As with the rest of human existence, the year 2000 was a time of rapid, digitised change for rock music. Stylistically, the ’90s grunge revolution was a fading memory, while the nu-metal that had taken its place had largely jumped the shark, morphing from the angsty, edgy, downtuned sound of the outsider to a mainstream-straddling pop cultural force owned by fat cats attempting to monetise teenage rebellion. Traditional punk and metal were still on the wane, while pop-punk only pulled further towards the norm. In many ways these were the last throes of the music industry gravy-train – and many of the bands riding it. At the same time, a new breed of artists – and some sleeping giants – recognised the possibilities in play. The widespread popularisation of mp3s with Apple’s first...
