RAWK

When five pieces from the splintered membership of hardcore's most influential '90s outfits came together, Handsome was formed and the songwriting, textural, and creative limits of an entire genre of rock music were expanded to a previously unimaginable degree. At its center, Handsome was directed by former Helmet guitarist Peter Mengede. While not officially credited as the group's songwriter, Mengede's very identifiable riffs and song structures seem to be a musical basis for Handsome's music.

Hoss is a hard rock band based in Melbourne, Australia. One of a string of 90s hard rock bands on Melbourne's Dog Meat Records that included the Powder Monkeys and Splatterheads, Hoss was primarily a vehicle for the songs of front man, Joel Silbersher. Silbersher also makes solo records, collaborated with guitarist Charlie Owen under the name of Tendrils and tours as a backing musician with acts such as Tex Perkins and the Dirty Three.

Takida, a five piece rock band from Ånge, Sweden, started out in 1999 and they have worked hard to get where they are today. They have been touring all around Sweden and built quite a reputation as a solid live rockband. Their fanbase is growing as we speak. Their first demo Old was only produced in 500 copies and sold out immediately, Old was recorded in year 2000. It was followed up by the EP T2 (2000), the full length album Takida (2001), the ep Gohei (2003) and the ep Thorns (2004).

In early 1996, the world was seemingly reconciling some of its evolutionary hang-ups. Gary Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in one of the most epic chess matches of all time. Scientists discovered the possible evidence of life on Mars. President Clinton appointed the first female US Secretary of State. And in one cluttered basement in Wilmington, Delaware, the Spinto Band began to materialize. Spinto, huh?