Strictly Diesel

Strictly Diesel is the debut studio album by American metal band Spineshank, released on September 22, 1998, through Roadrunner Records. After forming in 1996, Spineshank shopped a demo tape around the Los Angeles area, bringing them to the attention of Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares. The band subsequently began opening for Fear Factory and other bands from early 1997 onwards, attracting the attention of Roadrunner A&R rep Kevin Estrada, who signed the band. Produced by Jay Baumgardner and Amir Derakh, Strictly Diesel is a nu metal and industrial metal album whose sound was compared to bands such as Deftones, Fear Factory, Korn and Sepultura—all of whom Spineshank cited as musical influences.

Owing to their association with Fear Factory, Spineshank were touted by Kerrang! as "the next great metal band to come out of LA". Upon its release, Strictly Diesel proved to be a critical and commercial disappointment, receiving mixed reviews from critics and only reaching number 129 on the UK Albums Chart. It failed to chart in the United States, where it sold 66,000 copies by March 2002, and it was considered a failure by both the band and their record label. Spineshank felt they had not properly established a musical identity on Strictly Diesel, and at the time of its release they were dismissed as impersonators of their influences. They would later consider their next album, The Height of Callousness (2000), to be their true debut album, with Strictly Diesel being a "glorified demo", according to guitarist Mike Sarkisyan. However, the band has also acknowledged its significance in shaping their future output.