2002 Band |
Votes |
Album |
Connors' Comments |
Queens of the Stone Age |
13 |
Songs for the Deaf |
Audioslave |
9 |
ST |
Foo Fighters |
7 |
One By One |
Jul19. I enjoyed the listen & added Halo & Have It All to my H100, but not enough to change rating. Jun18. Was disappointed with this Lp in the day. Nothing else stood up to the opening corker. Always liked Times Like These. Upon listening to again, Overdrive is cool too. Still, too many mid-paced songs that go for too long. The couple of bonus tracks on the expanded edition actually improve the LP. 3.5/5 |
Red Hot Chili Peppers |
6 |
By the Way |
Wilco |
5 |
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot |
silverchair |
4 |
Diorama |
Millencolin |
3 |
Home from Home |
Oct22. Unlike a lot of bands, I prefered Millencolin's later albums and when Pennybridge Pioneers came out, I did not think they would be able to top that. I loved the more straight ahead punk. Then Home From Home came out. The moment I heard those first beats and saw the head banging clip for 'Kemp' I was sold. My head still goes into auto-nod-mode as soon as that song starts. It could well be their best song. But there is a lot more on here, including the other song I also have in my Top5 2002 songs: 'Mouse or Man'. This awesome track opens the album. What a belter. 'Fingers Crossed' has such a cool melody. A great tale of bouncing back from dark times. Things don't lose momentum, even though 'Black Eye' is a little slower. That move from the slower verses into the cracking chorus is brilliant. You have to sing along to this one. 'Montego' as some rhythmic structures similar to 'Kemp'. 'Punk Rock Rebel' harkens to the bands early days and is not my favourite here, but fans of the older stuff would jump on this one. I am sure even people that don't like punk would enjoy 'Botanic Mistress'. Such a bounce to it. 'Hapiness for Dogs' is a solid rocker too that also has a cool build to the chorus. Then we get the fucking awesome 'Battery Check'. This one sounds like it came straight out of the Pennybridge sessions. The lyrics here ask so many questions I keep asking myself. I love when you can connect to a song on a deeper level. This leaps into the very catchy 'Fuel to the Flame', another song up quite high on my 2002 list. Not a lot of bands have such a good peak mid album. These guys have done it again. 'Afghan' and 'Greener Grass' rock, but are not standouts. Then the title track takes you out on a high. Nikola trades vocals with Marten Cedergran of Bombshell Rocks on this upbeat number. When this finishes, I immediately want to start the album again… and that is exactly what I did all day. I still think this is my favourite, but I have the previous album one step behind it on my albums of the decade list, so there really is not a lot separating them. This is the perfect album for my tastes. 5+/5 |
Sum 41 |
3 |
Does This Look Infected? |
Hot Snakes |
3 |
Suicide Invoice |
Front End Loader |
3 |
How Can We Fail When We're So Sincere? |
Opeth |
3 |
Deliverance |
Lacuna Coil |
3 |
Comalies |
Aug20. A good start to the album as Swamped opens with an irresitable riff. It remains interesting enough throughout with its mix of vocals. I gave this album a few tries; each time I tuned out and had it playing in the background. It all seemed a bit clean and nice. I guess with the strings and keys this is symphonic metal? It all sounded fine and I did not dislike it, but nothing stood out. Just not my thing. 2/5 |
The Black Keys |
3 |
The Big Come Up |
Hatebreed |
3 |
Perseverance |
Killswitch Engage |
3 |
Alive or Just Breathing |
Interpol |
3 |
Turn on the Bright Lights |
Grinspoon |
3 |
New Detention |
Sonic Youth |
2 |
Murray Street |
Spoon |
2 |
Kill the Moonlight |
…Trail of the Dead |
2 |
Source Tags & Codes |
Papa Roach |
2 |
Lovehatetragedy |
Mastodon |
2 |
Remission |
