For instance, Allmusic's Alex Henderson described the album as " one of the strongest albums of the 70's " and " EWF's crowning achievement ", and Billboard Magazine called it " a very tightly produced and performed package ".

Giving a 4 / 5 star rating, Allmusic's Alex Henderson noted the varied styles despite the album's heaviness and that King's X " addresses spiritual concerns without trying to force its beliefs on anyone.

" Allmusic's William Ruhlmann considers that the band's follow-up to # 1 Record " lacked something of the pop sweetness ( especially the harmonies )" of the debut but captured " Alex Chilton's urgency ( sometimes desperation ) on songs that made his case as a genuine rock & roll eccentric.

Allmusic's Alex Henderson writes that, " Many of the British artists who emerged during that period had a neo-soul outlook and were able to blend influences from different eras ".

" Allmusic's critic Alex Henderson wrote in his review that " Black Earth was a promising debut for Arch Enemy and is among the Swedish combo's more consistent and memorable efforts.

Allmusic's Alex Henderson gave it three stars out of five, and said that " the band's sound hadn't changed much, and time hadn't made its sledgehammer approach any less appealing.

Allmusic's Alex Henderson awards the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, and claims that Testament " delivered its best offering ever " and describes it as " every bit as brutally forceful as The Legacy.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Vaughan as " the leading light in American blues " and developed " a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre ".

Coe's debut album, Penitentiary Blues was described as " voodoo blues " and " redneck music " by Allmusic's Thom Jurek.

Allmusic's Theresa E. LaVeck described it as " an extended evening lullaby: soft, sweet, and sleepy ( think Simon & Garfunkel lite ).

Allmusic's Bruce Eder, comparing Lizard to its two predecessors, described the songs saying " are longer and have extensive developmental sections, reminiscent of classical music ".

Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia described them as " till revered in underground circles as doom-grind pioneers ... works remain genre classics ".

Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia described Disembowelment as " till revered in underground circles as doom-grind pioneers ... works remain genre classics ".< ref name =" Rivadavia "> Justin Donnelly of Metal Forge declared they were " the legendary unground Australian doom / grindcore / ambient act " and " often referred to as merely a doom band, the sort of music ... is actually far more than eclectic and broad sounding than simply labelling them to one particular genre ".

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described him as " the catchiest, smartest professional mainstream pop songwriter of the early 2000s.

Allmusic's Ross Boissoneau has described this album as " perhaps the most overlooked item in the Yes catalog ".

The album received a 4. 5 / 5 rating from Allmusic's Matt Carlson, who commented on the album's " explicit exploitation and genuinely disgusting humor ", and described it as " thirteen songs full of general punk sloppiness and distortion performed in 14 minutes ".

Allmusic's Adam Greenberg described Slack Key Dreams of the Ponomoe as an ambient album with an " easy listening " sound accented with slack key motives.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four and a half stars out of five, and said that it " delivers a set of similar rockers and a handful of power ballads, including a revamped version of Harry Chapin's ' Cats in the Cradle '" and described the music as a " mixture of fizzy, fuzzy riffs, sing-song melodies, and calculated obnoxiousness isn't that offensive.

Allmusic's Joshua Glazer described the album as " a testament to what might have been, if only the band's four members lived in Manchester instead of Detroit.

" Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as " a vivid portrait of a seaside vacation where Difford's vignettes are made all the more vivid by Tilbrook's bright, invigorating pop.

Allmusic's Liana Jonas described the song " a lively and heartfelt song with electric-guitar power chords, spirited vocal delivery, and catchy chorus .".

Allmusic's Heather Phares described the album as more consistent than most remix collections and noted that it functions well as a record in its own right.

Allmusic's Heather Phares described it as " a pretty good overview of Grandaddy's evolution from shambling, fuzzed-out indie rock to the more ambitious, spacy sound of their later work ".

