4 Songs from 1994

Tonya Harding, Lorena Bobbitt, and the death of Kurt Cobain; 1994 was not the most innocent of years even though Jim Carrey began his rise to prominence with roles in Dumb and Dumber and The Mask.  Here are four tracks to get you in that nostalgic mood.

Re-Branded Contraband

As this new decade creeps closer and closer into our lives, we here at Metal Top Hat would like to continue our feature on 20 of our favorite albums released in these past 10 years.

Many strange and interesting events occurred in 2004. In presidential news, Ronald Regan passed away at the grand ole age of 93 and incumbent George W. Bush was re-elected to a second term in office. At the box office, Spider-Man 2 set opening weekend records while another sequel, Shrek 2 lead the way for total global grosses. In other news, a Tsunami rocked south Asia, Mars got a few visitors, and USC won the first of it's 4 Rose Bowl games of the decade.

Following two soundtrack standouts for 2003's Hulk and The Italian Job, Velvet Revolver was a surging supergroup on the rise. Comprised of a chunk of Guns N' Roses, a vein of Stone Temple Pilots, and Dave Kushner, star power was clearly not an issue and in the Summer of 2004 they released their debut full length, Contraband.

Debuting at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 list, the album would soon go on to double platinum status behind a somewhat tepid critical response. Stand out tracks include: "Slither", the lead single garnered VR a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance; "Big Machine", a pounding track showcasing Weiland's scratchy, harsh vocals; "Superhuman", another STP flavored track enhanced by Slash's signature singing guitar; and the ever-corny ballad "Fall To Pieces" (video after the jump).