In September 2002, Ash released their first compilation album Intergalactic Sonic 7″s, which they promoted with a three-month supporting US tour with Saves the Day. Wheeler wrote 14 new songs after attending a February 2003 peace march. In March 2003, Wheeler told the NME he wanted to experiment with electronic music for the band's next album after using computers to score a short film. In May and June 2003, Ash embarked on their first headlining US tour in five years. Throughout the year, the band debuted several new songs. In October, Ash went to Los Angeles, California, to record their next album, staying at Julia Roberts' former home in Beverly Hills. Recording sessions were held at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys and at Chalice Studios in Hollywood; recordings were co-produced by Ash and Nick Raskulinecz. Ash worked with Raskulinecz at the recommendation of Andy Gill from Gang of Four, who told Wheeler he "got the best drum sound he's ever heard" from using Raskulinecz. The band also chose to work with Nick Raskulinecz because they wanted the album to have an American sound to it; according to Wheeler, American-made albums "sound better sonically", with "better engineering, better studios, so we wanted to check it out ." Wheeler said they recorded guitar, vocals, drums and bass in that order, which contrasted with their usual method of recording bass and drums first. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl visited the studio a few times during the recording but the band refrained from asking him to play on any recordings; Wheeler said; "There's a whole bunch of people we could have called, but we just want to get our band's sound on record". Despite planning to have finished by November, the sessions continued until January 2004. Rich Costey mixed the recordings at Cello Studios, also in Hollywood, with assistance from Claudius Mittendorfer. Howie Weinberg mastered the album at Masterdisk. Composition Meltdown has been described as a hard rock album that has influences from metal and has been compared with the works of Smashing Pumpkins. The guitar work throughout the album is similar to that of Black Sabbath and Metallica, and includes numerous solos played by Ash's guitarist Charlotte Hatherley. Meltdown is a departure from the pop punk style of Free All Angels, and is the band's heaviest-sounding release. Discussing the album's title, Wheeler said; "Why? Cos it's a meltdown. A full-on rock monster.