Bonus Album:
The Holy Bible 20th Anniversary
Manic Street Preachers (Alt. Rock)

Track Listing
1. "Yes"  
2. "Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldfallapart"  
3. "Of Walking Abortion"  
4. "She Is Suffering"
5. "Archives of Pain"
6. "Revol"  
7. "4st 7lb"  
8. "Mausoleum"  
9. "Faster"  
10. "This Is Yesterday"  
11. "Die in the Summertime"  
12. "The Intense Humming of Evil"  
13. "P.C.P."  

Best album art ever. Not only is Razor the working model, but we get the track listing on the cover, so none of that turning the CD around bullshit! Okay, this is a bit of a cheat and that's why I put it as a bonus album. It was released 20 years ago originally (no shit) but The Manic's "The Holy Bible" is honestly my all-time favourite album. The first track - "Yes" - explores the world of prostitution, opening up with a quote from 1993 documentary Hookers, Hustlers, Pimps and their Johns ("You can buy her and you can buy her. This one's here, this one's here, this one's here and this one's here... Ev'rything's for sale") it details the bleakness of the world of prostitution and even features genital mutilation" ("He's a boy, you want a girl so tear off his cock") and that's only the opening track! Track 2 brings us to the prejudices of the US and the UK ("Vital stats, how white was their skin? Unimportant, just another inner-city drive-by thing") and the commercialism and shallowness of the modern world. Through the rest of the album issues such as depression, anorexia, fascism, necrophilia, glamorisation of murderers, self-harm and love and lust are explored in what makes the bleakness of "The Holy Bible" KoRn's self-titled debut, Nirvana's "In Utereo" and every Radiohead album ever look like Take That albums. It's not for the faint of heart, and you may not even like it. But give it a couple listens, try and make sense of the lyrics (almost a Herculean task) and appreciate the bleak beauty of this Welsh musical masterpiece.

Stand out tracks
Faster, 4st 7lb, Archives of Pain

Album 5:
Life in Lucidity
The Kindred (Prog. Rock)

Track Listing
1. "Wolvish"
2. "Heritage"  
3. "Everbound"  
4. "An Evolution of Thought"  
5. "Decades"  
6. "Millennia"  
7. "A Grand Debate"  
8. "Seekers & Servants"  
9. "Dreambender"  
10. "Like a Long Life"

Formerly known as "Today I Caught The Plague" (fuck me that was a better name), The Kindred's 2014 contribution is in no man's land of progressive rock's "This shit is too simple/boring" and "This shit tries too hard to be complex" in the sense that it's not simple, but it isn't overtly complex and that's a good thing. The vocals on this album are impressive, and, along with the name change, the band seem to have dropped all metalcore influence. This album is pretty simple but a good listen for fans of prog. rock.

Stand out tracks
Wolvish, Millennia, Everbound

Album 4:
Self Titled
Royal Blood (Rock)

Track Listing
1. "Out of the Black"  
2. "Come On Over"  
3. "Figure It Out"  
4. "You Can Be So Cruel"  
5. "Blood Hands"  
6. "Little Monster"  
7. "Loose Change"  
8. "Careless"  
9. "Ten Tonne Skeleton"  
10. "Better Strangers"

Here that? That's a drum kit and a bass guitar. Yeah, a fucking bass guitar. Throw in a tambourine here and there and some powerful vocals and you've got the making of the rock duo Royal Blood's self titled debut album. Upbeat songs supporting fairly saddening lyrics, most songs seem to be about the same thing; the struggles of relationships without getting too far into the depressing. It's radio-friendly rock music and a good album, my only issue is it gets a bit samey.

Stand out tracks
All of them. Seriously, they're that similar nothing stands out.

Album 3
Rooms of the House
La Dispute (Post-Hardcore)

Track Listing
1. "HUDSONVILLE, MI 1956"  
2. "First Reactions After Falling Through the Ice"  
3. "Woman (in mirror)"  
4. "SCENES FROM HIGHWAYS 1981/2009"  
5. "For Mayor in Splitsville"  
6. "35"  
7. "Stay Happy There"  
8. "THE CHILD WE LOST 1963"  
9. "Woman (reading)"  
10. "Extraordinary Dinner Party"  
11. "Objects in Space"  

Right, so La Dispute are one of if not my favourite band. That said, Rooms of the House is probably their weakest album as it is the only album that I can't relate to in any way. Each song is meant to be a snapshot of a significant moment in the character's life embodied in the room they were in at the time (or something along those lines). The album is a lot more focused and less chaotic than there prior two full lengths. Again, Jordan Dreyer's lyrics are very well thought out and serious, with little satire or humour thrown in and again they are the focal and highlight of the album. Each song is about real events, though the characters in them are fictional. My problem is, I've never had a loved one caught in a natural disaster while I'm at home, fairly safe and having no way to contact them. I've never fallen through ice into the cold. I've never lost a child. As far as I can tell, I've never had anything bad happen to me, or that's what this album would make me believe. The album is pounding and doesn't stop, almost taking on the determination of a runaway train, a disaster that surprisingly isn't mentioned in the album.

