I remember reading an article in 2001 about the then mostly unheard of band, At The Drive-In. Something struck me about the personalities in the band, so I downloaded it from Napster the same evening.

I had just started my first independent search for music in that period, so I embraced a lot of cool bands. This album however hit me like lightning from clear sky. "What the fuck?", I thought to myself "this record's been out for months already, why is nobody talking about it?".

Shortly after they broke up, with the core of the band eventually forming The Mars Volta and going on to have great success in their own right. That lead to this record being pushed a bit on the sideline. Now however this modern classic is about to claim its proper place in the history of rock. I wouldn't exactly call it a buzz, but the more people I meet, the more remember these tunes. "Mars Volta? Yeah they're cool, but ATDI is better."

The best way to describe it would be a 45 minutes long hard pounding orgasm. The riffs are hard, but loose. Vocals are all over the place, yet restrained. It's bone hard rock, but still melodic. In short it's everything a rock album can and should be, and it fits for every occasion. Be it partying, pot smoking, background or chilling out with headphones. And after 7 years it still holds up like it was new.

Highly recommended.