Oct19. Some of the riffing and playing on here is massive. The drumming is amazing. I want to give it a higher score, but I would be doing so, simply b/c it is Mastodon. In truth there was not a lot on here that appealed to me. I did not like the vocals and could not understand them; in fact, half the time I couldn't even follow when I had the lyrics in front of me. There are very few lyrics here anyway, just short lines growled one word at a time. I get why metal heads love this, and there were moments of songs I liked (such as the guitars in Ol'e Nessie), but just not any songs overall. Oct21. So I have played this through a few more times since last review and whilst much of my sentiments remain, I cannot have this album on such a low score. So, I still had trouble selecting individual standout songs, but the playing is awesome and there are so many cool moments throughout. 'Workhorse' has the riffs. The short and fast 'Burning Man' is furious in its delivery. The long 'Trilobite' is intense with moments of etherealness. 'Mother Puncher' has some of the best guitar-playing on here. The drums were again a highlight. Prog and metal lovers might consider this their best, and I would get that, but for me, it just lacks the standout songs of later albums. 3/5 |
Weezer |
2 |
Maladroit |
Bodyjar |
2 |
Plastic Skies |
The Vines |
2 |
Highly Evolved |
Jun18. Perfect blend of Nirvana and The Beatles, loud vs soft, heavy vs trippy. An enjoyable LP. 4.5/5 |
Gomez |
2 |
In Our Gun |
Bowling for Soup |
2 |
Drunk Enough to Dance |
Chevelle |
2 |
Wonder What's Next |
May17. Pretty good, though nothing immediate. This is the sort of music that requires more listens. I hear some Deftones-like sounds here. Early stand outs for me inc. Comfortable Liar, Wonder What's Next and a cracking cover of Helmet's (High) Visibility (on deluxe version). Jul19. Still liked the two songs mentioned above and the singles wedged between them are growing on me. Definitely a stronger first half. Upped the score slightly, as I thought I would with more listens. 3.5/5 |
Isis |
2 |
Oceanic |
The Used |
2 |
ST |
Good Charlotte |
2 |
The Young & the Hopeless |
Nov23. I remember taking a little while to warm to these guys at first, but I was impressed kids I was teaching in our small rural school were listening to their first album. It did not take long to hook me though. Pop-punk anthems like The Anthem and Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous are instantly likable. Cracking songs all-round, but I wonder if the Madden bros still agree with the lyrics of the latter? I did not know Josh Freese played on this at the time and Marty Feldmen helped write a couple of tracks. This does not surprise me now, knowing the output of these two. Does the album run a lot deeper than the opening hits? I would say, yes. This is a solid pop-punk album. 'Wondering' has a cool breakdown section where the vocals come up in the mix. The Story of My Old Man is a song that many can relate to. I am sure most of us would see some of a significant male in the family in parts of this song. I am sure the sacharine popiness of Girls & Boys might have been an initial put-off, but in time I loved this song. So catchy, and even has odd hand-clap-like moments. My Bloody Valentine seems a little dark in subject matter alongside other songs here. Hold On slows things down and reminds me of when Sum 41 do slow numbers. Riot Girl gets me for its amazing rhythm, but also its references to other bands. That opening line of the chorus is fantastic. Say Anything slows things down before the bounce of The Day That I Die picks things back up again. I have always liked this one and it has a Social Distortion-like lead break. The title track starts with a riff that would not be out of place on a Pennywise album. This one also has a good build into the chorus. Emotionless returns to the theme of shit fatherhood and I am sure means a lot to a lot of listeners. This is appropriately followed by Movin' On which ends the album on a note of hope. I am torn between a 4 and 4.5. I am going with 4/5 for now, as I have a lot of favourite punk albums here (and I am sure many should be higher). 4/5 |
The Flaming Lips |
2 |
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots |
Rocket from the Crypt |
2 |
Live from Camp X-Ray |
Jun18. Could have been my mood, but did not get a lot out of this. 2/5 |
Libertines |
2 |
Up the Bracket |
The Walkman |
2 |
Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone |
System of a Down |
2 |
Steal this Album |
Korn |
2 |
Untouchables |
Sleater-Kinney |
2 |
One Beat |
