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November 5, 2002 - Johnny Cash and Hurt

Five days after my last release a new artist briefly joins my library when Johnny Cash released his 67th (holy shit that's a lot!) album "American IV: The Man Comes Around" on November 5, 2002. But who is Johnny Cash? He is a country singer/songwriter from Nashville, Tennesee and this would be his final album before his death it turns out. I'm obviously not a big Johnny Cash fan, but I do have one song of his in my library, and it's actually a cover of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails! It's called "Hurt" and it sounds nothing like the original with Cash and an acoustic guitar driving most of the song. Cash plays some sad but decent acoustic guitar and and even at his old age his voice sounds quietly epic and very low. The lyrics are very sad as well, but Cash is absolutely nailing the sombre mood and despite the depressing vibes things sound really smooth and good. Some piano adds to the epicness in the louder but still soft chorus, then it drops...
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Oct. 31, 2002 - Alexisonfire and Alexisonfire

Two days after my last release a new band joins my library when Alexisonfire released their debut album "Alexisonfire" on October 31, 2002. But who is Alexisonfire? They are a five-piece post-hardcore band from St. Catharine's, Ontario consisting of drummer Jesse Ingelevics, bassist Chris Steele, lead guitarist and backup vocalist Wade MacNeil, rhythm guitarist and clean singer Dallas Green, and lead/screaming vocalist George Pettit. Alexisonfire are a unicorn in the hardcore community; at times they play some really fast, super heavy music with some very heavy vocals, and at other times they can be quite melodic and smooth with Green adding a beautiful singing voice as well. Let's see what Alexisonfire is all about! The album opens with ".44 Caliber Love Letter" and Green plays a slightly space-y and cool rhythm guitar riff while MacNeil plays some epic lead guitar overtop. The rhythm section eventually joins in to add some heavy oomph to the background and...
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Oct. 29, 2002 - Nirvana and You Know You're Right

Six days after my last release and eight years since the death of frontman Kurt Cobain, Nirvana released a greatest hits album called "Nirvana" on October 29, 2002. I hate greatest hits albums, but the first song on this one is actually a previously unreleased song that was recorded during Nirvana's final session before Kurt's death. That's pretty interesting! It's called "You Know You're Right" and it's got a quiet main riff with some super low bass by Krist Novoselic, some quiet but interesting guitar by Kurt and a quiet verse to match. Once Dave Grohl comes in on the drums things shift to much louder and heavier and Cobain plays some cool guitar while also holding some typical long and grunge-y notes. After another quiet verse and nice loud chorus things get even more distorted and more heavy and this is a pretty sweet tune! Cobain sounds great, he's playing tons of distorted and cool guitar and it's just such a shame that he's...
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Oct. 23, 2002 - Mimi Kajiru

A day after my last release and almost two years since their debut EP "Ho (Ootori)", Maximum The Hormone released their second EP "Mimi Kajiru" on October 23, 2002. Maximum the Hormone are still playing the same style of hardcore punk/nu-metal, but they are a little less raw and more polished on this new EP. Let's check it out! The album kicks off with "Nigire!!" and Nao plays a catchy drum beat, Maximum the Ryokun sings a catchy chorus riff (albeit in Japanese so I have no idea what's going on) and he also plays some catchy guitar. They slam into a super heavy verse with some great bass by Ue-Chang, some nice heavy guitars and some great screaming vocals by Daisuke-Han. He is just belting out some great ling screams, and things also briefly break into a funky part with some faster rapping vocals by Daisuke. For a song this heavy, it's quite fucking catchy and having Japanese lyrics doesn't stop me from singing along to the catchy chorus by...
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October 22, 2002 - Shaman and Adouma

On the same day as my last release and over three years since "Supernatural", Santana released their 19th album "Shaman" on October 22, 2002. This album continues the theme of last album with several famous guests helping out, but I only have one song off this album, the first track "Adouma". It features Spanish singer Angelique Kidjo and Carlos Santana sets the stage beautifully with a pretty sweet guitar riff that is flashy and yet also really catchy! The rest of the band provides a nice fast-paced Latin rhythm section and Kidjo sings a verse in Spanish that sounds pretty catchy to complete this super pop-y but undeniably catchy main riff! I have no idea what he's saying, but that doesn't stop me from singing along to this catchy tune, all while Carlos plays some excellent guitar throughout, including a pretty awesome solo! Definitely a worthy addition to the library!
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October 22, 2002 - One By One

Two weeks after my last release and three years since their last album "There Is Nothing Left To Lose", Foo Fighters released their fourth album "One By One" on October 22, 2002. Foo Fighters return to a four-piece on this album with the addition of new guitarist Chris Shiflett and he and Dave Grohl split the lead and rhythm guitarist duties. This is also Foo Fighters heaviest album so far as the band really tried to capture the energy of their live performances with some louder, more aggressive music.  Sounds good to me, let's check it out! The album kicks off with it's lead single "All My Life" and it's driven by a pretty simple rhythm guitar riff and Grohl sings a nice light verse overtop, until the rest of the band comes slamming in. There's some cool drums by Taylor Hawkins, some cool lead guitar by Shiflett and a nice louder verse sung by Grohl. The chorus is super catchy and pretty solid with some more cool guitars and it's no su...
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October 8, 2002 - El Cielo

Two weeks after my last release and over three years since their debut "Leitmotif", Dredg released their second album "El Cielo" on October 8, 2002. Dredg play perhaps a lighter version of the same style of alternative rock as their debut and like last album's several "Movement"s, this album has several "Brushstroke"s. The members were particularly inspired by Salvador Dali's painting "Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate One Second Before Awakening" and this is a concept album about that painting! Let's check out the next chapter of Dredg! The album begins with "Brushstroke: dcbtfoabaaposba", which is an acronym for the long name of the Dali painting, and it's just under a minute for this intro track that has a bunch of psychedelic noises. It leads nicely into the the next song "Same Ol' Road" where Drew Roulette drives things with a cool bass riff and Dino Campanella plays a ...
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