Late to the Party, but Turning Up the Volume

First off, a quick apology to the late-night regulars and the first-thing-in-the-morning crowd. These episode notes should have hit the site on Monday night or Tuesday, but life had other plans. Between wrangling some incredibly stubborn wheelchair tech issues and keeping the wheels turning for the day-job company, the clock simply ran out on me. Thanks for your patience—we are officially live now.

Before we dive back into the heavy, multi-week thematic sets that usually anchor the show, I wanted to put together a total palette cleanser. Consider this the semi-ultimate early 2000s rock and metal retrospective specifically engineered for the Madison scene.

If you spent any time hanging out in clubs, bars, or DIY venues around the 608 back in the early-to-mid 2000s, this tracklist is going to hit like a massive wave of nostalgia. We dug deep into the local crates for this one, pulling tracks from bands that defined the gritty, heavy, and progressive sounds of Madison’s underground scene at the turn of the millennium.

Here is the exact track rotation that went out over the airwaves for Episode 1356.

Behind the Frequencies

Digging up information on these local legends requires peeling back layers of old Broadjam profiles, local zines, and physical demo discs, but the music absolutely holds up.

Driver 13 brought that heavy, chunky, modern rock sound heavily influenced by the likes of Alice in Chains and Godsmack. Their independent release until the end of time remains a textbook example of how to build massive, grooving modern metal riffs right here in Wisconsin.

Then you have Livid, who spent years tearing up local stages and opening national tours with a relentless, aggressive alternative metal sound. Their 2004 record BITTER UGLY TRUTH still hits incredibly hard from start to finish.

Flat Atom brought a completely different energy to the scene, fusing industrial metal and electronics with low-tuned buzzing guitars across their releases like RS2k5 and Flux. Fun fact for those looking closely at the liner notes: their 2007 full-length album Flux was tracked and produced right here in town by none other than Thump over at Recluse Studios. Their legendary live shows were notorious for flattening everything in their path (allegedly leaving a trail of broken stages and angry soundmen across the Midwest).

Closing out our look at this era is Middleworld, a five-piece experimental and progressive hard rock outfit. They specialized in massive contrasts—layering deep melodies, complex time signatures, and intense vocal emotion across their sprawling 2005 album DVSC. It’s the kind of complex arrangement that captivated musicians and casual rock fans alike.

Artist - Song - Album - Label

--- HOUR 1 ---
Driver 13 - karma - until the end of time - Not on a label
Driver 13 - alignment - until the end of time - Not on a label
Driver 13 - the monk - until the end of time - Not on a label
Driver 13 - joey - until the end of time - Not on a label
Driver 13 - driver - until the end of time - Not on a label
Driver 13 - hate bug - until the end of time - Not on a label
Driver 13 - turn - until the end of time - Not on a label
Driver 13 - yin yang - until the end of time - Not on a label
Driver 13 - garden - until the end of time - Not on a label
Livid - out of breath - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label
Livid - cuft - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label
Livid - don't dream now - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label
Livid - aura - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label
Livid - self inficted - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label
Livid - the wasting - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label
Livid - inside - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label

--- HOUR 2 ---
Livid - dredge - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label
Livid - when it all ends - BITTER UGLY TRUTH - Not on a label
Flat Atom - CKICHE - RS2k5 - Not on a label
Flat Atom - MANIPULATE - RS2k5 - Not on a label
Flat Atom - RETROGRADE - RS2k5 - Not on a label
Flat Atom - SEX GORILLA - RS2k5 - Not on a label
Flat Atom - MANIPULATE (BLUNT FORCE RE MIX) - RS2k5 - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Reflection - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Sedative - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Hump - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Lies - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Roll Over - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Hollow - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Noose - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - BleedsMeDry - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Brighter - Flux - Not on a label
Flat Atom - Lidocaine - Flux - Not on a label

--- HOUR 3 ---
Flat Atom - Falling Down - Flux - Not on a label
Middleworld - Eclipse / Seasons - DVSC - Not on a label
Middleworld - Term / 04.Term - DVSC - Not on a label
Middleworld - Sucide / Smile - DVSC - Not on a label
Middleworld - Hows Your Engine - DVSC - Not on a label
Middleworld - The / Way - DVSC - Not on a label
Middleworld - Simple / Pleasures - DVSC - Not on a label
Middleworld -  Term - DVSC - Not on a label
Middleworld - Forbidden - DVSC - Not on a label
Middleworld - A Beautiful Blue Hallucination - DVSC - Not on a label

Rolling with Scissors airs live every Tuesday from 2–5 AM on 89.9 FM in Madison and streams at wortfm.org. Missed it? You can catch the episode for two weeks after broadcast at archive.wortfm.org or at rwsradio.com.

While the audio disappears after two weeks, the episode notes and playlists don’t. Every deep dive, rant, and full album breakdown stays right here — so you can revisit the details any time.

Spin the dial — we’re probably on it. Lock onto your frequency. Pick your favorite antenna below and ride the signal back to us.

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