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December 15, 2003 - Riverside and Out Of Myself

Six days after my last release a new band joins my library when Riverside released their debut album "Out Of Myself" on December 15, 2003. But who is Riverside? They are a four-piece progressive rock/metal band from Warsaw, Poland consisting of frontman Mariusz Duda (vocals, bass, acoustic guitar), guitarist Piotr Grudzinski, keyboardist Jacek Melnicki and drummer Piotr Kozieradzki. Riverside are more rock than metal, but they can be heavy at times and they are pretty progressive and space-y most of the time with a very epic style of prog-rock. Let's see what Riverside is all about! The album kicks off with the twelve minute song "The Same River" and it begins with someone flipping through the radio (including a snippet of "Hotel California") before they settle into a space-y main riff. Melnicki plays some epic droning synths, Duda plays some pretty cool bass and Grudzinski adds some slow, epic guitar to this pretty epic and cool opening. Eventually th...
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May 2, 1994 - Fear, Emptiness, Despair

Two years since their last album "Utopia Banished", Napalm Death released their fifth album "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" on May 2, 1994. This would be Napalm Death's most experimental album so far and while there is of course still some grindcore elements, there are a lot of slower-paced (by their standards) songs and different, atypical styles for Napalm Death as these guys try to branch out a bit. I loved their return to grindcore last album so I'm not sure how I feel about experimentation, but let's listen before we judge! The album begins with "Twist The Knife (Slowly)" and immediately we're hit with a much different sound than we're used to. It reminds of the difference between Slayer's sixth album "Divine Intervention" and their following studio album "Diabolus In Musica": just like Slayer, Napalm Death have decided to slow things down a bit and (in my opinion) overproduce the music. Shane Embury's bass i...
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December 9, 2003 - Splinter and Hit That

Two weeks after my last release and three years since "Conspiracy Of One", The Offspring released their seventh album "Splinter" on December 9, 2003. This is the first Offspring album that I don't have, I found it to be a big step down from even their last album, but I do have the album's lead single "Hit That". It's got a techno-y beat that I usually don't go for, but they make it work on this catchy song and it still has some cool guitars by Noodles and some catchy piano! Dexter Holland sings a pretty catchy verse and it leads into a pretty damn catchy chorus as well! They stick to this main drag, but it's a no-brainer for a single and an undeniably solid song. It's too bad the rest of the album was nowhere near as good. 
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November 24, 2003 - Seal Beach

Three days after my last release and two and a half years since "One Day I'll Be On Time", The Album Leaf released their second EP "Seal Beach" on November 24, 2003. Jimmy LaValle is still playing the same style of post-rock and after a long break we get another EP. Let's check out the latest from The Album Leaf! The EP begins with "Malmo" and it fades in quietly before a lead piano riff takes over. LaValle's piano is slow but pretty space-y and cool and it's backed by some electronic drums, which are usually not my favourite, but they actually sound decently catchy here. As the song flows on the drums get faster and more involved with more weird percussion noises and this all sounds pretty cool as LaValle continues to lead the way on piano. Things slow down after a couple minutes as an echo-y new keyboard riff takes the lead, with the piano still going in the background and this adds an extra trippy element to things before the drums retur...
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May 18, 1992 - Utopia Banished

A year since their last EP "Mass Appeal Madness" and two years since their last album "Harmony Corruption", Napalm Death released their fourth album "Utopia Banished" on May 18, 1992. We have another line-up change and there are no original members left in the band anymore as drummer Mick Harris has departed. Mick is a pretty awesome drummer who can play at incredible speeds and he will be dearly missed! The tough task of replacing Mick falls to new drummer Danny Herrera. Napalm Death revert somewhat back to their grindcore past with more, shorter songs once again, but they do keep some of the more standard heavy metal that was very present on their last album. How will these two styles combine? Let's find out! The album begins with a short intro called "Discordance" and it has a bunch of very difficult to understand talking overtop of a very distorted and repetitive riff. It's nothing special by any means and it leads right into the next...
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November 21, 2003 - Take A Look In The Mirror

Three days after my last release and about a year and a half since "Untouchables", Korn released their sixth album "Take A Look In The Mirror" on November 21, 2003. Like the album's name suggests, Korn thought that it was time that they reflected on their past and returned to a heavier, more aggressive sound like their early albums with less experimenting than the last couple albums. It's also the final album to feature the original line-up, so let's enjoy the last of original Korn! The album kicks off with one of it's many singles "Right Now" and it's got a typical Korn vibe with some heavy and cool guitars, some super low and dirty bass by Fieldy and Jonathan Davis sounding pretty good singing overtop. This is definitely a nice throwback and my head is banging nicely throughout the verse and chorus as Davis holds some long notes and also sings faster, and sounds good doing both. After another round things get very quiet as Davis nicel...
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May 28, 1991 - Mass Appeal Madness

Just under a year since their last album "Harmony Corruption" Napalm Death released their third EP "Mass Appeal Madness" on May 28, 1991. It's a short EP that is half new songs and half re-recordings of songs off "From Enslavement To Obliteration" with the new line-up. Let's give it a quick listen! Up first is the title track "Mass Appeal Madness" and it's got some great fast drums by Mick Harris as you'd expect and of course some fast and heavy guitars and bass. Barney Greenway yells in his low voice and he still sounds so monotone and unexciting. The music is some typical Napalm Death goodness still and thankfully it's a largely instrumental song! And a three and a half minute one to boot, decent opener for sure! Up next is "Pride Assassin" and they take no time jumping right into a furious main riff and these guys continue to amaze with their synchronicity at such insane speeds! Greenway's vocals sound better ...
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