Hightime have successfully combined various musical influences into the one punk sound which makes for a punk rock record that never becomes stagnant or sounds too repetitive. The fact that there is an underlying feel good theme to most of the songs adds to the appeal of a strong debut release for this group.

Those of you who enjoyed Hawthorne Heights earlier material but lost interest when they became extremely boring will enjoy this record due to the band’s return to a darker, heavier sound that actually has some balls.

“Isolation” is a tightly crafted work of metallic hardcore. Words cannot describe how heavy this release is, you'll just have to hear for yourself. For head bangers and pit destroyers alike, this one’s for you.

Huge things come in small packages. And whilst toddlers, Highways create nothing musically ground-breaking through their first-ever release ‘Enjoy the Little Things’, what is achieved is a perfect demonstration of the potential this band holds, and a genuine ability to play true to all facets of this style. For pop/punk fans, this is a release that should not be missed – worth bags and bags more than it’s free download price. For the more mature listener – watch this name. For Highways, it’s an endless road ahead and they’re driving to the top.

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Heights are a UK band who make heavy metallic hardcore which at first glance is difficult to categorise, sitting somewhere between hardcore and post-metal. With this release they focus on the heavier side of their sound, and their melodic side takes a back seat. The album is impeccably produced and played, yet to me doesn’t inspire as many repeat listens as their EP did. Pick this up if you want to hear intelligently written hardcore that hits like a sledgehammer.

There are probably plenty of reasons to hate this band, the commercial elements, the fact they will be touring with Short Stack, the blatant American pop-punk rip-offs, and the fact that the one time I saw them live they totally sucked, but it can't be denied that as far as pop-punk goes, this is probably the best Australian release on offer.

I can't express how badly I recommend this album to traditional metal fans. The best modern take on the legacy of classic metal I've heard in a long time, Holy Grail are an irresistible, fierce, mind-blowingly talented band. Just listen, for the love of God listen!

The reasons for the pair's drastic genre change are only really known to them and really don't matter in the grand scheme of things as this record is good, and they seem better suited to this style. Heartsounds have released a solid debut and now have the tricky task of finding some band members and replicating this tight energy live.

On the whole 'Don’t Bite Your Tongue' has everything that a good pop-punk record should have, it’s good but nothing to write home, I wouldn’t say that it’s entirely original however still in their early days Handguns do have a lot of room to evolve and grow and I’m sure that will come in time.

Rarely does a band within the death metal genre come along and bring something new to the table. Her Majesty have released an impressive debut 5-track that will undoubtedly make waves within the Australian metal community. Although the EP feels like more like a series of high quality demos than a proper release, it features enough depth and diversity to hold interest for any fans of technical death metal.