Stand out tracks
First Reactions After Falling Through the Ice, For Mayor in Splitsville, Stay Happy There

Album 2
Home, Like NoPlace Is There
The Hotelier (Post-Hardcore)

Track Listing
1. "An Introduction to the Album"  
2. "The Scope of All of This Rebuilding"  
3. "In Framing"  
4. "Your Deep Rest"  
5. "Among the Wildflowers"  
6. "Life in Drag"  
7. "Housebroken"  
8. "Discomfort Revisited"  
9. "Dendron"

Get the razor blades ready, this is one of the most depressing albums of the year and if released in 2007 or whenever it was cool to be depressed this album would have been a chart topper. The Hotelier's first release (one other release under "The Hotel Year") "Home, Like NoPlace Is There" at first appears to have a pedantic, annoying title but after listening to the album, you understand why they went with it. The aptly named opener - "An Introduction to the Album" starts off almost anthem-esque, rather upbeat and cheerful, with the undertone of something sinister brooding before throwing you into the abyss of despair that is the rest of the album. The biggest strength of this album is the dynamics used in each song, building up, dying off then shooting right back up. The album is basically this; a friend struggles with depression before committing suicide. You're left with the rebuilding process. The songs are personal, and the lyrics can really strike home for you (hey, there we go the title's starting to come into play). "Your Deep Rest" in particular is an intense strong, the protagonist (is that the right word?) blaming themselves for the suicide of their friend, evidenced by the pseudo-chorus of the song ("I called in sick from your funeral - The sight of your body made me feel uncomfortable -I couldn’t recognize your shell" "I called in sick from your funeral - The sight of your family made me feel responsible -And I found the notes you left behind - Little hints and helpless cries - Desperate wishing to be over" "I called in sick from your funeral (I called in sick, I called in sick) - Tradition of closure nearly felt impossible (I called in sick, I called in sick) - I should have never gave my word to you - Not a cry, not a sound"). As someone who has lost two friends and a relative to suicide, this album really hit me. Except "Housebroken" being a metaphorical dog was a bit shit. The album's title is "The Wizard of Oz"'s most famous line - "There Is No Place Like Home" - backwards. And that's just what it means, sometimes being told there's no place like home can be the exact opposite of comforting. Sometimes you've got to move on rather than go back. Sometimes, you've gotta stay in Oz if you want to progress.

Stand out tracks
Your Deep Rest, An Introduction to the Album, Dendron

Album One
Holy Vacants
Trophy Scars (Experimental Rock)

Track Listing
1. "Extant"  
2. "Qeres"  
3. "Archangel"  
4. "Crystallophobia"  
5. "Burning Mirror"  
6. "Hagiophobia"  
7. "Chicago Typewriter"  
8. "Vertigo"  
9. "Gutted"  
10. "Every City, Vacant"  
11. "Everything Disappearing"
12. "Nyctophobia"  

Hey look! A concept album! So here's where Trophy Scars are in 2014. We've had post-punk, post-hardcore, blues-rock, rap-rock and everything in between from them through the years so labelling "Holy Vacants" as "experimental rock" seems apt. Finally they've released an album that isn't about lead vocalist Jerry Jones' fucked love life and addictions. Instead we have an album that wasn't meant to be an album. Originally written as a script for a musical, Jerry instead adapted it into album form. So here's the simplified story; two lovers discover the fabled fountain of youth. The only problem is that it's actually found in the red blood cells of angels. The vocals take some getting used to, but musically the album is phenomenal. Every blends so perfectly together and the production is so crisp and clean. The album builds to an epic adventure and the vocals (both male and female) end up haunting. I'll admit this album is an acquired taste, but once you get used to the odd vocal arrangements and start to listen to the whole package, you begin to appreciate and understand how well written both lyrically* and musically the album is. Kinda like The Dark Knight Rises with Bane's voice.

*Given the subject matter. Otherwise they're pretty ridiculous.

Stand out tracks
The "Phobia" trilogy, Burning Mirror, Chicago Typewriter, Vertigo