Matching Edge of Sanity blow for blow, Amorphis crashed back onto the scene with a truly ripping piece of work.

You know, five years ago the only band doing anything approaching atmospheric death metal (that I remember, anyway) was Tiamat. And those records don't even begin to match the stuff coming out today. On this disc Amorphis cribs not only from Iron Maiden, but Pink Floyd and Judas Priest as well. As usual, more feeling than actual riff theft, so file all that under influences.

And mix all those bits with some trademark Amorphis songwriting (strong lead guitar work teamed with keys--you hear that and you know who it is!)... well, I can't imagine how the process could break down.

And it doesn't. These are nicely crafted tunes, with all the trimmings. No, any old school death metal fan would turn his nose up at this, but, well, fuck that. Amorphis makes great music. Now, if the guys could see fit to do a tour with Edge of Sanity and Tiamat (dream on, asshole!), I'd drive all the way to New York. Another classic. What else do you need to know?

An expanded (extra spoken intro) of "Hopkins", a couple covers ("Fire"--not the Doors song-- and an instrumental, "Copper Sunset") that, due to my lack of musical knowledge, I cannot identify and two new tracks.

"Hopkins" is one of the better tracks off the album, but excepting the longer intro, nothing new here. I can't put my finger on "Fire", but I still can't locate it. And "Copper Sunset" is basically an elongated moody guitar solo. Not bad, not great. These two tracks did nothing for me.

The two tracks are "Purple Wonderland" and "The Devil's Summit." "Purple" is a nicely bouncy trip, with just a hint of the Sabs in the chorus. Pretty cool. "Devil's Summit" might best be described as what happens when Cathedral decides it wants to do the JBs. Lee Dorian tries to get on with his own bad self, and the song is so awful (performance and writing), well, it's just damned funny. Nice to know the guys have a sense of humor.

A new set from the queen of transgender punk. Not that she rules a large kingdom, or anything...

The lyrics are pointedly strident. Jayne has plenty of points to make, in absolutely non-poetic or even interesting forms. The music is basic 70s punk rawk (more attitude than speed) in the Stooges or Dolls style. Wish more was being said.

Still, when you've got the balls (ahem) to cover "Cherry Bomb" (and not badly either), well, that's hard to tear apart. Folks haven't tried to make music quite like this in a while. There's a probably a reason for that, but give County some credit. As a party disc this almost succeeds. As art, well, I'm not so sure.

Edsel has been making a name for itself as one of the better post-punk pop acts. The a-side here find the guys experimenting with all sorts of odd string sounds (even a violin!). All part of a glorious pop gem.

And how could you expect less? Edsel is one of those bands not to be missed, whether live or recorded. The two songs here are just a further example of the rule.

Oh, the flip? "Bela's Corvair" has that spooky-ooky feel that such a song needs. And, again, the Edsel touch with the songwriting. No lyrics, just a way-cool load of sounds put together in juicy fashion. Sounds oddly like latter-day Fall, actually.

I've said all that needs to be said here. It's Edsel. You should know by now.

Sorta merging that distinctly Boston version of the metal-core ideal with plenty of grunge elements, Five Seconds Expired is trying to get somewhere.

I can hear the band struggling, even striving to be cool. It must be hard when you're from Vermont. To get in tune with a scene, not be cool. Anyway, about halfway through "Puzzle" the band breaks through with some nifty rhythm work. Still kinda rote, but definitely cool. Still, it was only the bridge.

"Toss and Turn", the flip, is a live take that breaks into more of that Sam Black Church style of stuff. With more deft production it might even have approached Earth Crisis, but the guitars are way too low in the mix. The song is pretty good, though.

This accomplishes what a seven-inch should, though. Shows plenty of potential, and gets me interested in more.

Another album featuring the guitar work of Greg Ginn. And I already thought he was overextended.

I still do, but this is a much stronger album than the Mojack and Confront James. Ginn allows the percussion (and drum machines) to control the tempo and mood, and he simply fills in with (for him) a quite expansive guitar sound.

Somewhat industrial, I suppose, with various rhythms programmed into the machine. The interplay between drums, drum machines and guitars is very nice. I don't know if that was improvisational or what, but it works very well. Makes the album, really.

