United States Metal & Hard Rock Albums of the 2000s - Page 4

We've Come for You All connects Anthrax’s sharp riffs and springing rhythm to John Bush’s forceful vocals inside a modern, hard-edged production.

Waking the Fallen joins harsh roars, heavy breakdowns and twin-guitar melody into music that balances aggression with drama.

The Blessed Hellride joins Zakk Wylde’s thick riffing and Southern-blues feeling to a dragging, heavy groove.

This Left Feels Right is a useful way to hear BON JOVI from a different angle within the 2003 catalogue.

Cave In's third album, from 2003. It was their only record for RCA, and it trades most of the metal for spacious progressive rock.

Coheed and Cambria's second album, issued by Equal Vision on 7 October 2003. It is the second instalment of the Amory Wars tetralogy.

David Lee Roth's album of 8 July 2003 on Magna Carta: eleven covers, from Savoy Brown and the Doors to Jimi Hendrix, plus three originals.

Deftones' fourth album, out on 20 May 2003. The self-titled record takes its trip hop and shoegaze leanings further than anything the band had done.

Train of Thought turns Dream Theater toward harder, darker progressive metal through low guitar, precise rhythm and technical keyboards.

Fallen layers hard guitar, piano, strings and Amy Lee’s clear voice to make darkness and accessibility coexist.

Prime Time combines FireHouse’s clear high vocals, polished guitar and instantly graspable choruses with care.

Faceless puts physical weight at the front through thick guitar, low-stepping rhythm and rough vocals.

The third album, twelve songs including "Live for This" — the record that carried the band's name furthest.

Epica uses thick guitar, symphonic color and Roy Khan’s shadowed voice to tell a story on a large scale.

Take a Look in the Mirror uses low, rolling guitar, bouncing bass and Jonathan Davis’s pained voice to make direct, raw music.

As the Palaces Burn builds high-pressure metal from low-chugging riffs, sharply changing rhythm and raw roars.

Meteora compresses hard guitar, electronic beat and the contrast of rap and singing into short, dense songs.

Through the Ashes of Empires restores Machine Head’s low, rolling riffs, urgent vocals and muscular rhythm.

Music for Speeding joins Marty Friedman’s singing guitar melodies to changing rhythm and pop-minded hooks.

St. Anger chooses urgent riffs, raw sound and anger-filled vocals over Metallica’s usual polish and architectural control.

Ministry's eighth album, out on 18 February 2003, and for a long time the last one the bassist Paul Barker played on.

Nevermore's fifth album, from July 2003. The sound it was released with drew heavy criticism, and in 2005 Andy Sneap remixed and remastered the whole record.

Overkill's twelfth album, released in March 2003: Derek Tailer's arrival made them a five-piece again, and Colin Richardson produced and mixed it.

Gilbert Hotel lets Paul Gilbert fold his formidable guitar skill into short, welcoming songs rather than placing virtuosity above everything else.

The debut album by Pride of Lions, the band former Survivor man Jim Peterik formed with singer Toby Hitchcock. It was recorded at World Stage International Studios in Chicago, and Nexus released the Japanese edition on 22 October 2003 as KICP-963.

Tribe uses hard guitar, shifting rhythm and Geoff Tate’s expressive voice to create tense metal with progressive instincts.

Leave a Whisper combines heavy guitar, steady rhythm and Brent Smith’s powerful, emotional voice into melody-driven American rock.

Thickskin pushes Skid Row toward a rougher, heavier strain of hard rock built on cutting riffs and low-slung groove.

Unhallowed drives forward with fast guitar riffs, urgent blasts and cutting vocals.

Ember to Inferno uses fast guitar, rough vocals and shifting rhythm to make aggressive metal with obvious ambition.

Letter to God revisits XYZ’s glossy hard-rock instincts through more settled songwriting.

Behind Silence and Solitude is All That Remains’ debut, connecting rough riffs, growls and lyrical guitar leads.

Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses is an early Atreyu record built from rough screams, hardcore-rooted rhythm and emotional guitar melody.

1919 Eternal joins Zakk Wylde’s enormous guitar riffs with Black Label Society’s bluesy, shadowed sense of melody.

Bounce brings Bon Jovi’s anthemic writing into a more modern guitar sound while carrying a direct message of resilience.

Corporate America brings Boston’s trademarks—layered guitars, huge harmonies and clear melodic lift—back to the foreground.

Dio's ninth album, released by Spitfire on 21 May 2002, was its only one with guitarist Doug Aldrich and reached number 199 on the Billboard 200.

Believe uses heavy repeating riffs, muscular groove and David Draiman’s tense vocal delivery to examine conviction and loss.

Long Way Home reunites Dokken’s strengths in melancholy melody, soaring choruses and precise guitar work.

Down's second album, issued by Elektra in March 2002. The subtitle comes from the lyrics of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven".

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence uses heavy riffs, complex meters, lyrical ballads and an extended suite to examine inner life from multiple angles.

II brings Hardline back to melodic hard rock with powerful vocals, thick choruses and firm guitar work.

The second album and the first through major distribution: sixteen tracks including "I Will Be Heard".

Prism by JEFF SCOTT SOTO: track list, Spotify player and English liner notes on METAL BOOST.

The ninth album. Its title is also the name of his publishing company, and comes from a Jimi Hendrix lyric.

Alive or Just Breathing fuses thrash-like riffs, melodic-death-metal guitar language and rough shouts into Killswitch Engage’s defining early statement.

Untouchables layers low, rolling bass, heavy guitar and electronic texture with great precision, creating one of Korn’s biggest and darkest soundscapes.

The eighth L.A. Guns studio album, released by Spitfire Records in 2002 — the last studio record Tracii Guns played on before leaving. Ten songs.

Project Shangri-La centers on Lana Lane’s clear voice while layering progressive movement, symphonic keyboards and the accessibility of melodic rock.

The debut album, released by Relapse Records in 2002 by the band formed in Atlanta in 2000.

Burning Organ is rooted in Paul Gilbert’s astonishing guitar ability, but it places the fun of the songs first.

Hollyweird pulls Poison back toward the energy of a real band, putting rawer guitar and catchy choruses ahead of excessive decoration.

Queens of the Stone Age's third album, out on 27 August 2002. Dave Grohl plays the drums, and the record is loosely framed as a drive out of Los Angeles into the desert.

Through the Storm carries Riot’s traditional-metal spirit through sharp guitar riffs, driving rhythms and forceful vocals.

Not 4 Sale lets Sammy Hagar move easily among hard rock, blues, funk and Caribbean-flavored grooves.

The Art of Balance brings together thrash metal’s cutting riffs, melodic leads and hardcore-derived force with impressive control.

Stone Sour’s debut combines heavy guitar riffs, alternative-rock atmosphere and vocals that leave emotion exposed.

The Odyssey combines neoclassical guitar, complex rhythm, weighty keyboards and powerful vocals at a high level of density.

System of a Down's third album, out on 26 November 2002: sixteen songs from the Toxicity era, finished by the band after unfinished versions leaked online.

Through the Looking Glass is a covers album on which TOTO, a band of top session musicians, recasts songs it reveres in its own sound.