I always have mixed feelings about Threshold; it’s always immaculately produced and played, but all their albums seem to sound like the same album. It sounds good when you play it, but you can’t remember the songs afterwards. Like the aural equivalent of Chinese food?

Opeth: Blackwater Park
I pretty much agree with your comments about Reveries. I’m no great fan of the Gunther Grunter style of vocals (“There can be only one, McLeod”) but Opeth balance them pretty well with the more melodic bits. Whilst I’ll probably never collect every Opeth release, I’ve played Blackwater Park twice in the last week so they must be doing something right.

Porcupine Tree: Nil Recurring
It’s PT. It’s one of the most majestic bands on this planet – and probably a few others too. ‘Nuff said.

Riverside: Rapid Eye Movement
A band that just keep getting better and better, IMHO. I think in ten years’ time this will still be one of my all-time favourite albums. Utterly gob-smackingly good, especially the title track – curiously only available on the two-disc special edition.

Thought Chamber: Angular Perceptions
Another one that I can’t just stop playing and another current A-lister. Intelligent prog and metal hybrid with some lovely bass-work.

Threshold: Hypothetical
I’ve only recently noticed how much I play Threshold, they’ve kind of snuck up on me – stealth metal. Fairly standard metal fare, but exceptionally well executed, which is why I probably I press play so often.

Mostly Autumn: Spirits of Christmas Past
A completely unseasonal spin for this one, prompted by the rather late shoving of the Christmas decorations up into the loft at Jones Towers. Awe inspiring vocals on Silent Night (tingle factor ten) even if I don’t much care for the rest of the EP.

Nightwish: Dark Passion Play
I’ve only ever really been interested in the music side of things, whatever the band, so haven’t really batted a mascara-laden eye at the P45-issuing that seems to have been keeping the undead up all day for the last year or so. Some thunderingly good bits on this latest offering, but still enough of a foot in the twee, eurometal sausage-machine camp to stop it getting five stars from me. I’m sure there was a ‘Symphonigotheurometalwithfemalevocalist’ preset on my late Grandfather’s Casio. I suspect I’m being unfairly picky, because on the whole it’s a cracker, but the cheesey formula bits do grate a little with me even if they’re in the minority. I put it all down to a lifetime of diligently keeping a subtantial body of water between Plastic Bertrand and myself.

Sylvan: X-Rayed
Another one for the Can’t Get Enough pile. I’ve actually played three Sylvan albums in the last few days, but this is easily my favourite. Prog with some heavy bits, rather than Death Metal with a token time-sig change thrown in. Not that I’m complaining about heavier stuff, heaven forbid, but I like a bit of light amongst the shade now and then.

Wishbone Ash: There’s The Rub/Locked In
Talking of tokens, here’s the sole retro item on the list – a result of a recent Ash vinyl-replacement purge. A frustrating pairing of my fave and least fave Ash albums on the same CD, but at under a fiver from Amazon I’ll not be losing sleep if I never play Locked In. I’m off to give There’s The Rub another spin, methinks, just as soon as Magnum finishes…