Devin Townsend: Z2 review – beautiful and bewildering
Cinematic mischief and opulence are on offer from this Canadian metal man who could be poised for a mainstream breakthrough, writes Dom Lawson
Scott Walker + Sunn O))): Soused review – rich in imagination and surprisingly accessible
The combination of an avant-garde auteur and an experimental metal duo is more alluring than it might sound, writes Phil Mongredien
Slipknot: .5: The Gray Chapter review – Iowan rockers’ suitably unhinged return
Despite the death and departure of two key members, Slipknot’s first album in six years is as warped and explosive as anything they’ve done, writes Dom Lawson
Scott Walker + Sunn O))): Soused review – menacing but surprisingly melodic
The collaboration between Scott Walker and experimental drone-rockers Sunn O))) is a menacing but surprisingly melodic treat, writes Jon Dennis
Exodus: Blood In, Blood Out review – feral energy and refined catchiness
The Bay Area thrash legends’ return to the brutal simplicity they helped define 30 years ago is welcome indeed, writes Dom Lawson
Godflesh: A World Lit Only By Fire review – pioneers of heavy experimental music return
Justin Broadrick’s most celebrated band return with more crushingly heavy riffs and machinistic unease, writes Dom Lawson
Electric Wizard: Time to Die review – immense hypnotic power
Their recent welcome into Shoreditch hipster favour has fortunately not seen the band compromise their monumental, mesmerising desolate sound, writes Dom Lawson
Cannibal Corpse: A Skeletal Domain review – their most absorbing record in years
Cannibal Corpse stick to their formula of straightforward brutality and lyrical grotesquery with winning results, writes Dom Lawson
Opeth: Pale Communion review – strange, intricate prog-metal genius
Sweden's Opeth return with another uncompromisingly creative but admirably coherent record, writes Dom Lawson
DragonForce: Maximum Overload review – wickedly infectious metal
With plenty of anthemic choruses and flashes of ingenuity, the group proves they're no one-trick power-metal ponies, writes Dom Lawson
Wovenwar: Wovenwar review – former As I Lay Dying members return in force
After the shock of their singer's jailing for a murder plot, As I Lay Dying's former members return with a fierce and fresh metalcore sound, writes Dom Lawson
Knifeworld: The Unravelling review – complex, mischievous psychedelic rock
The second album from these intuitive oddballs conjures up a psychdelic sonic realm all of their own, writes Dom Lawson
Judas Priest: Redeemer of Souls review – Metal Gods back on track
After some worryingly erratic musical behaviour in recent years, Priest sound more in love with metal than ever here, writes Dom Lawson
Black Sabbath review – unfettered joy to hear landmark rock sound
Ozzy Osbourne was on chipper form in front of a 55,000-strong crowd, as his band delivered rolling riffs that sounded as if they could have flattened Mayfair, writes Michael Hann
Arcade Fire, Metallica, Elbow: Alexis Petridis’s Glastonbury 2014 roundup
Lily Allen stemmed the downpour, Arcade Fire overcame their mud aversion, Metallica broke Glastonbury's heavy-metal taboo – but the odd act sank in the quagmire. Alexis Petridis reviews Friday and Saturday at the festival