Feature / Music
2004: A Year In Review

Posted pre-2010

(In no specific order)

The Advantage - S/T

'Yes! Yes! This rules!' is what this album cover makes me want to say. This looks like it was drawn in your Grade 10 History binder over the course of a term's worth of classes. Quite frankly, things don't get much more rad than an NES conquering space.

Kanye West - The College Dropout

This album could have had the obligatory 'I'm standing in front of my posse looking cool, wearing a million dollars worth of ice' cover. Instead, Kanye did something almost unheard of in popular hippity-hop. He (OMG) didn't put himself on the cover. Well, he did, but he's wearing a cuddly bear suit. That doesn't count. I bet people will remember this image in 10 years.

The Honorary Title - Anything Else but the Truth

Maybe it's the pretty use of color. Maybe it's the shading technique used by the artist. Maybe I'm just a sucker for panda bears. I don't know, but seeing this album really, really makes me wish I liked this band more.

Converge - You Fail Me

Look at that. A big severed hand? That's intense.

Mastodon - Leviathan

Wow. This cover is so neat that I feel like I have to pee every time I see it. Leviathan just wouldn't have been Leviathan if some guy from the band had sat in front of his computer with MS paint for an hour. No, Mastodon hired satan himself to paint their cover art. Thanks, satan. We're all proud of you.

-Giles

Next: Top 5 Pop Singles!

— words by the SPB team

Related features

Demos You Want To Check #2

Music / New Kids On The Block • January 12, 2026

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and then die out, and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, a little help never hurts! So here we are, your … Read more

The Seize

One Question Interviews • December 31, 2025

Cesar Ruiz (The Seize - vocals) SPB: How do you typically choose your album art? Ruiz: Album art has started with lyrics. When I’m writing, I’ll have these images in mind that represent the feelings or themes within the songs. Those ideas usually become the starting point for the cover. … Read more

Chairmaker

One Question Interviews • December 30, 2025

Neil Erskine (Chairmaker) SPB: If Chairmaker had a physical form like a place, a thing, or a smell, what would it be? Erskine: There is a very specific chair - but you've got to read Banks' Use of Weapons. No spoilers.   Read more

Ugly Stick

One Question Interviews • December 29, 2025

Ugly Stick SPB: Describe in your own words the “Columbus Sound” and what it means or has meant to you and your musical output. David Holm (vocals and guitars): As it pertains to Ugly Stick I would say it's kind of an amalgam of punk rock, country, and classic rock. … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: Year End (2025)

Music / Year End 2025 • December 23, 2025

Every year we diligently assemble a list of our favorite albums of the year. Each SPB staff member enters the large arena we nickname THE DOJO, and yells out the name of their top album of the year. Rival staffers quickly assemble and shout out their own highly-favored record, and … Read more

More from this section

Demos You Want To Check #2

Music / New Kids On The Block • January 12, 2026

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and then die out, and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, a little help never hurts! So here we are, your … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: Year End (2025)

Music / Year End 2025 • December 23, 2025

Every year we diligently assemble a list of our favorite albums of the year. Each SPB staff member enters the large arena we nickname THE DOJO, and yells out the name of their top album of the year. Rival staffers quickly assemble and shout out their own highly-favored record, and … Read more

Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2025

Music / Year End 2025 • December 23, 2025

For many years now, Scene Point Blank has taken the opportunity as the year ends to formally "pass the mic" to our friends on the other side of the mostly-imaginary divide between listeners and artists. This year is no exception as we ask a bunch of bands, artists and labels … Read more