A bit repetitious by the end, but not nearly so much as other recent Ginn projects. This album shows he still has what it takes to create awesome music. I just wish he'd pace himself.

These guys have been scrapping around New York for what, ten years? Since I was born, it seems like. And back where they started, on a subsidiary of Profile.

Strangely straightforward and catchy. These guys have always been funny and filled with an obviously posing attitude. Made the spotty music bearable. But here the music is quite adequate. And the lyrics just as silly as ever.

I can detect something approaching maturity, but not enough to offend. The flip, a faux-ska tune called "Reefer Man" has the Law back with a bong. Just where it belongs.

Veterans of the scene by now, Polvo cranks out another salvo in it war on generic music. And as usual, it hits dead on target.

Polvo refuses to meet its fans even half way, pounding out jarring pop tunes some might say only a mother could love. Or fans of eclectic pop, I suppose. I mean, this isn't really experimental, but Polvo's insistence on dissonance and strident chord progressions is rather revolutionary.

Or was, as Polvo is "merely" following in the tradition of great bands like Slint. Or its own considerable recorded output, at this point. Exploded Drawing is just another awesome chapter in the Polvo story. No, there's not a "breakthrough smash hit" here, nor is there that song perfect for a Spike Jonez (sp?) video. Simply scintillating music. Ain't that a bitch.

The last project for singer Ray Gillen (previously of Badlands) before his death from cancer in late 1993. So this has been on a shelf for some time.

Not terrible so much as horribly derivative. While plenty of folks take credit (or share the blame) for the songwriting, the most common denominator is John McCoy, who is probably best known for producing Ian Gillian. His is the only name on the strongest song on the disc, "I know a Place", which has a real Rainbow feel to it.

Other luminaries include Mike Starr, original bassist for Alice in Chains, and Bobby Rondinelli, who has done session work for the likes of Rainbow and Black Sabbath. The whole project was realized by Al Romano, which is why he's the one on the dreadfully cliche cover.

Joey Belladonna co-wrote a few of the tunes, and it's a good reason he threw those out before putting together his own band. They're pretty awful. And most of the rest is middling at best. Which is probably why it's been on the shelf for so long.

Earache presents this selection of material from the Industrial Strength label. Plenty of the ga-ga-ga sound that Earache fans will remember from Ultraviolence.

And yeah, it does get a little dull. There is only so much that can be done with this sound, as recent Ultraviolence has shown. But still, this set is rather entertaining nonetheless.

And as a cool gesture, a second disc containing two DJ mixes is enclosed. So if the clubs in your city won't play this stuff (and the folks here are still afraid of NIN), then this gives you an idea of what club life in certain parts of England is like.

More than I needed of this sound, but quite fun nonetheless.

If you don't know the story, the Lounge Ax is one of the cooler clubs in Chicago. It has the problem of existing in trendy Lincoln Park area, and thus has been hauled into court on various noise (and other silly) violations. Well, the liners tell the story better than me, anyway...

So I'll stick to music. And with folks like Jesus Lizard, Superchunk, Sebadoh, Mekons, Archers of Loaf and Coctails contributing original tracks (14 bands in all, the only non-original is Yo La Tengo's live take on "Attack on Love"), well, I'm not sure how much better a set could be.

And since this is Touch and Go, you know Corey won't be skimming some personal profit off the top. All the money here goes where it's supposed to go.

Um, I didn't hear a song that sucked, either. Worthy cause, more than worthy disc.

Twenty tracks of that "eclectic experimental noise pop thing". The "pop" in that description separates this collection from the equally fine (but sonically different) Japanese/American Noise Treaty. There, the purpose was the extension of the noise idea. Here, the purpose is expanding folks' conceptions of pop.

And with cool folks like Jim O'Rourke, the Flying Luttenbachers, Melt-Banana and U.S. Maple, well, you know this is going to be an awesome set. Not for the faint of heart, certainly, but a must for anyone who wants to traverse the rim of the pop universe.

Best of all, this is just the beginning from Gentle Giant. Located in Kalamazoo (a town I am intimately familiar with), many of the artists here will be recording for this fine outfit. Let's hope the stuff starts rolling out soon. This collection is too amazing to be just a one-off.