Flotsam & Jetsam: Drift

Flotsam & Jetsam: Drift

1998 was a tough year for me for many reasons. It really was the point I had bottomed out and had nowhere to go up. During the first half of the year, I was in the absolute worst job I had ever had. I cannot even begin to describe how dysfunctional the boss/employee relationship was at the company I worked at. What made it even worse is the fact that these people had more or less hand selected me to work for them based on the relationship I had with them when I worked at National City Bank. This was the point that I figured it was time to rethink what I was doing for my day job. I also felt like musically things were falling apart too. The band I was in was losing its chemistry, in my opinion. It had become a 'job' and a 'place to be and a certain time every week'. The late 1990s were still a pretty directionless period of time for rock and metal. Alternative was 100% mainstream and the local scene was as dead as a doornail. I wasn't seeing a reason or a way to get ahead musically. I was also having some arm problems related to a 7 year old fracture in my elbow. So basically 1998 as a whole wasn't a great year for me.

This disc, while completey unknown outside of Flotsam & Jetsam's fanbase described what was going on with me. It was a disc written about frustration, anger, self doubt and disillusionment. Flotsam and Jetsam were pretty much known only as the answer to a trivia question, (What band was Jason Newsted in before Metallica?) and I think this was beginning to wear on them. When I listen to this disc now I remember how bad rock music was throughout the 1990s. Alternative was mainstream and metal was considered a bygone relic. Guitar solos were absent or frowned upon and technique was considered a bad thing. Alternative rock radio was milking the fad to death and many fair weather fans and wanna bees were popping up by the dozen.

Flotsam and Jetsam were also not a 1980's hair band, but they were still getting the same cold shoulder the industry was giving to hair bands in the mid 1990s. In other words it seemed like an arbritray decision for the industry to shun them. F&J had more in common with Metallica and Alice In Chains than Warrant, Winger or Motley Crue but were still treated as if they were like the latter bands. In some ways, I felt the same way about my professional life. I had a good degree, a decent GPA and looked as good in a suit as any other recent college grad, but could never land a job in my field. (I felt the same way about my dating life at this time too, but that's for another time.)

Much like Fates Warning's No Exit, F&J's Drift is about a frame of mind and an emotional state. When I am in this state of mind, this is a disc I have gone to a lot. Musically it still holds up today and would recommend this disc to anyone.