Pearl Jam |
2 |
Riot Act |
Local H |
2 |
Here Comes the Zoo |
Jun18. Hard call after one listen. Good rock LP, but not a lot stood out first time around. 3/5 |
Against Me! |
1 |
Is Reinventing Axl Rose |
Broken Social Scene |
1 |
You Forgot It In People |
Mclusky |
1 |
Mclusky Do Dallas |
Idlewild |
1 |
The Remote Part |
Jun18. Some good rock here. Only a couple of listens, but not a lot stood out. A couple of early to mid tracks I liked. 3/5 |
Lairs |
1 |
They threw Us in a Trench & Stuck a Monument on Top |
Nightwish |
1 |
Century Child |
The Music |
1 |
ST |
The Distillers |
1 |
Sing Sing Death House |
Cog |
1 |
Just Visiting Part One EP |
Cog |
1 |
Just Visiting Part Two EP |
Soulfly |
1 |
Three |
Down |
1 |
Two |
Bolt Thrower |
1 |
Honour, Valour, Pride |
Cannibal Corpse |
1 |
Gore Obsessed |
The Donnas |
1 |
Spend the Night |
Box Car Racer |
1 |
ST |
Jerry Cantrell |
1 |
Degradation Trip |
My Chemical Romance |
1 |
I Brought You My Love, You Brought Me Your Bullets |
Taking Back Sunday |
1 |
Tell All Your Friends |
Thrice |
1 |
The Illusion of Safety |
Underoath |
1 |
The Changing of the Times |
Coheed & Cambria |
1 |
The Second Stage Turbine Blade |
The Turnarounds |
1 |
Who's In Control Now ? |
Seether |
1 |
Disclaimer |
Aug20. Starts with the cool chugging Gasoline, one of five songs I already had in my 2002 H100 before this listen. It is the highest of them and none are near the Top20, but I do remember liking a few songs here. Some have also lost a bit of gloss for me over the years. 69 Tea is a fine, standard riff/grunge song. Driven Under is a mid-paced brooding song that was a single, but not a standout for me. Sympathetic is a pretty good slow song, that kicks into a heavier chorus. This drags a little though, as this leads into to two other slow songs. Pig and Fuck It pick things up again towards the end before the track that may have ended up doing the band more harm than good, Broken closes proceedings. I don't mind it, but I feel a lot of people know little about them and base their opinions on this song. For what it is worth, the version here is without Amy and is a slower, acoustic number. The band talk about this album not being reflective of their best as the label and producer took over and they spent months in the studio (as oposed to weeks of later albums). It is still a good album, but not as cohesive as later ones. 3.5/5 |
Husking Bee |
1 |
The Steady-State Theory |
Supergrass |
1 |
Life on Other Planets |
Ice-cream Hands |
1 |
Broken Hands |
Avantasia |
1 |
The Metal Opera Part Two |
Tear it Up |
1 |
Nothing to Nothing |
Country Teasers |
1 |
Science Hat Artistic Cube Moral Nosebleed Empire |
Born Dead Icons |
1 |
Salvation on the Knees |
Cutthroats 9 |
1 |
ST |
Cavity |
1 |
Supercollider |
New Found Glory |
1 |
Sticks & Stones |
Something Corporate |
1 |
Leaving through the Window |
Stone Sour |
1 |
ST |
Alexisonfire |
1 |
ST |
Primal Scream |
1 |
Evil Heat |
Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton |
1 |
Irony is a Dead Scene |
The Mountain Goats |
1 |
Tallahassee |
Dream Theater |
1 |
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence |
Threshold |
1 |
Critical Mass |
Symphony X |
1 |
The Odyssey |
Rush |
1 |
Vapour Trails |
Feb20. 1st listen. The first two songs are very good rockers. Some of the drum sounds on One Little Victory reminded me of Therapy?. The length of Ceiling Unlimited is worth the wait; what a finish to the song. Ghost Rider sounds like a very cool, reflective song, Peart obviously put together from his notes on his long motorcycling journey across America. Peaceable Kingdom failed to grab me, as did The Stars Look Down except for the cool guitars that kicked in around 2/3s of the way in. The cool, upbeat parts of How It Is remind me of fellow Canadians, I Mother Earth, especially the bass. Same in the title track where I can also hear Edge (of U2) tones in the guitars. Secret Touch takes the rhythm comparisons to I Mother Earth even further, which means I really like this song. Things drop off from here, other than the riffing part of Nocturne. It was cool to see these guys return to a power trio without keyboards - even though they were using the keys much better on recent albums (once they ditched the shitty synthesizer sounds effects). Whilst I liked the overall sound here, this album drags somewhat. Had it cut a few numbers (back to the 10 they were aiming for), this may have been in my top few Rush albums. 3/5 |
