New releases last eight weeks: Rock (All)

Review: Alice Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies celebrates its 50th Anniversary with this special Deluxe Edition which once again unleashes an onslaught of shock-rock brilliance. It is a landmark album that remains a pinnacle of Cooper's theatricality and musical prowess. With hits like 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' and the title track, the album is a darkly decadent journey through Cooper's twisted imagination and this all new edition across triple vinyl offers remastered tracks, rare demos and live recordings, all of which provided fans with a comprehensive glimpse into the album's creation. As such Billion Dollar Babies will captivate audiences both new and old with its blend of macabre theatrics and infectious rock anthems.

Review: The upcoming collaborative studio album between Liam Gallagher and guitarist John Squire is set to shine a refreshed light on the current state of Britpop. Consisting almost entirely of round-bellied rock, leading the charge is the arresting 'Just Another Rainbow' - here the pair are heard in neat unison, painting a picture of unfazed Gallagher-esque nonchalance in the face of a promised utopia - and 'Mars To Liverpool' - concerning the experience of realising a relationship is over before it's too late. Squire and Gallagher make for an exciting pairing, their synergy fleshed out by the album's stellar, full-bodied mix.

Review: For indie heads of a certain vintage, this album - a first full-length collaboration between Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher and former Stone Roses guitar-slinger John Squire - is one of the most hotly anticipated of the year. It was recorded in Los Angeles over a three-week period last year, with former Foo Fighters and Gorillaz studio don Greg Kurstin handling production. As you'd expect, the album is undeniably nostalgic, with Squire's variously funky, raw and bluesy guitar licks and Beatles-esque backing tracks providing a fitting vehicle for Gallagher's distinctive lead vocals. For proof, check recent singles 'From Mars To Liverpool' - where Squires' solos towards the end seemingly soar above reverb-laden backing vocals that accurately pay tribute to the Fab Four - and the more psychedelic Roses-meets-Oasis flex of 'Just Another Rainbow'. There are no surprises, but fans will love it.

Review: There's almost no point writing about this one - an album that already has legions of disciples waiting to embrace it, with pretty much everyone who knows the names Liam Gallagher and John Squire guaranteed to be interested in what their self-titled LP is about. More so, without even hitting play we all kind of know what it's about, with two of the biggest names to come out of Manchester's 1990s indie rock breeding ground coming together for a record that sounds every bit the sum of its parts. Squire's incredible guitar playing - a centrepiece of The Stone Roses' sound - is incredible as ever, sending riffs soaring over the dilapidated rooftops of North West England and out into the stratosphere. Meanwhile, Gallagher's elongated but gruff vocal style remains steadfast across ten anthems-in-the-making. Powerhouse stuff, but like we said, nobody expected less.

Review: There are few nu-metal bands from the formative late 90s/early 00s scene who achieved the monumental crossover appeal of Linkin Park. From their turntable spinning, frenetic rap-metal beginnings on 2000's global breakout Hybrid Theory, to the refined maturation of their formula on 2003's career-height Meteora, to their Jay-Z collaborative album Collision Course to the shedding of skin and rebranding as a genre-less alternative rock entity on 2007's Minutes To Midnight; as popular and accessible as they were, the band clearly constantly strived for sonic progression. Papercuts collects the highest charting singles from the group over two decades, with the most recent contribution being the previously unreleased 'Friendly Fire' recorded during the sessions for 2017's One More Light, which ultimately serves as the final new piece of recording from the band and vocalist Chester Bennington who would tragically take his own life later that same year. Ignoring the standard sequencing of a greatest hits which often lists the tracks in chronologically released order, here the cuts are compiled to sonically complement each other and reflect the band's ethos rather than a single line commercial pattern. Here is why the anthemic double platinum 'In The End' is juxtaposed with the minimalist rap-rock of MTM banger 'Bleed It Out', or why the previously unreleased fan favourite demo 'QWERTY' lands right between the U2 indebted 'What I've Done' and the original breakout single that started it all 'One Step Closer'.

Review: It's been seven years since the tragic passing of Chester Bennington and the abrupt end of nu-metal legends Linkin Park, while their legacy remains praised and intact by avid fans. Papercuts offers up a career-spanning greatest hits collection, yet rather than sequencing each bundle of tracks chronologically in terms of specific album release, the cuts are mixed with the design of flowing as naturally as possible, with the anthemic 'Faint' from 2003's Meteora rubbing shoulders with their iconic Jay-Z Collision Course collab 'Numb/Encore'. Elsewhere, 'One Step Closer'; the breakout single from 2000's genre-defining debut LP Hybrid Theory is followed directly by 'New Divide', which served as the lead single from the Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen soundtrack. From their rap-metal beginnings to their signature style of nu/alt-metal to the their calmer accessible later era, this compilation delivers a succinct yet sprawling distillation of Linkin Park's most vital contributions to the several dynamic scenes they helped to elevate.

Review: Now celebrating its landmark 50th anniversary, Pink Floyd's seminal The Dark Side Of The Moon remains a timeless masterpiece and is a groundbreaking fusion of progressive rock and psychedelic soundscapes. This iconic album, known for its conceptual brilliance and sonic innovation, continues to captivate with its introspective lyrics and haunting melodies half a century on and this 50th Anniversary Edition pays homage to the monumental work on some very special vinyl pressings and packaging. With its celestial tapestry of sound and thought-provoking themes, his record is often cited as one you need to hear before you die, and you really do.