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 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.

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.

According to Allmusic's Richie Unterberger, the very first use of feedback on a rock record is the introduction of the song " I Feel Fine " by The Beatles, recorded in 1964.

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 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 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 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.

" Kerosene ", one of Atomizer < nowiki >'</ nowiki > s standout tracks, is viewed by both Azerrad and Allmusic's Andy Kellman as the band's peak performance.

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

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.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Ball three out of five stars.

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

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it three stars out of five and said that " Sponge's sense of alternative rock goes back as far as Pearl Jam, or maybe only Stone Temple Pilots, judging from the hit single ' Plowed.

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.

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

" 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.

Allmusic's Sean Hickey says, " According to the composer, Density 21. 5 is based on two melodic ideas — one modal, one atonal — and all of the subsequent material is generated from these two themes.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Heather Phares wrote in Allmusic's biography of Pavement that, with Demolition Plot J-7, Pavement " had begun to forge influences into its own signature sound.

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 ".

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 Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album a five out of five rating, writing that " it serves as a reminder of the sheer brilliance of the music within this peerless show.

Allmusic's François Couture gave the album's 1984 remix 3 out of 5 stars.

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 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 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 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.

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

Allmusic's Bret Love wrote that " The group's high testosterone and volume levels, and virtual lack of funkiness, ensure a somewhat limited appeal, but for angry young men with too much pent-up energy, the powerful aggression of < nowiki > Snappin ' Necks </ nowiki > must be close to heaven.

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 ".

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 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 ").

" 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 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 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 Ned Raggett review of Live Seeds noted that " some fans consider many of the songs on album to be superior to their studio equivalent – a testament to its overall quality ".

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 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 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.