that Taking Back Sunday get written off by a lot of people as being just another "emo/screamo" band, but do so would be a little harsh.

Standout tracks on the album are "MakeDamnSure", "Error: Operator", "What it feels like to be a ghost" and "Liar (It takes one to know one)". All tracks that will make you feel like singing along and breaking out the air guitar.

A lot of the A grade materials is spat out first up (with the exception of "Error: Operator"), but that's not to say that the second half is poor. It's just that the first half of the album sets such a high standard.

Whether it's a good or bad thing, Taking Back Sunday have become somewhat of a serial soundtrack band, contributing songs to soundtracks from films such as Fantastic Four, Spider-man 2 and Elektra. Anyone else notice the comic books link?

Would I recommend "Louder Now"? Yes, as an introduction to Taking Back Sunday it's a great place to start. If you like the more recent stuff from bands like My Chemical Romance, The Used and Funeral for a Friend, then you'll like this.

I have to admit, the first few times I listened to the first single from the new Silverchair album, Young Modern, I wasn't all that impressed. Yet I found the chorus addictive and found myself singing it at the most inopportune of times. Clearly then, Young Modern was an album that demanded I give it some more attention.

I've got the entire Silverchair catalogue, and there's no doubt that there is has been a gradual progression in the bands sound. The early albums were very much classic/heavy rock inspired, however over time the sound has grown, no longer as heavy, but far more intricate.

Young Modern is the logical progression of Diorama. At times the tracks remind me of a grand 1960's musical with orchestration and harmony akin to the Beach Boys, Pet Sounds album. My favourite track from the album is the three part epic, "Those Thieving Birds (Part 1) / Strange Behaviour / Those Thieving Birds (Part 2)". It has a little bit of everything.It's ambitious, sweeping and any other words you can think of that would describe something a big and slightly left of centre.

Initially I was inclined to write Young Modern off as an album that would have been released by The Dissociatives had they taken off globally. But in hindsight that was unfair. Young Modern has grown on me like a fungus.

If your after Frogstomp or Freakshow era Silverchair then this album will disappoint. However, if your after something a little more on the theatrical rock side, this will definitely float your boat.

The 1994 debut album from Nas, 'Illmatic', is highly regarded. It turned up at number 400 in Rolling Stone's list of the top 500 greatest albums of all time. Being a lemming, I thought it was about time that I checked it out, so I picked up the 10th anniversary edition (that includes the six track bonus disc). I was first introduced to Nas via his collaboration with Korn on the track 'Play Me' from Korn's 'Take a look in the mirror' album.

The 'Illmatic' features production from Large Professor (of Main Source), Pete Rock (of Pete Rock & CL Smooth), Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest) and DJ Premier (of Gang Starr), and carries an old-school hip-hop vibe. It's got the hip hop style beats, mixed with horn, piano and string samples that remind me a little bit of Public Enemy. Production wise, the album is quite organic sounding, particularly in comparison to a lot of the slick sounding, highly compressed tracks that are coming out at the moment.

Lyrically, Nas sounds like a man with something to say. Not much in the way of "thong and booty" rhymes here. My favourite track from the album is 'The World Is Yours', although I also have a soft spot for 'Life's a bitch'. Call me sentimental!

How do I compare it to Jay-Z's 'Black Album'? Personally, I like the 'Black Album' more than 'Illmatic', but the two are different enough in style (particularly in terms of production) that it's not really fair to compare them.

If you have an appreciation for early 90's hip hop, then chances are you'll already have this album, and if you don't have it already, you should definitely be adding it to your must buy list.

I've had "10,000 Days" since it was released. Six months or so have passed since I first picked it up, however it's only been over the past month or so,  that I've really spent any time with it. I think it only fair that I review it now.

As you can probably guess, "10,000 Days" is not an album easy to digest, it takes more than a single listen to take hold of you. There are two or three songs that instantly jump from the speakers an snap kick you to the face (single "Vicarious" and "The Pot" being two of them), but by and large this album will only be appreciated after several listens.

As a whole "10,000 Days" runs at around 80 minutes, and is listed as having 11 tracks. With that being said, a couple of those 11 tracks are studio experiments, or soundscapes such as "Vigniti Tres", so the cynical listener could argue that there is quite a bit of filler in there. A couple of the tracks run at over 10 minutes, prompting some to suggest self indulgence... but then, if you suggested that you wouldn't really be a Tool fan then would you?

Tool aren't the most prolific band going around, with there albums spaced roughly five years apart, but what they do they do well. The odd time signatures, metallic riffs, melodic bass lines, primal vocals. They definitely have a signature sound, and that's on show here, but makes you wonder, if they were pumping out albums every 18 months, would people still be listening? Does their sporadic nature add to their aura?

How does this album stack up against previous Tool efforts? Well, the high points on "10,000 Days" sit comfortable next to the best tracks from "Ænima" or "Lateralus". Unfortunately, as mentioned above, there is quite a lot of filler in relation to traditional tracks. This is arguably why "10,000 Days" will not be regarded quite as highly as it's two predecessors. Still, "10,000 Days" stands out like a beacon on the 2006 music landscape. Let's just hope we don't have to wait until 2011 for a followup!

To be perfectly honest, I hadn't heard of Clutch until about 12 months ago. A mate, and massive stoner rock fan, got me listening to one of their earlier cds. I loved it, although could never remember the name of it. On a recent trip to the record store I spotted Robot Hive/Exodus in the metal section and had to buy it.

Released in 2005, Robot Hive/Exodus is riff driven stoner rock. It's like a rock opera version of a Kyuss album. Sleazy rock riffs leading into more rock riffs, with gravel style vocals. Robot Hive/Exodus may be a concept album, but I'm not really sure.

The cover art is full of humanoid robots set in almost medieval surroundings. I'm sure it's making some kind of statement, but I haven't picked it up yet because the riffs are too good. The songs flow into one another and at times it's like a relaxing kick to the head.

Get this album if you like Queens of the Stoneage 'Rated R' or stoner rock from the mid to late 90's.

Audioslave are often labelled a super group. One part Soundgarden, three parts Rage Against The Machine. For me, they don't quite live up to the supergroup hype. I'm a huge Chris Cornell fan, and have been for a long time, his solo album was highly under rated I thought, so what I'm about to say kinda hurts me. I find the latest Audioslave album, 'Revelations', a touch disappointing, and I can't help hoping Chris Cornell either goes solo again, or finds a new supergroup to hook up with.

'Revelations' sounds like more of the same. Take the vocal's of Chris Cornell out of the equation and I'm not sure I'd give it the time of day. With him in the equation it becomes listenable. There are some catchy moments, the lead single 'Original Fire' for example, which features a strong backing groove, but by and large there isn't a lot on here to help this stand apart from their previous effort.

Tom Morello makes use of his Digitech Whammy pedal and abuses some wah, in trademark Rage Against The Machine style, but his 'signature' effect laden lead lines are starting to wear a little thin.

If you were to take the best songs from this album, and the best songs from their previous release 'Out Of Exile', and put them on one album then you would have a solid release. If your already an Audioslave fan, then this album will most likely satisfy you. If your not already a fan, then this album won't be the one to convert you.