A Chronological History of my Music Library

Eight days after my last release and just 15 months since "As The Palaces Burn", Lamb Of God released their fourth album "Ashes Of The Wake" on August 31st, 2004. This was actually Lamb Of God's major label debut, but they are still playing the same style of groovy, super heavy metal. Let's check out the latest! The album kicks off with it's lead single "Laid To Rest" and it has one hell of a main riff by Mark Morton that is just so damn cool! It stops, it starts, it grooves, it's all over the place, and yet somehow it's also super catchy! It's a wicked and quite heavy main riff that drives this song and when Randy Blythe comes in overtop things sound even heavier and more awesome! As always, Blythe can easily hit both extremes with some mostly super low and heavy screaming, but also sometimes some ear-piercingly high screams, and he just fits this heavy mood perfectly! Things roll right into a similarly awesome chorus and after a c...

Two days after my last release and a little under two years since their last album "Order Of The Leech", Napalm Death released a cover album called "Leaders Not Followers: Part 2" on August 23, 2004. A follow-up to the "Leaders Not Followers" EP, this is a full album with 19 covers of metal and/or hardcore punk bands that inspired Napalm Death, most of whom i've never heard of! Let's check it out! The album opens with "Lowlife", a Cryptic Slaughter cover, and it sounds very thrash-y with some fast drums and some speedy but fairly simple guitar leading the way. Once they reach the verse things reach some more typical Napalm Death speeds, and by that you know I mean things are going super fast now! Tons of super speedy and cool guitars by Mitch Harris, some insanely fast but still on time drumming by Danny Herrera and of course some top notch yelling with all his might by Barney Greenway. This seems like the music that definitely inspired N...

Four days after my last release a new band joins my library when Rishloo released their debut album "Terras Fames" on August 21, 2004. But who is Rishloo? They are a four-piece progressive rock band from Seattle, Washington consisting of lead singer Drew Mailloux, guitarist Dave Gillett, bassist Sean Rydquist and drummer Tyler (Tyler doesn't get a last name apparently, I can't find it anywhere!) Rishloo play a unique, alternative style of progressive rock that reminds me of A Pefect Circle. That's a good comparison for sure! Let's see what Rishloo is all about!  The album kicks off with "Romance Of A Dead Kingdom" and Rydquist is playing some pretty cool bass, Gillett adds some light and slightly creepy guitar and Mailloux sings for the first time in his typical voice which is pretty high and he holds lots of long notes that hang nicely overtop this moody main riff. Once Tyler joins in with a solid drumbeat things sound pretty smooth and interesting ...

A week after my last release and just under three years since "The Interzone Mantras", The Tea Party released their seventh album "Seven Circles" on August 17, 2004. The Tea Party continue to play their unique blend of world music and hard rock, but this album has a lighter, more positive vibe with less of the dark themes and styles seen in their previous works. Not sure how I feel about that, but let's not judge before we listen! The album kicks off with it's lead single "Writing's On The Wall" and right away Jeff Martin is cueing up the main riff and once the rhythm section comes slamming in we have quite a heavy and cool main riff with some catchy and cool guitar by Martin driving things. Martin sings a loud and epic verse that matches the mood pretty nicely and things quickly move into the hard-hitting and pretty catchy chorus with Martin sounding pretty good on guitar and vocals. This is a short and slightly repetitive song, but it's h...

On the same day as my last release and just 16 months since their last album "Revolutions Per Minute", Rise Against released their third album "Siren Song Of The Counter Culture" on August 10, 2004. With their third album comes their third lead guitarist as well as Todd Mohney isn't around for long and is replaced by Chris Chasse. This was Rise Against's major label debut and with that comes a slightly more pop-y and radio-friendly vibe, but these guys are still largely punk rockers. Let's check out their latest! The album kicks off with "State Of The Union" and it just might be my favourite song by Rise Against! They jump right into a hard-hitting and heavy main riff with Chasse playing some cool guitar and Tim McIlrath screams this whole song, and he sounds great doing it! Tim usually keeps the screaming to shorter bursts, but he sounds super heavy and awesome screaming the whole verse and chorus! After a couple fantastic rounds they even bre...

Three weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when Alter Bridge released their debut album "One Day Remains" on August 10, 2004. But who is Alter Bridge? They are a four-piece alternative rock/metal band from Orlando, Florida and they are 3/4 of Creed! Creed recently broke up as singer Scott Stapp battled addiction and the relationship between him and the rest of the band deteriorated. The rest of Creed (guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips) formed a new band called Alter Bridge with new lead singer Myles Kennedy. Alter Bridge plays a similar style of rock as Creed, but they are definitely a bit heavier with some songs balancing the line between rock and metal. Let's see what Alter Bridge is all about! The album kicks off with "Find The Real" and they dive right into a pretty heavy and cool main riff with Tremonti leading the way with some pretty sweet heavy guitar. We hear Kennedy for the first time and he h...