Revival, Eminem's ninth studio album, arrived on Tuesday (December 19) and is described by Pitchfork as an overtly political record fuelled by the rapper's self-doubt.

According to the review, the result has many bland hooks and cringe-worthy punchlines, making it another late-career album that does little for his legacy.

The review goes back to the beginning: Infinite, released on a local Detroit label in 1996, was either ignored or dismissed by those who rejected his whiteness and his borrowed references. From that criticism he formed Slim Shady, the alter ego that channelled Marshall Mathers' darkest thoughts.