Wow has it really been 20 years since Brody and her band The Distillers unleashed their seminal debut album on the world.

Well believe it or not it has and what we have here is a freshly remastered version which sounds fantastic so now is as good a time as any to take a look back on this stunning piece of music.

The album starts off with the snotty punk of “Oh Serena” and man does this remaster sound good with the rhythm section of Mat Young and Kim ‘Chi’ Fuelleman sounding thunderous and Brody’s and Caspers guitars thrashing away.  This ladies and gentlemen is how to start an album off,  what a bang.

“Idoless” is up next and Brody’s rip snarling vocal sounds magnificent and yet again we are treated to a full-on wall of sound.

“The world comes tumblin’ has always been this reviewer’s personal favorite and it’s great hearing it so fresh and that riff mixed with that voice is heavenly.

“L.A. Girl”  and “Distilla Truant” are both great upbeat numbers and the pace doesn’t slow down for a second.

The cover version of the Patti Smith song “Ask the angels” sees Brody makes it her own and what I like about this song is the way Brody approaches the vocal as this song is a bit slower than the ones that come before this shows what a beautiful powerful melodic voice she does possess.

“Oldscratch” is just under a minute of pure punk rock frenzy. “Girlfixer” is another short track that is just over a minute and sees Kim taking the lead vocal while Brody handles the chorus and is a great number.  “Open Sky” starts off slow before the band kicks into a high octane thrasher with a great bass solo in the middle.

One of my personal favourites off this album is “Red carpet and rebellion” as I just love the chorus and pounding drums on this track. Saying that its such a strong album the likes of “Colossus U.S.A.” and “Blackheart” are so strong tracks they keep the quality of this album at a high until the end.

“Gypsy rose lee” is just a masterpiece of a song with a beautiful melodic opening before it picks up the pace and this track just has a fantastic melody. The album closes with “The Blackest years” and is a great track to bring this statement of intent to a blistering finish.

All in all this remastered reissue is an essential purchase as it sounds amazing and fresh but doesn’t lose the power of the original.