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 Ned Raggett also commented on the emo connection in his review of Yank Crime: " Perhaps even more than the debut, Yank Crime solidified Drive Like Jehu's reputation as kings of emo.

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.

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 ".

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.

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 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 top-marks review states " The Chemical Brothers ' sound is big on bombast, replete with screeching guitar samples and lots of sirens and screaming divas.

" In its review of True Blue, Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that " she is using the music to hook in critics just as she's baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as ' Papa Don't Preach '.

Allmusic's William Ruhlmann gave Worship and Tribute a positive review, noting " Cosmopolitan Bloodloss " an AMG Track Pick.

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.

" 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 retrospective review showed a subdued reaction to the material, concluding " There aren't any forgotten gems on Empty Sky, but it does suggest John's potential.

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.

To quote Allmusic's review of the album, " Third Day has stripped away the shine and gotten back to the grittiness of being a rock & roll band.

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 retrospective review gave the nod to the band's mix of progressive rock and boogie rock as being unique, but contended that it also makes them less interesting than other progressive rock bands.

Allmusic's brief retrospective review dubbed the album " a competent but ultimately unnecessary live album that fails to live up to the standards of Supertramp's studio material.

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 brief retrospective review dismissed the album as " a colorless and tuneless collection of prog rock meandering ".

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

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.

In his review of the album, Allmusic's Brad Mills wrote that " this kind of music appeals to a small sector of hip-hop listeners and will probably do well within niche market, but the average hip-hop listener will just have to understand that this is a different kind of album.

" 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.

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 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 ".

Allmusic's review of the album Appetite of Kings noted the influence of the Sex Pistols, along with " aggressive pogo-punk ".

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 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 ".

" Burning Times " and " Stand Alone " were also some of Allmusic's track picks.

" Allmusic's Heather Phares wrote " La Foret may be more delicate and less immediate than some of Xiu Xiu's other work ( especially Fabulous Muscles ), but at its best, it may have even more impact because of that.

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.

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

Allmusic's Jason Anderson awards four-and-a-half stars out of five, and called it a " classic by the group's fans " and that it " is often mentioned as the pinnacle of the East Coast thrashers ' recording career.

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 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 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 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 Steve Huey called the songs " Battery " and " Damage, Inc .", " two slices of thrash mayhem ".

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 Tom Maginnis wrote a thorough review of " He War ," calling it " one of the heaviest rock songs " on You Are Free as well as one of the most produced.