Porcupine Tree |
1 |
In Absentia |
Coldplay |
1 |
A Rush of Blood to the Head |
Glassjaw |
1 |
Worship And Tribute |
Neko Case |
1 |
Blacklisted |
Beck |
1 |
Sea Change |
Nada Surf |
1 |
Let Go |
Doves |
1 |
The Last Broadcast |
Jebediah |
1 |
ST |
Jul19. First half of this is very good and the singles N.D.C., Nothing Lasts Forever and Fall Down are very easy to like. I already had Yesterday, When I Was Brave thumbed and on this play through I really enjoyed Everready and October. The second half wanes a bit but the last two tracks pick it back up again. A very good album that for some reason I have not listened to anywhere near enough, considering how much I loved these guys. 4/5 |
Reel Big Fish |
1 |
Cheer Up |
Feeder |
1 |
Come Back Around |
Pain of Salvation |
1 |
Remedy Lane |
1208 |
0 |
Feedback is Payback |
Jun19. A bit generic SoCal punk, so very enjoyable to these ears with several songs into CheckingOut list. 3.5/5 |
Strung Out |
0 |
An American Paradox |
Nov19. Again, another consistently good album, but I am finding it hard to find songs to put into lists for further listens. It is kind of, do I put all or none? However, with each listen, of course this gets easier and I can see this album's rating going up with more listens. Velvet Alley a solid punk song to start. Kill Your Scene takes things in a heavier direction then Alien Amplifier brings back the catchiness. Cult of the Subterranean and Lubricating the Revolution both cut loose. Oh, I could just write something good about every song. 3.5/5 |
Peppermint Creeps |
0 |
Animatron X |
Nov19. After a pretty corny intro the band kicks onto a pretty corny song about themselves. Songs like Crack Whore or Lesbian (which seems to have been released at least 3 times) are never going to gel with me. A cover of Generation X's Ready Steady Go is okay. I know they were going for that futuristic feel, but some of the added sound effects here were off-putting to me. Murdered Maryann has a a fast rumble to it, but the lyrics were terrible and I am sure a joke, but I still did not like. Seems to be a lot of lyrics about women cheating on the narrator. I was enjoying Fuck Off & Die and then I realised it too, was about the same thing. I usually find something I like; here it was some of the guitars and the beat of about three songs. Not much else to entice me back, but I know they have better to come. 1.5/5 |
Transplants |
0 |
ST |
Dec19. I loved this album when it was released. Romper Stomper opens proceedings with a cool riff and then Travis's cool drum beats come in. Things only get better from here; the next three songs are excellent. Tall Cans in the Air is all sorts of fun with a cool beat and chanted lyrics. D.J.D.J is a cool ditty that has the harsh vocals but also some real mellow moments. Diamonds & Guns has such a catchy piano run and bouncy beat that it ended up on shampoo commercials. Things would have got real interesting if the ads had have played the whole song :P Quick Death was the first song I heard, as it was on an Epitaph sampler. It's not the strongest here, but has grown on me. Sad But True is brilliant. It starts with organ and Tim singing like he would on his Timebomb releases, but then the cool rhythm kicks on and Rob Ashton's vocals take it to harder places. Weigh On My Mind just has all sorts of cool - I don't even know how to describe it. The next couple I did not really smash in the day, despite one (One Seventeen) being thrashy-punk and the other (California Babylon) being on a Tony Hawk film. When people ask for 'fuck you' songs, I always think of We Trusted You. It starts all nice, sucks you in to its nice groove and then smacks you in the face. I remembered this album as having a few killers and the rest being okay, but this is a solid album all the way through. If I have to have any dose of hip hop, it has to be mixed with rock/riffs/punk, like this. I might just like this more now than when it was released. 4.5/5 |
The Queers |
0 |
Pleasant Screams |
