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 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 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 retrospective review generally praised the album for its emotional poignancy and relevance, and summed it up as " a group of simple, heartfelt songs played in spare arrangements on acoustic guitars and keyboards and driven by a restrained rhythm section.

Allmusic's Heather Phares praised Cibo Matto as " Fresh and funky ", and said of the album, " Viva!

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.

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 ".

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 ".

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

* 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 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 employee Ned Raggett gave the album a two and a half star rating, noting that " Live Undead isn't really necessary except for the hardest of hardcore fans in the end, especially in comparison to Decade of Aggression ," and saying that " Evil Has No Boundaries " was the best performance of the seven songs.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four stars out of five, and said that it saw the band " strip back their music to the basics " and was their " strongest and most vicious record to date.

Allmusic's John Bush felt it was " noisy record basically guitar feedback, synthesizer distortion and rigid drum programming ".

Allmusic's Sean Carruthers observed that Revell " was in a period of transition ... omewhere between the industrial noise of the early years and his later soundtrack work ".

Allmusic's retrospective review was resoundingly positive, marking every aspect of the band's transition from a jazz-influenced vein to a more experimental one as a complete success.

Allmusic's William Ruhlmann was less favourable and said " was familiar folk-rock, with Kelly singing romantic lyrics over acoustic and electric guitars and a rhythm section.

Allmusic's William Ruhlmann felt " it provides a good sampler of his work, accompanied by a full band rather than recent acoustic sets " and that its style was " melodic folk-rock with electric guitar for bite and often caustic lyrics ".

Allmusic's Steven McDonald was mostly positive towards the album, rating it three stars out of five and stating that " while not perfect, the album makes a nice alternative compilation ", noting that it shares the television series ' " blue-light glow of twisted mystery ".

A retrospective review by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was still mixed.

Allmusic's retrospective review echoed this sentiment with greater emphasis, declaring " Duke showcased a new Genesis ... but Abacab was where this new incarnation of the band came into its own.

Allmusic's review was resoundingly positive, noting that the album's thematic exploration of Cold War tensions " is dated and hasn't aged very well ... but the music is a pleasure.

Allmusic's retrospective review reported that when it was released, Machine Gun Etiquette was " deservedly hailed as another classic from the band ".

The song was popular with critics and fans ; Allmusic's Amy Hanson called it a " somewhat surprising hit ".

" 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 Stephen Thomas Erlewine was not impressed by INXS " playing a competent but unremarkable variation on droning new wave synth pop " but noted that Hutchence " exuded a powerful vocal charisma ".

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 ".

Allmusic's review of the original single argued that the song was the band's " crowning achievement ".

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine estimated that Cantrell was a reluctant solo artist who would prefer his work to be published through Alice in Chains.

As Allmusic's Richard S. Ginell writes: " Hands down, this epochal concert ... was the crowning event of George Harrison's public life, a gesture of great goodwill that captured the moment in history and, not incidentally, produced some rousing music as a permanent legacy.

In his review of the reissued album, Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that " the thought of a group of Insane Clown Posse protégés isn't exactly inspiring ", the album " may take you by surprise ... Mostasteless actually works better than most ICP records ," that " Twiztid often is more convincing than Dark Carnival colleagues ," and concluded that " if you don't buy into the whole comic book-horror schtick, Mostasteless ... will be irritating, but if you've bought into it, you'll enjoy this record as much, if not more, than most ICP albums.

Allmusic's Andy Kellman said it was " a daring way to introduce himself to the masses as an MC " and it " couldn't have forged his dual status as underdog and champion any better.