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April 6, 2004 - Back To Times Of Splendor

On the same day as my last release and about two and a half years since their debut EP "Three Neuron Kings", Disillusion released their first album "Back To Times Of Splendor" on April 6, 2004. Disillusion fully embrace their progressivesness on this first full-length release with no song shorter than 4:53 and two that are over 14 minutes long! Let's check out their first full album! The album kicks off with "...And The Mirror Cracked" and Vurtox is of course in the spotlight with a pretty sweet lead guitar riff while Rajk Barthel plays some nice heavy rhythm guitar as well. Jens Maluschka plays some pretty fast and cool drums as well and once Vurtox starts to scream overtop in a solid low voice everything sounds pretty headbangingly sweet! Vurtox sings in the chorus and his singing is just decent still, but the music continues to sound great. After a couple pretty cool rounds they show off some nice progressiveness with a smooth segue into a softer ne...
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September 25, 2000 - Enemy Of The Music Business

A year since their cover EP and two years since "Words From The Exit Wound", Napalm Death released their ninth album "Enemy Of The Music Business" on September 25, 2000". Napalm Death have finally moved away from their experimental 90s period and return to more of their traditional grindcore sound. Sounds good to me, let's check it out! The albul kicks off with the short "Taste The Poison" and they jump right into a not grindcore, but pretty fast-paced main riff and Barney Greenway sounds pretty great alternating low and high screams. It doesn't take long for them to switch to an even faster riff though and it's nice to hear Napalm Death firing on all cylinders once again! Shane Embury's bass sounds distorted and solid in the background and this is a fitting way to kick off their return to their roots! Up next is "Next On The List" and Danny Herrera is playing a pretty cool drumbeat that is slightly offbeat but still super fa...
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April 6, 2004 - Just Be and Adagio For Strings

Two weeks after my last release and about five years since his last appearance in my library, DJ Tiësto released his second album "Just Be" on April 6, 2004. I'm still not a fan of trance music for the large majority, but there is one song off this album that I like, and it's called "Adagio For Strings". It's got a really annoying electronic drum beat, but what makes this song cool is that it starts with just one beat/rhythm going on and they slowly add more and more until there's about 10 different things happening simultaneously and by that point things actually sound pretty cool! Then things quiet right down and we move into a super trance-y, psychedelic part that is also pretty space-y and crazy, albeit a little repetitive. Then he somehow combine these two very different riffs into one, and that is a whole other beast in itself! This is probably the beat trance song I've ever heard! It's got that club, headbanging vibe, but there's s...
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March 23, 2004 - Our Endless Numbered Days

It's a triple release day! Just six months since the EP "The Sea & The Rhythm" and a year and a half since his debut "The Creek Drank The Cradle", Iron & Wine released their second album "Our Endless Numbered Days" on March 23, 2004. While both previous releases were recorded by just Sam Beam, this is the first album where Beam has some help and a full band with him! Joining Beam is Brian Deck (drums, percussion, keyboards), EJ Holowicki (bass) and Patrick McKinney (electric guitar). Obviously going from just Sam and his guitar to a whole band is going to give Iron & Wine a different feel; let's see what a full line-up can do! The album begins with "On Your Wings" and Beam plays a soft acoustic riff to keep the pace then sings a soft verse in his typical high voice. He adds some banjo to the mix for some twang that I'm not a big fan of, but his guitar and singing sound good as you'd expect. After almost three minutes b...
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October 21, 2003 - Punk Goes Acoustic and Swing Life Away

Somehow I missed this song last year, but on October 21, 2003 there was a compilation album released called "Punk Goes Acoustic" where various punk bands played acoustic songs. One of those songs is a new song by Rise Against called "Swing Life Away" and the main acoustic riff is pretty catchy. Tim McIlrath sings a catchy, pop-y verse overtop and the chorus is even more catchy and relatable: "We get by just fine here on minimum wage. If love is a labor i'll slave till the end". This is a pretty simple song, but it's really well done and it's undeniably catchy, a worthy addition to the library I somehow missed last year!
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October 25, 1999 - Leaders Not Followers

A year after their last album "Words From The Exit Wound", Napalm Death released their fourth EP "Leaders Not Followers" on October 25, 1999. This is a cover EP with all six songs being covers of punk or metal bands that inspired Napalm Death. Let's check it out! The first song is a Raw Power cover called "Politicians" and it's got some slower but loud and heavy guitars overtop some nice fast drums by Danny Herrera. The guitars quickly shift to a fast punk-rock main riff and Barney Greenway sounds pretty sweet when he goes insane on the high end, barking some nice high screams! This song is just 1:45, but it's a solid little punk cover that I'm not surprised these guys would have liked! Up next is a cover of Slaughter called "Incinerator" and it's got a fairly simple and repetitive main riff that is pretty bland sadly. Greenway sounds decent yelling overtop, but this is just plain boring considering what we're used to from...
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March 23, 2004 - Blast Tyrant

On the same day as my last release and a long nine years since their last appearance in my library (their second, self-titled album), Clutch released their sixth album "Blast Tyrant" on March 23, 2004. They still have the same line-up and are still playing the same style of stoner rock and this is the only full album I have by Clutch in my library. Let's check it out! The album kicks off with "Mercury" and Tim Sult leads the way with a solid guitar riff and his guitar tone for this whole album sounds pretty epic. Sult plays some pretty catchy and cool stuff for a little over a minute, then Neil Fallon enters with his usual booming voice. Fallon sings a pretty solid vers overtop, then the final minute of the song is things very slowly devolving into nothing. An interesting way to start things off for sure! Up next is "Profits Of Doom" and Dan Maines starts us off with a nice groovy bassline before Sult comes in with some super distorted and interesting ...
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