Feeder

The UK trio of Feeder formed in the early '90s after bassist Taka Hirose joined the team of singer/guitarist Grant Nicholas and drummer John Lee. Influenced equally by early heavy metal, Britpop, and alternative rock, they released their tunefully loud debut EP, TWO COLOURS, in 1995, followed by another mini-album, SWIM, in 1996. In 1997, their debut full-length, POLYTHENE, emerged to vast critical acclaim, making them staples on the Brit-rock circuit. However, Lee committed suicide in 2002, temporarily halting their creativity and ultimately resulting in 2003's much more melancholic COMFORT IN SOUND, with new drummer Mark Richardson on board. They've continued to release albums that fuse explosive, guitar-driven bombast with pop theatrics.

• rock