Ambitious and wide-ranging prog metal from Jolly on The Audio Guide To Happiness (Part 1); it won’t change your whole life, but it’ll change 46 minutes of it.

It’s been a five-year wait for The Octopus, the third album from Mancunian space-rockers Amplifier. Is it worth it? Depends what exactly you waited for, really.

Dave Wyndorf and the Monster Magnet circus roll into Manchester, and roll back out again leaving grins on every fan’s face, no matter how long-standing.

Who the hell are Left Side Brain? Based on Rifftrospective‘s look-back at a ten year career, they’re one of the best British alt-metal bands I’ve never heard of.

If the last few Monster Magnet albums have disappointed, Mastermind might be the one to win you back over with its solid consistency and classic Wyndorf stories.

The Contortionist may be named for a circus act, but their post-rock tinged technical prog metal sounds like pure space opera; prepare to land on the Exoplanet.

Page Hamilton’s back again; I didn’t hear the last two Helmet albums, but I’ll bet my bruised and paper-cut balls that they weren’t as good as Seeing Eye Dog.

Sludge-pop progenitors Torche have returned – though their new EP/album Songs For Singles is more short sharp heavy pop than sludge, most of the time.

Berlin threesome Rotor make a roaring dirty sludgy noise, but it’s crafty and angular and jazzy too. All kinds of post-whatever everything, right here. Good.

Melodic vocals, thrashy guitars, hypertechnical drumming and a bunch of industrial nastiness… Return To Earth have your end-of-the-world soundtrack right here.