Cinderella blast back with a live album. Live At Mohegan Sun [Frontiers] has all the tracks you wanna hear – Night Songs, Shake Me, Gypsy Road – although you just know it would have sounded so much better two decades ago.

The Foo Fighters’ Greatest Hits [Roswell/Sony] is exactly that. All the band’s finest – and most obvious – moments from the past 14 years. To help entice those who feel they’ve got everything, the band have thrown on two new songs – Wheels and Word Forward – plus a previously unavailable acoustic version of Everlong. There’s also a deluxe edition with a bonus DVD and a book. Christmas pressie for Foo fans? Oh, it’ll fly.

The title says it all for Within Temptation. An Acoustic Night At The Theatre [Roadrunner] is precisely what you’d expect. Classy, stylish, polished yet most definitely live. People still compare Within Temptation to Nightwish or Evanescence – they’re probably better than both.

Slayer albums – all the same really. That might be some people’s view. But true fans can always tell the difference between a really strong Slayer album and one that’s ‘merely’ good. World Painted Blood [American] is in the former category. Not just brutally seismic, but also having a vibrant, varied dynamic. The best bit of Slayer this decade.

Mention Creed and watch people cringe. So, their first new studio album in eight years is not likely to get a celebratory response from most. However, Full Circle [Virgin] is not merely Pearl Jam with Christian overtones. If anything, it’s more Alter Bridge with Scott Stapp. Not exactly essential, but far from redundant. Incidentally, check out the video for new single Overcome at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2-59aAaO7E

Aussies Wolfmother come roaring back with second album Cosmic Egg [Universal]. Sorry, did I say ‘roaring’? Well, not quite. They’ve revamped the line-up, gone for something a little more esoteric but the reality is… where are the songs? They simply are not quite god enough. Not much bite and bristle from this Wolf.

Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty has done his first solo album in 16 years. Fear not, it’s got little to do with endless drum solos [thankfully], and everything to do with exploring some richly melodic and progressive ideas. Sitting On The Top Of Time [Easy Action] is very mature, very laid back, but entirely enjoyable when you’re in a comfortable pair of slippers.

101 South are so polished they should be sponsored by Clark’s shoes. Still, the manicured Malibu mob’s latest album U-Turn [AOR Heaven] is palatable – albeit in small doses. But this is melodic hard rock that makes Toto sound like Immortal. Talking of whom…

If you like the idea of a black metal Motörhead, then Immortal’s All Shall Perish [Nuclear Blast] should be on your shopping list. It’s got massive grooves and enough riffage to make Simon Cowell cower in confusion. That’ll do nicely.

Finally, Pelican show how to combine underground metal values with a real progressive edge. The Americans’ latest album What We All Came To See [Southern Lord] is just vehemently hypnotic. With records such as this around, is it any wonder that the term ‘prog’ is cool again?

– Malcolm Dome