Layne Staley is gone and this album is not Dirt. For some people that's enough to disregard this new album. If you can come to terms with this, have a listen to 'Black Gives Way to Blue', the fantastic new album from Alice In Chains.

Megadeth's stock couldn't be higher right now. Recent releases have received favourable reviews and their line-up seems to have stabilised. They have a home at Mustaine's studio, "Vics garage", and once again they have Andy Sneap producing. Mustaine suggested this could be the best Megadeth album since 'Rust In Peace', so how does it stack up?

'Slipknot' still provides staples for the blistering live Slipknot shows and introduced the energy, aggression and fuck you attitude that would go on to take the world by storm. The album still feels vibrant although what once seemed so groundbreaking now seems so familiar. But what makes the "special edition" special. The album is nicely packaged with expanded artwork, alternate mixes, demo versions and bonus tracks.