Back catalogue: All genres

Review: If you want blood... well, we all know what comes next. AC/DC are among the most marmite of stadium-sized rock bands, their consistency over the past six decades seen by some as relentless homogeneity. In reality, it's an auteur signature. We know, within three chords of school uniform-clad Angus Young's iconic Gibson, whose song, it is yet to the trained ear there are huge differentiations at play. From drawly blues through to seismic main stage energy. Highway To Hell is one of the group's seminal early outings, and any self-respecting fan should own it already. Although perhaps not in this stunning gold edition, released to celebrate the LP's 50th anniversary. Newcomers can expect an insight into the barrooms filled with sweat and spilt drinks from which this mega group came out of and a clue as to why Bon Scott, the lead singer who tragically died as they really hit fifth gear, will always have a place in our hearts.

Review: Live from the now closed down Hippodrome at London's Golders Green on October 27 1977, Problem Child offers an unadulterated earful of the Aussie rock giants in their earlier sonic heyday, complete with the legendary Bon Scott on vocals. Captured during their expansive run in promotion of their fourth Scott era LP Let There Be Rock, the set boasts some of the record's most timeless and bombastic cuts, from the iconic title track to the banging 'Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be' to the quintessential 'Whole Lotta Rosie', but there's still enough energy to pump out the frenetic closer 'TNT' in all of its original, raw abandon.

Review: Following up the worldwide smash Back In Black was going to be a tough job for anyone, but AC/DC brought the big guns in - more specifically, the big gun on its cover, which we also get to hear in full explosive effect on the album's title track, the kind of epic most bands save for their closer but here designated the opening tune. While it's fair to say not as many of the tracks here made it into AC/DC classic territory as on its predecessor, the sound of the now Brian Johnson-fronted team in full power mode dishing out groovers like 'Let's Get It Up' and 'C.O.D' is pretty irresistible, while 'Breaking The Rules' marks new ground for them - a slow motion, headnodding anthem with the band's long running anti-authoritarian stance writ large upon it.

Review: The Australian rock gods' third album is one of their most varied in moods and displays a new found confidence in their sound, with songs like 'Squealer' and 'Ain't No Fun (Waiting Round to Be a Millionaire)' containing rolling instruemntal section where the band hit a trademark riff and interlocking groove and simply let it ride. From the title track, with its sleazy tale of cash for violence, to the Stones-esque 'Problem Child' and the frenetic 12-bar closer 'Rocker', the band's closing song in their live set for many years to come, this is the sound of a legend being forged.

Review: It's 1977 and AC/DC are not-so-fresh after a spell as the support on Black Sabbath's tour. Looking for a new bassist, after a disagreement over whether to pick Manfred Mann's Colin Pattenden, the band agree on Cliff Williams, who would remain in place until 2003. Recording what became Powerage, their fifth studio album, Atlantic Records soon complained there wasn't a sellable lead single. 'Rock 'n' Roll Damnation' took form, one of the group's outliers, which comes without standard guitar solo but with maracas and hand claps. While this proved divisive among die hard fans, the album itself has gold waiting to be discovered deeper down. 'Gimme A Bullet', for example, has been cited as the finest track the late Bon Scott would write, his lyrical flair and deft metaphorical wit shining through on a tune that won't let up. This was his final LP, and tragically three years later he was no longer with us, marking an end to the group's iconic first chapter.

Review: The Best Of AC/DC, Live At The Nippon Seinenkan, Tokyo, Japan 4th February 1981. Renowned by some as one of the best live bands in history, this one hears the group during their Back In Black Tour, celebrating their most successful and rewarded album of the same name.It was the first time AC/DC toured with their new singer Brian Johnson, as well as the first time they toured the Far East. Pulling out all the stops during this stopoff in Japan, the band breaks out all the hits here; be that 'Back In Black', 'Highway To Hell', 'You Shook Me All Night Long', 'Whole Lotta Rosie' and 'Let There Be Rock'. This new edition from The Vinyl Champ is not to be trifled with.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Celebrating half a century of rock legacy, AC/DC's Back In Black gets a special edition release some 44 years after its original unleashing. The iconic album is well known for its thunderous riffs and anthemic choruses and though it is very much of its age, it solidified AC/DC's status as one of rock's greatest bands, despite the appearance of flat capped Geordie Brian Johnston in place of Bon Scott, who died tragically in 1980. With hits like 'You Shook Me All Night Long', live favourites 'Hells Bells' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution' and the title track, the album reached all-new heights of rock energy and big riffery and now this anniversary edition offers a fresh perspective on a timeless classic while showcasing AC/DC's enduring influence on the rock landscape.