In his review of Opeth's 2001 album Blackwater Park, Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia wrote ; " Tracks start and finish in seemingly arbitrary fashion, usually traversing ample musical terrain, including acoustic guitar and solo piano passages, ambient soundscapes, stoner rock grooves, and Eastern-tinged melodies — any of which are subject to savage punctuations of death metal fury at any given moment.

The album garnered the admiration of critics, with Allmusic's Rob Theakston referring to the album as an " outstanding record " and Steve Jones of USA Today remarking that on the album EWF are as " vibrant as ever ".

* Allmusic's Greg Prato gave the album 3. 5 stars ( of 5 ), saying they " had improved their songwriting and strengthened their focus and musical approach.

Allmusic's Greg Prato awarded the album four and a half out of five stars and called it " one of Cooper's very best ; it remains one of rock's all-time, quintessential classics.

Allmusic's Steve Huey said that it " brought back some of the pounding speed of Reign in Blood for their third major-label album ", and addressed it to be " their most accessible album, displaying the full range of their abilities all in one place, with sharp, clean production ".

Allmusic's reviewer, Ned Raggett felt their early work had been " as goth as it gets ", while this album saw them " plunging into a wider range of music and style ".

Allmusic's album reviewer, Mike DaRonco, felt " the first two songs are great in that catchy, playful pop-punk sort of way, but the rest ... fall under the trap of having all their tracks sounding like one big, long song ".

Allmusic's retrospective review was largely negative, particularly criticizing the solo sides of Keith Emerson (" on the level of a good music-student piece, without much original language ") and Greg Lake ("" C ' est la Vie ," the featured single, says little that " Still ... You Turn Me On ," from their previous album, didn't say better and shorter ").

Allmusic's review praised the performances of Jeff Porcaro, David Paich, and Steve Lukather in passing but dismissed Isolation as " a Journey clone album, minus the aching ballads that had made Journey such a success.

Allmusic's review reflected on the album as a major change of direction for Toto, commenting on the anguished and highly vague philosophical lyrics and the focused, bluesy musical style.

" According to Allmusic's Thom Jurek, the album is a " triumph not only for Henry — who has set a new watermark for himself — but for American popular music, which so desperately needed something else to make it sing again.

The album received negative reviews upon its release .< ref name =" PM "> Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia gave the album one and a half out of five stars and wrote that the album has " gone down as one of heavy metal's all-time greatest disappointments ".

" Allmusic's later retrospective review was only slightly more forgiving, summarizing that the album " is more interesting for what it points toward than what it actually does.

In Allmusic's retrospective review of the album, the website gave it five stars out of five, calling it a " shambling wreck of an album " while at the same time " among the most harrowing experiences in pop music ; impassioned, erratic, and stark " and " the slow, sinking sound of a band falling apart ".

Allmusic's Bruce Eder praised the album, saying that it was better produced than their debut, but he also said that it " doesn't tread enough new ground to precisely rival In the Court of the Crimson King ".

Allmusic's John Bush praised the album, writing " Despite all attempts to sabotage his songwriting and production with innumerable experimental tidbits, songs within a song, and ( seemingly ) tossed-off arrangements, Damon Gough has to face the fact that he wrote and produced over a dozen excellent songs of baroque folk-pop for his album debut, and the many gems can't help but shine through all the self-indulgence.

" Allmusic's Mark Deming commented that " Newman's humor started getting more acidic with 12 Songs, but here even his most mordant character studies boast a recognizable humanity, which often make his subjects both pitiable and all the more loathsome.

Allmusic's Heather Phares called Ideal's initial effort a " heartfelt first album " which showcased the " group's smooth, sensuous vocal styling and romantic songwriting.

On 25 April that year Crime and the City Solution issued their second album, Shine, which Allmusic's Ned Raggett felt was " a touch less classically smooth and arranged, more rough around the edges and jagged, especially with Bonney's delivery ... his lyrics come across as distinctly unfriendly to a usual verse / chorus structure, sounding like a spoken-word recitation sung a line at a time ".