Feb20. Despite having a couple of my favourite The Queers tracks in Get a Life and Live It and Homo I would say I don't know this album as well as others. The first of those kicks off the album in a fun way and the humour continues in to See You Later Fuckface. Ben Weasel helped pen the latter as well as the sugary pop of next song, I Wanna Be Happy. (Just like The Ramones, a The Queers album would not be right without a song with 'Wanna' in the title :P). We have a strange punk tribute to Danny Vapid and then the two okay slow songs (the second of which is a The Choir cover). I enjoyed Generation of Swine and I Don't Want You Hanging Around; songs I have hardly paid any attention to in the past. With Gretchen Smear on vocals, the (Donovan cover, I think) You Just Gotta Blow My Mind is a whole heap of goodness. Debbie Be True is another 60s-garage inspired cover (Fantastic Baggies) done well. Molly Neuman finishes things off in interesting style. (You want interesting, check out Molly's achievements). In all, an enjoyable album, especially to start and end with a bit of a lull in the middle. 3.5/5 |
Orange Goblin |
0 |
Coup de Grace |
Mar20. From the get go, this album seems more 'raw'. Not sure what it is; more distortion, production? Anyway, it really suits their sound, though the drums sound a little too flat on some tracks. I read The World Will Hate This made one of Tony Hawk's video soundtracks. Man, every time I hear some good music I read they were featured on those. I never owned any, but they would be great mixes. Monkey Panic is a cool rocker (and features Tom Davies of fellow stoner rock lords, Nebula). It has a very cool chorus. John Garcia (of Kyuss) provides vocals on Made of Rats (a slowish groover) and Jesus Beater (mid-paced rocker). Whiskey Leach has their typical fuzzed out riffs but the vocals are more punk, and even remind me of Death (the 'rediscovered' punk band from Detroit). Born with Big Hands is a lot of fun. They get all bluesy and Clutch-like on closer, Stinin' O' Gin. In all, another solid album. Monkey Panic and Born with Big Hands are my picks after a few quick plays. It is hard to truly judge an album until you really get to know it, so going conservative here too. 3.5/5 |
L.A Guns |
0 |
Waking the Dead |
Sept20. Nothing like diving right back in. Phil Lewis rejoins the band and they put out 2 albums in 2 years. Maybe that was too much too fast; Tracii Guns left the band after this album. A pity, as it sounds like they were just building towards something big again. The first couple of songs here rock. OK, Let's Roll is close to a punk song - that rumbling bass. What a start. The title track is okay - it certainly has Motley Crue stylings. Parts of Revolution sound familiar. (Did Tracii use this in Brides of Destruction?) In any case, this is a kickass start to the album. You just knew a ballad was coming to calm things down and here it is, track five, called The Ballad. I love both bands, but I think L.A Guns have it over Motley Crue for slow songs. I never really gelled with Crue slow songs except Home Sweet Home as a concert closer. The Ballad is not up to previous namesakes, but it is still decent. Frequency is a bass-heavy rumbler, then Psychopathic Eyes pumps you up to Motorhead levels. Hellraiser's Ball has a cracking groove to it. Nothing wrong with the last couple here either. Thoroughly enjoyable album. 4/5 |
Teenage Bottlerocket |
0 |
A-Bomb EP |
Sept20. A-Bomb has a cool sense of ugency about it and is a good start. Teenwolf sets into a very cool groove and riff, and then some cool bass later on, but I am not a fan of the vocals here. Going Slow is much the same. Job On Me changes things up with some shouted vocals right at the start. Ray's vocals are a bit harsher than later albums. I know people that don't listen to this stauff might say it all sounds the same, and unfortuantely here, that argument holds true, even for me. I think this is a good start, but I know so much better is to come. Still, I liked averything here. 3/5 |
Discharge |
0 |
Discharge |
