Sonic Perspectives’s album reviews that count toward B-Side Breakdowns: 30 reviews of 30 albums, going back to 2018, each next to the album’s Breakdown. 1 of them come from Wikipedia ratings boxes, mostly for older albums.
Top critics
- Mark Boardman 2 reviews
- Rodrigo Altaf 2 reviews
- Alan Cox 2 reviews
- John Kokel 2 reviews
- Jonathan Smith 2 reviews
13 reviews with no named critic yet.
What it reviews
- Metal & Punk 62%
- Rock 34%
- Indie & Alternative 3%
Find Sonic Perspectives
By the numbers
85average score it gives, on the 0 to 100 scale (30 reviews)
93%of its reviews score an album 75 or higher
6points: how far a typical review lands from its own average score
11different critics with a byline on its reviews here
60%of its scores landed within 10 points of the other critics’ average for the same album (30 albums)
8points, on average, between its release-week reviews and where the other critics ended up (15 reviews)
How its scores spread
- 0–490
- 50s0
- 60s0
- 70s7
- 80s13
- 90+10
Its top scores
Judas PriestInvincible Shield 95 Rodrigo Altaf
GhostImpera 95 Mark Boardman
TriviumWhat the Dead Men Say 94 
EnslavedMið 93 
Deep PurpleWhoosh! 93 Rodrigo Altaf
MegadethThe Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! 91 
Steven WilsonThe Harmony Codex 90 Scott Medina
GojiraFortitude 90 Brian Masso
Every review
| Critic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EnslavedMið“It’d be understandable for any band to lose their spark after consistently putting out records for several decades. Yet, Norwegian quintet Enslaved are an exception to the rule, as they’ve…” | not named Read the review | 93 9.3/10 | 85 | Oct 28, 2026 |
 GhostSkeletá“About three years ago, your intrepid reporter/reviewer had the temerity and good foresight to name Ghost’s Impera the Album of the Year for 2022. Every cut was strong. The lyrics…” | Mark Boardman Read the review | 73 7.3/10 | 76 | 2025 |
| Judas PriestInvincible Shield“We’re still in March, and the list of “best albums of the year” keeps getting new entries at a jarring pace. One of such entries is the highly anticipated Judas…” | Rodrigo Altaf Read the review | 95 9.5/10 | 86 | 2024 |
| Steven WilsonThe Harmony Codex“As we approach the autumn of 2023, amazingly the phenomenon of “lockdown albums” still continues. Our newest case-in-point: “The Harmony Codex”, Steven Wilson’s 7th solo release. With his previous album…” | Scott Medina Read the review | 90 9.0/10 | 78 | 2023 |
 YesMirror to the Sky“Wonders never cease. Left for dead as a recording entity after the abysmal “Heaven & Earth” in 2014, progressive rock patriarchs Yes returned in 2021 with the surprisingly listenable album…” | not named Read the review | 88 8.8/10 | 83 | 2023 |
 Metallica72 Seasons | Jorge Pozo Read the review | 79 7.9/10 | 74 | 2023 |
| GhostImpera“Tobias Forge is a seer. A prophet. A diviner. I know. That’s quite a statement from a protestant pastor (that would be me) when talking about a band leader who…” | Mark Boardman Read the review | 95 9.5/10 | 83 | 2022 |
 ScorpionsRock Believer“I was just a kid in 8th grade when I wrote my first music review for my school newspaper in the very metal town of Albuquerque, NM. The year was…” | Alan Cox Read the review | 79 7.9/10 | 75 | 2022 |
 Black Label SocietyDoom Crew Inc.“Few modern acts have the zeal of the doom-trooping brotherhood of fans following Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society. It is in homage to this brotherhood that the band names its…” | John Kokel Read the review | 80 8.0/10 | 80 | 2021 |
 Iron MaidenSenjutsu“Perhaps the oldest dilemma in the arts is the struggle between the desires of the artist’s patronage, and the desires of the artist himself. Many of the most celebrated albums…” | John Kokel Read the review | 85 8.5/10 | 83 | 2021 |
 EstuaryWolves In The Throne Room“Pondering metaphysics from the forest gloom. Often times the nature of a given craft will be determined by its surroundings, and this is doubly so in the case of the…” | Jonathan Smith Read the review | 86 8.6/10 | 76 | 2021 |
 Rise AgainstNowhere Generation“Rise Against been at the forefront of the mainstream punk rock scene for the better part of two decades, rocketing to fame following breakout album “Appeal to Reason” in 2008.…” | Samantha Buckman Read the review | 76 7.6/10 | 75 | 2021 |
| GojiraFortitude“After wiping out everything in its path with “Magma”, French progressive metallers Gojira return to tear apart and conquer once again the metal scene with the release of its seventh…” | Brian Masso Read the review | 90 9.0/10 | 78 | 2021 |
