In every sense, A Day at the Races is an unapologetic sequel to A Night at the Opera, the 1975 breakthrough that established Queen as rock & roll royalty. The band never attempts to hide that the record is a sequel – the two albums boast the same variation on the same cover art, the titles are both taken from old Marx Brothers films and serve as counterpoints to each other. But even though the two albums look the same, they don't quite sound the same, A Day at the Races is a bit tighter than its predecessor, yet tighter doesn't necessarily mean better for a band as extravagant as Queen…

Referred to as "the great white hope of progressive rock" by Rolling Stone; UK were one of the most influential and acclaimed supergroups of the 1970s. Originally formed in England in 1977 by keyboardist and electric-violinist Eddie Jobson (Roxy Music, Frank Zappa); vocalist and bassist John Wetton (King Crimson); guitarist Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine); and drummer Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, Genesis), UK represented the final statement of the classic progressive-rock era…

Shadows of the Dying Sun is the sixth studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium. It was released on April , 2014 via Century Media Records. It is their first album with new guitarist Markus Vanhala after previous long-time guitarist Ville Vänni departed in 2011.

Mandrake is the fifth album by German power metal band Edguy, released in 2001. It was their last studio album for AFM Records. They later signed a contract with Nuclear Blast.

Queen II was a breakthrough in terms of power and ambition, but Queen's third album Sheer Heart Attack was where the band started to gel. It followed quickly on the heels of the second record – just by a matter of months; it was the second album they released in 1974 – but it feels like it had a longer incubation period, so great is the progress here…

Without Brian Eno, Roxy Music immediately became less experimental, yet it remained adventurous, as Stranded illustrates. Under the direction of Bryan Ferry, Roxy moved toward relatively straightforward territory, adding greater layers of piano and heavy guitars…

The Wall was Roger Waters' crowning accomplishment in Pink Floyd. It documented the rise and fall of a rock star (named Pink Floyd), based on Waters' own experiences and the tendencies he'd observed in people around him. By then, the bassist had firm control of the group's direction, working mostly alongside David Gilmour and bringing in producer Bob Ezrin as an outside collaborator…

There aren't too many bands out there that can say they have been around for a decade, let alone a quarter of a century. For those few that manage to hit the twenty five year mark, some sort of celebration is usually in order. Some might go on a world tour and appeal to their aging fanbase, while others may record an album or release a collection of shelved demo tracks for the diehard followers to eat up. Of course, Therion have never been known to follow in the footsteps of others. Although the operatic symphonic metal style is all-too common in current metal culture, Therion carved out their own niche, unshackling from their death metal roots and taking a more sophisticated and experimental approach to the symphonic style. With that in mind, it's no surprise that Therion didn't decide to celebrate things the regular way; instead, they went ahead and did an album of 1960's French pop song covers…

One Man Dog drastically lowered expectations for a new James Taylor album, and those expectations were almost met by Walking Man, a more considered effort than its predecessor that managed to be just as trivial but even less interesting…

Fresh Cream represents so many different firsts, it's difficult to keep count. Cream, of course, was the first supergroup, but their first album not only gave birth to the power trio, it also was instrumental in the birth of heavy metal and the birth of jam rock…

2008 three CD collection from the man in black, packaged in a limited edition collectors 'tin box' that is a must have purchase for collectors and impulse buyers alike. A superb mix of 50's kitsch artwork and retro 'tin' packaging together with superior quality make this product both collectable and a perfect gift item. This fantastic triple disc set and 24 page book, features 45 classic tracks from his early years.

On Roxy Music's debut, the tensions between Brian Eno and Bryan Ferry propelled their music to great, unexpected heights, and for most of the group's second album, For Your Pleasure, the band equals, if not surpasses, those expectations…

This was the album by which millions of sons of late baby boomers (and sons and daughters of the early ones) first really discovered the Beach Boys, beyond hearing the occasional oldie on the radio. It was the summer of 1974, and the Beach Boys were still trying to get themselves back on track commercially after a seven-year commercial dry spell, when this double LP of their 1963-1966 material (all but one cut pre-dating Pet Sounds) came along and did the job…