Feb21. So, after 20-odd years with different line-ups and forays into more metal-sounding stuff, the original gang is back together. They bring back the fast D-beat drumming and intense riffing, but there is some metal still here too. So I guess this is equal parts punk, rock and thrash. (Some reviewers have even mentioned speed metal. I'm not sure - I am not an expert on metal subgenres). Fans of Motorhead I am sure would like this mix too. In all, a very good return to form. It is lacking a little bit of the bite of earlier stuff, but this could be due to the better production. The shredding is certainly up there. The guitar solos get a little more time to shine in the slightly longer songs (compared to their early hardcore albums). What an awesome aural assault of 'You Deserve Me' into 'Almost Alive' to start the album. 'Corpse of Decadence' is Motorhead-level brilliant (and I love the more Ministry-like remix provided too). 'M.A.D' has a fantastic driving riff and a cool chorus chant. With the consistent buzzsaw riffing, there is an element of noise rock bordering on industrial through the middle of the album. 'You' typifies this sound. The breakneck speed and chanted chorus made 'What Do I Get?' and instant standout. The shredding on 'Hell is War' is a good way to end the album proper before the two remixes. This impressed me a lot. A pity this was the last album with vocalist Morris - it was looking like they were back on track. 4/5 |
Floor |
0 |
Floor |
|
The Casanovas |
0 |
Keep It Hot |
|
Slowride |
0 |
As I Survive the Suicide Bomber |
|
Hundred Reasons |
0 |
Ideas Above Our Station |
|
Bad Religion |
0 |
The Process of Belief |
Nov22. I have never really got to know this album until recently. I have 8 songs thumbed and 3 of those made my Top70 Bad Religion Songs list. Those three favourites are 'The Defense', 'Sorrow' and 'Supersonic'. I am sure most people would flag those as standouts here, so what else do we get? It is a pretty fast start to the album. Following 'Supersonic' are two more fast-paced songs that last just over a minute. Both are decent tracks. Oddly, it is the slower, acoustic-driven 'Broken' that has grown on me. It comes at the right time and I like the sequencing. Unlike many albums, where I have most songs thumbed at the start and end, on this album I have a run of songs from #6 to #11 in my H100 list (and none of the last 3). 'Materialist' kicks the run off, but it gets better with 'Kyoto Now!', before hitting one of the band's biggest songs, 'Sorrow'. This song just has that perfect rhythm and rumbles along accompanied by great vocals and lyrics. 'Epiphany' and 'Evangaline' continue the run, but then it peaks with my favourite song here: 'The Defense'. This bass-driven song, with some cool chants for the live audience, is a great mix of everything Bad Religion do well. There is nothing wrong with the last three tracks (well, four with the hidden track) here either, but they do blur together a little, each having the same tempo. This a decent album right in the sweet spot for this band. They have better, for sure, but this is not their worst album either. As I am doing all Bad Religion albums right now, ranking them has become next to impossible. 4/5 |
Jawbreaker |
0 |
Etc. |
|
Danko Jones |
0 |
Born a Lion |
Apr23. I am trying to get through all the discography. I have listened to several of Danko's later albums: chicks and rock dominate the lyrical content, and that does not seem different here. I'd love to have amore fun ACDC opinion on these songs, but I can't get past lines like, "If you wanna know how to play the blues, get yourself a woman," on first song 'Play the Blues'. A pity, as the song has a pretty good beat and riff. Good bass in second song 'Lovercall' is about all I enjoyed in that one. The bridge of 'Soul on Ice' is pretty cool and ther is a good riff in the verses. A pity the build kinda loses momentum as the chorus hits. Still, the best song so far. There is not a lot more to the album. Some good riffs and rock and a whole bunch of ways of rewriting the lyrics for 'Love Gun'. At least the last song adds a little boogie, but still relies on the same 'sex-based' lyrics. Unfortunately, the discography is wearing me thin and I am sturggling to enjoy the good moments. No songs thumbed here. There is just a lack of variety. 2/5 |
Cave In |
0 |
Tides of Tomorow EP |