Sixteen Stone by Bush

Sixteen Stone, Bush's debut album, came out through Trauma and Interscope on 1 November 1994 in the US, with Britain not getting it until May 1995. Clive Langer produced it, and from the first blast of distortion it was obvious where these English newcomers had been looking: the churning guitars and the sudden dips into quiet had everyone comparing them to the Seattle bands, and to the just-departed Nirvana in particular. The press made a lot of noise about it.

Taken on its own terms, though, it's a sturdy, muscular rock record with a knack for a big chorus. "Everything Zen" coils and snaps, "Machinehead" rides a thick, lurching riff, and "Little Things" builds to a howl. "Comedown" is a sullen, rolling mid-tempo grinder, and "Glycerine" strips things back for the album's most naked moment. The lyrics range from adversity and relationships to terrorism and a swipe at macho stereotypes.

America took to it fast. It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200, "Comedown" and "Glycerine" both went to number 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and "Comedown", "Machinehead" and "Glycerine" all crossed onto the Hot 100. It was certified 6x platinum in the US on 16 April 1997 and ranked 59th on the Billboard decade-end chart for the '90s. Back home in Britain it did far less business, though it still went silver. Razorblade Suitcase came next, and a remastered edition marked the debut's 20th anniversary on 14 October 2014.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.