Review: Guitarist extraordinaire and former Kiss vociferator Ace Frehley's tenth solo album 10,000 Volts is the sonic equivalent of Gakuryu Ishii's bolshy film 'Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts' - a massive, electrifying, out-of-this-world experience that embraces the pure shreddage of the electric guitar, in an ultimate face-off between human and machine. The analogy of overridden circuitry is unsurprisingly useful for evoking related emotions in Frehley's case, as on the title track, on which a perfectly phased-out riff accompanies the lyric, "She hit me like 10,000 volts, when I saw her face". Then come the covers, such as 'Walkin' On The Moon' and the equally raw in-your-facers such as 'Cosmic Heart' and 'Life Of A Stranger'. No fillers here.

Review: The Alarm lead singer and songwriter Mike Peters set up The Twenty First Century Recording Company in Prestatyn, North Wales in 1994 as a way of allowing his band to express themeless freely away from the conventional restrains of other labels. It remains the band's primary home and is where they land now with a remarkable 20th album. It comes after a time of illness and more than 40 years of writing big and anthemic rock tunes but still finds him serving up more of the same with plenty of epic riffs and singalong choruses. Get ready to be punching the air non-stop with this one.

Review: Half a century old and still kicking raw ass like it's still 1972, Alice Cooper's School's Out gets a deluxe reissue treatment befitting of such an iconic album. On this whopping triple-vinyl edition, Rhino have had the original album remastered so it's sounding better than ever, but of course there's heaps of bonus material to enjoy as well. You get the single versions of 'School's Out' and 'Gutter Cat vs. The Jets', an alternate version of 'Alma Mater' and an early demo of 'Elected'. On top of all that is a recording of the band's concert in Miami in 1972, recorded just before they stepped into the studio to lay down the album.

Review: For people of a certain age, their teenage years were defined by the edgy grunge, alt and punk rock sounds of bands like Alice in Chains. Three decades later their seminal sophomore effort, Dirt sounds as good as it ever did and gets an anniversary reissue to mark the occasion. It comes with plenty of powerful drums and big-ass basslines as well as yelping vocals and fuzzy textures that take in a range of emotions and even bigger riffs. This issue features a special insert and comes across four sides of vinyl so it's nice and loud, just as intended.

Review: America's self-titled debut album staked the claim for just one band to name their musical wares after an entire nation, ensuring psychedelic rock stardom from the go. This reissue from Friday Music is a by-the-book rendition, looking back on the 1971 opus which contained the laa-ing hit single 'A Horse With No Name', which cropped back up in popularity in recent years for its inclusion in the TV series Breaking Bad. All the songs, though, are quality soft rock dirges, mixing skilful falsettos with stereo'ed guitars and an earnest folk aesthetic.

Review: Harbor is the seventh studio album by American folk rock trio America, released in 1977. Produced by longtime Beatles producer George Martin, it was a comparative flop to some of their earlier albums, although it did at least go some of the way to cement itself in the collective rock fanatic psyche. Now this reissue by Music On Vinyl presents the original album exactly as it was, and it's the first ever vinyl repress.

Review: British rock band Atomic Rooster - made up from members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown aka organ player Vincent Crane and sticks man Carl Palmer - had success in the 70s and 80s. They went through some mad stylistic changes in that time but remain best known for their hit singles 'Tomorrow Night' which hit number 11 in the UK charts and number four gem 'Devil's Answer', which both came in 1971. Neither of them feature on their self-titled album and debut from 1970 which itself made the Top 50 of the UK album charts, but it still packs a real punch with a prog rock feel.