Issue 113

David Bowie's final record was wonderful before he passed away, but with his death it gains new meaning: it's a look ahead at the future of rock music and what it can be, but it's also a deep examination of our own mortality. Bowie sprinkles jazz throughout and consistently keeps Blackstar from becoming a mainstream rock record at all, instead using his last chance to record as an opportunity to experiment. Read more.

Sleater-Kinney come roaring back from a hiatus that was much too long with what might be one of 2015's best rock albums. With all guns blazing and all speakers blaring, the women pound through rock riff after rock riff — and prove that, perhaps surprisingly, not much has changed in the past ten years. Read more.

Hinds is an all-girl indie rock and garage band that also throws in a touch of surf and layers everything with some incredible multi-part harmonies. Not to mention, they're from Madrid. Their eclectic range of influences merge together and give Hinds' brand of lo-fi rock a unique twist. Read more.

For blues fans, John Mayer's recordings with his trio might be the best part of his oeuvre. His 2005 live recording, Try!, is no exception. The band plays through an unbelievable set of originals and covers with lively musicianship and an impeccable sense of showmanship. Read more.

Metallica's 1993 live record feels like a best-of hits collection captured while Metallica was at their rowdiest, and not coincidentally, their most vile and least parentally appropriate. Also available as a three-disc live DVD from Amazon, fans will appreciate the time capsule, but occasional listeners will appreciate a look back into rock and roll's past, when megastars still commanded the world's biggest stadium and their craziest fans. Read more.