* House of Pain biography by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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 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 ".

" 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 Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Ball three out of five stars.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Referred to as a " stoner rap " by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the lyrics are mostly surrealistic and nonsensical.

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 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.

Writing for Billboard, Michael Paoletta chose " Through the Rain " as a top pick from the album, as did Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Heavy three-and-a-half out of five stars.

" Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine says " it doesn ’ t just ride the coattails of VU ’ s legacy but deliberately co-opts their achievement -- but it ’ s listenable, something its

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Pretties for You three-and-a-half out of five stars.

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.

Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it a " nervy breakup tune.

" 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.

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

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 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 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 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 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 ".

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 ".

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.

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.

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 ".

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.

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.

" 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.

21 And Over remains highly regarded by critics such as Allmusic's Nathan Rabin, who calls it " perhaps the quintessential West Coast party album ".

Allmusic's William Ruhlmann sums up the album as balanced, and notes that the three hit singles were penned by Frey and Henley who would later go on to dominate the band.

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 Alex Henderson described it as " an album in which moments of intense brutality are followed by hauntingly melodic passages.

Allmusic's Bret Love wrote, " Hofstetter effectively rebels against the mainstream by positioning himself as the antithesis of the world's most popular comedian.

Allmusic's retrospective review asserted the opposite: that the album indulged in long and meandering instrumentation more than any other work by Traffic, with even the vocals doing no more than " improvising his melodies over the music, paying little heed to the meaning of the words ".

" Allmusic's Robert L. Doerschuk gave a somewhat positive review but emphasized the band's retro influences, stating, " A guest shot by Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis on " The Key to Gramercy Park " reminds listeners of the band's currency, but it's easy to mistake Commencement for an ' 80s artifact.

Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia named it an AMG Album Pick, noting that it tops its " brilliant " predecessor by " taking their unique sound to unprecedented heights of invention and inspiration.

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.

Rolling Stone describes " Scenario " as " the ultimate posse cut ", and in Allmusic's review of " Scenario " they say, " not only did Tribe make history on The Low End Theory by putting together one of the best hip-hop albums of all time, they also opened up a hole in the sky for the emergence of the ever-unique and talented genius of Busta Rhymes ".

According to Allmusic's reviewer, Johnny Loftus, " the band's hard-hitting, gristly sound -- led by Ox's vocal seethe -- caught the interest of American majors ".