 Foo FightersMedicine at Midnight“Legendary rock band Foo Fighters decided to no longer postpone the release of “Medicine At Midnight”, their upcoming tenth studio album, choosing February 5th to finally unveil their most diverse,…” | Brian Masso Read the review | 84 8.4/10 | 73 | 2021 |
| Deep PurpleWhoosh!“With more than 50 years of a lustrous career under their belt, almost too many lineup changes to keep track of, and a genuinely unstoppable nature, Deep Purple is back…” | Rodrigo Altaf Read the review | 93 9.3/10 | 81 | 2020 |
 Primal FearMetal Commando“Onward, speed metal soldiers! While the old adage of the times continuing to change has largely held true, there are certain bands where it applies only to the bare minimum.…” | Jonathan Smith Read the review | 90 9.0/10 | 92 | 2020 |
 ToolFear Inoculum“Tool fans have earned the ultimate award of patience: 13 years separate 10,000 Days from the band newest album Fear Inoculum which drops tomorrow. But just as they thought, the…” | Friedrich Stenzel Read the review | 90 9.0/10 | 82 | 2019 |
 Within TemptationResist“There are a handful of bands, such as AC/DC, who have successfully built a lengthy career making the same record over and over again. Sometimes the formula is effective enough…” | Alan Cox Read the review | 80 8.0/10 | 71 | 2019 |
 SaxonThunderbolt“The New Wave of British Heavy Metal stopped being a new affair more than 40 years ago; nonetheless, some of the bands birthed in that musical vessel are still forging…” | Joel Barrios Read the review | 83 8.3/10 | 81 | 2018 |
 Primal FearApocalypse“On August 10th, German power metal outfit Primal Fear will deliver Apocalypse, the band’s 12th studio album released over its two decades of existence. The band’s recording history is both…” | not named Read the review | 74 7.4/10 | 85 | |
 Killswitch EngageAtonement“Forgiveness favors the ambitious. The U.S. metalcore scene has seen some rough times since the end of the previous decade. Whether it was due to the fatigue that generally follows…” | not named Read the review | 78 7.8/10 | 78 | |
 SaxonCarpe Diem“Four years shy of reaching their fiftieth anniversary, the South Yorkshire metal institution Saxon is about to release their new album – the first of original material since 2018’s “Thunderbolt,”…” | not named Read the review | 78 7.8/10 | 79 | |
 SaxonHell, Fire and Damnation“Saxon‘s latest offering, “Hell, Fire and Damnation” marks the legendary band’s 24th studio album and a powerful return to their roots in British Heavy Metal. Scheduled for release on January…” | not named Read the review | 83 8.3/10 | 71 | |
 AcceptHumanoid“Vintage traditionalism meets the biomechanical age. Technology seems to be an ever-encroaching influence on music, spanning every genre from the likely targets of EDM to a greater extent while also…” | not named Read the review | 89 8.9/10 | 82 | |
 TriviumIn the Court of the Dragon“Heavyweight metallers Trivium knocked fans off their feet with the formidable 2020 release “What The Dead Men Say.” With a glowing review and the number one placement for Sonic Perspective’s…” | not named Read the review | 89 8.9/10 | 85 | |
 Battle BeastNo More Hollywood Endings“From rivalry, improvement is born. Music is not something that you can just quit, according to the 1992 Beethoven Lives Upstairs depiction of said legendary composer, but it would seem…” | not named Read the review | 81 8.1/10 | 75 | |
 Bruce DickinsonThe Mandrake Project“1984 is generally regarded as the greatest year in metal. The release of Iron Maiden’s “Powerslave,” Dio’s “The Last In Line,” Judas Priest’s “Defenders of The Faith,” Saxon‘s “Crusader” are…” | not named Read the review | 80 8.0/10 | 78 | |
| MegadethThe Sick, the Dying… and the Dead! | not named Read the review via Wikipedia | 91 9.1/10 | 76 | |
 Napalm DeathThroes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism“Where losing becomes winning. It seems that wherein any brand of extreme metal is concerned; all roads seem to lead towards the hardcore scene of the early 80s. Few understand…” | not named Read the review | 81 8.1/10 | 85 | |
| TriviumWhat the Dead Men Say“There’s something to be said for the raw emotions embroiled in teenage angst, the purity in youthful anger at the world, the despairing sort that lends itself well to the…” | not named Read the review | 94 9.4/10 | 86 |