Released in 2000, this album made At the Drive-in officially, the most exciting band of the 21st century, and so far, they have not been knocked off that spot, despite being defunct. This, their major label debut, was something of a mix of everything that got them there in the first place, after two, virtually untouched upon hardcore records, and then an EP of their Hispanic roots, they, with producing prince of metal, Ross Robinson, wrote something, that would blow all else apart.
Now comes the personal touch. If I'm honest, back in 2000 when I first heard their, 'hit-single" 'One Armed Scissor', it made me shut up and listen. But, I didn't like it. Cedric Bixler's vocals annoyed me, and really at the time, for such an explosion of intriguing music, one couldn't really comprehend. So, now, after a couple of years, hearing more people loving them, and then hearing them again myself, it became apparent that ATD-I had followed rule number 4 of the truly influential bands - the band will always be ten times more appreciated after they have split up.
And the fact that ATD-I, or possibly just the record label, I'm not sure what the story is, has re-released their entirely back catalogue just before Christmas 2004, it's apparent that they know that themselves. And too right, because this is an amazing album, from the simply mind-blowing aggressive punk of 'One Armed Scissor' alone has enough energy to power a council-estate in Romford for a week, to the desperately heart breaking 'Invalid Litter Dept.' featuring the harrowing real-life story of the women of Juarez, Mexico, who are being raped and killed in an organised ring owning a series of factories the women work in called 'Maquildoras". What is possibly most heart-felt about this is that Cedric and Paul both grew up in El-Paso, Mexico, a town that neighbours Juarez.
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