In June 1998, System of a Down released their debut album, System of a Down . They enjoyed moderate success as their first singles ” Sugar ” and ” Spiders ” became radio favorites and the music videos for both songs were frequently aired on MTV . After the release…
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However, in May 1998, Island Records’ parent company, PolyGram , was purchased by beverage giant Seagram for $10.6 billion; as part of Seagram’s purchase, PolyGram was merged into Universal Music Group , and Island Records was reconsolidated into The Island Def Jam Music Group umbrella label. The restructurings delayed the…
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In May 1998 three tracks were recorded for a split with New York’s Indecision entitled The Fall of Every Man . The split was released in November 1998. As Shai Hulud’s popularity grew some of the band’s members’ interest began to wane. In January 1999, Oliver Chapoy decided to leave…
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Eventually, Godsmack’s CD landed in the hands of Rocko, the night-time DJ for Boston radio station WAAF (FM) . The radio station put “Keep Away” into heavy rotation and the song rose to the number one spot at the station very quickly. Newbury Comics, a New England record store chain,…
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“Home Is Where the Heart Aches” was combined with four songs from the band’s 1996 recording session (“Encante,” “Ruffian,” “When People Resort to Name Calling,” and “Broken Brain”) to make up the band’s debut extended play, The Fists of Time , released by Good Life Recordings on compact disc and…
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In April 1998 The Criminals recorded the EP Tomorrow’s Too Late , released on New Disorder Records later that year. The band had yet another drummer change when they recruited Julie Thorn, formerly of The Hi-Fives . The Criminals returned to Catbox Studios in the spring of 1999 to record…
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After another European tour (this time as headliner) in 1996, a new album was released in March 1998: the third and final chapter of the “Marriage” saga, titled Invictus . This was their heaviest album at the time and also very epic. Lyrically it is a concept album about humanity’s…
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In late 1997, they came back together to play a small number of live shows. The band returned to the studio with the intent of writing their last chapter by re-recording a dozen unused older songs. Success was released in February 1998, again on the local PopLlama label. A tour…
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The band cancelled their scheduled recording sessions as a result of Berry’s departure. “Without Bill it was different, confusing”, Mills later said. “We didn’t know exactly what to do. We couldn’t rehearse without a drummer.” The remaining members of R.E.M. resumed work on the album in February 1998 at Toast…
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and the album was released in February.