The first French death metal I've received other than Gorguts, I think.

Wandering around the different areas Euro-death has been in the past couple of years, there is nothing new here. But I hear snippets of Morgoth, Tiamat, Edge of Sanity and others. Meaning, of course, this stuff can be technical at times, not to mention outright strange in choice of influences, but the whole is a very satisfying listen. You will not believe this one album was created by a single group. But you will like it.

As industrial dance music goes, this stuff is boring. The beats are moronic and what music exists really doesn't. On the other hand, the idea of sampling the (as you read this) ex-president and new president to say "We Will Rock You" is a bit of political inspiration. As for the other track, "Psychoactive Drugs," everything is a little better.

Out of Utah this flows, making me wonder if I shouldn't visit there, too. After all, I do dig Into Another (mentioned on the liners here) and these guys are rather amazing as well.

Taking a cue from Primus and cranking the bass rather heavily, these boys then merge basic grunge guitar sound with an almost pulsating rhythmic style. At times it gets hard to tell whether Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden is the big influence here. And mind you, all that filtered through five layers of fog.

Brutally intense music. How these guys actually manage to live in Utah is beyond me. I'm sure there aren't enough people out there who appreciate them. You know, they kinda remind me of this Albuquerque band Treadmill. Not that any of you remember their album of a couple of years ago, but still.

Wow.

Christian death metal, and their main vocal influence seems to be Cannibal Corpse. Not even a hint of enunciation. I stared at the lyric sheet, and had no clue where in each song I was. The vocals are mostly this rough moan.

Musically, they incorporate many elements of doom along with more traditional death metal. Perhaps it's the Christian version of backward masking! Subverting millions of those secular humanist youth. I sure wish I'd thought of it first.

Despite the fact that the press referred to Lunachicks as "foxcore" (a term I find rather idiotic), I'll still review this. But I'm warning all of you: no more!

After all, female folks can rock just as hard as the guys. For proof, look up the Avengers, a band fronted by a woman who put out one great album. Just one, but it is rather amazing. Enough of the tangential stuff.

You played L7, will you play this? I know, it isn't as tight or sterile, but all of the things left in add up to a ferocious gumbo. And you know, I can never get enough songs about periods, bulimia, popping zits or how nasty a few choice men are. Really.

I mean, take this line. "Don't touch us in the street/"Cause we ain't your tits and meat/Just because we're fucking women."

If it's smarmy pablum you want, go start playing your Warrant records. This is really down and real music for those of us who prefer our feet unbound.

You know, if anyone really wants to, they might start checking out the San Diego sound. It has a couple of things in common with Seattle, like real fuzzy bass and guitar stuff, but the basic song construction is punk, not R.E.M.-alternastyle. So instead of droning on an on, the songs are rather tight and amusing. Take a band like Olivelawn. Or these guys, who I first heard on the Headstart to Purgatory compilation.

Give grunge a punk enema. This is a lot more interesting and entertaining than another band who decided they should start half-moaning their vocals and lose all interest in a decent rhythm section. Not naming any (Alice in Chains) names or anything.

I think that right after visiting a couple of shrines in L.A. (like West Beach Recorders, where this was recorded if I read things right), I'll head on down to San Diego and soak up the local culture (and a little sun). If I ever make more than $600 a month, that is.

Very clean production, which at times has the unfortunate result of detracting from the heaviness. To be honest, this is the lightest death metal I have ever heard. The bass completely disappears sometimes.

As for the music, it is good, but not great. With the exception of the cow sample (and that's pretty cool), I have heard this before. If it were rougher it might have a soul. If the influences were more diverse, it might be creative. If the bass existed, it might blow my balls off. But it simply sits. Not bad, not great. Just... so.

The ep has been canned as far as general release goes, but this little slab of vinyl terror should hold you over until their full-length next March.

An innovative mix of Chicago-style industrial/hard core and something that comes from deep inside these seriously disturbed boys, STR will be a major force this year, and you might as well jump on the bandwagon now. This sound is simply too fine to miss. I must qualify this by saying these guys live about a mile or so from me, but I swear that has nothing to do with my excitement.

This is something you haven't quite heard before, but will love. Trust me.

Lyrically, nothing special. Like most hard core bands, they have a point, and unfortunately they are rather blunt. Not much sophistication. But these guys must have listened to Venice bands a lot, because it sure sounds like they grew up there. A little more time taken on the words and things would be clicking.

One dose fifties country blues, one dose alternative excess and one dose of what can only defined as "that damn incest thing." Inbreeding is the only reason these folks could or would want to make music like this.

Of course, you don't have to have an uncle as a cousin to appreciate this stuff. While the brain waves going into this are definitely scrambled, the results are great. No one else dares make music exactly like this, and the world is probably happier for it. But my life would be a lot sorrier without.

A friend of mine played their "Santo Sings!" seven-inch for me a couple of months back. As I knew of the folk and had rather appreciated their earlier stuff, I sat in rapt amazement. If you haven't heard of the Mexican pro wrestler (from the way-olden days) of the same name, then it probably won't mean as much to you. And if you have a tendency to cross your eyes without trying, well, you just might not understand either. But the rest of us will.

I was told if I had survived seventies music I really shouldn't listen to this, lest I fall into a LedZep coma, always playing them or Bad Company in my tape deck. Well, this isn't that bad. After all, they're Australian, and in the seventies Australia gave us Olivia Newton-John, the Bee Gees.... I should try again.

So they're really into that late-sixties "psychedelic" sound thing and there is this nagging feeling you've heard it all before. But then again it's not like they're stealing anything from anybody.

If you don't like seventies music, fine. This does the genre well, however you may interpret that statement.

Bored with recent Suicidal? Then dig this tasty bit from a couple of old members. Some of you may even know of this band, though it's been years since their only other album.

While still fairly commercial hard-core thrashing going on here, it does beat the hell out of post-Frontier ST. And as a reunion thing, it's a lot truer to the old than the Cro-Mags popular opus last summer.

Yes, life sucks and Uncle Slam is out to make sure we all know it. If not convinced, a trip or two through this disc should have you facing reality.

That's Pat McKeon Record company, just in case you get any ideas. A collection of the heaviest L.A. has to offer. Production leaves some of the tracks a little muffled, but that rather adds to the flavor. Most of this is your traditional thrash, but death and grindcore are beginning to make inroads even in the aerosol capitol of the world.

If you don't find something you like here, you didn't listen very hard. My personal fave is the Psychosis track, but everything here is worth a listen. And maybe you can say "Hey, I played a song by them a long time ago..." when they get deals.

So what does the revitalized Megaforce have in store for 1993? This begins to tell the tale.

Nudeswirl is a nice band that has sorta a Saigon Kick groove going on.

Tribe After Tribe was the only old band that didn't end up on Atlantic. That should cover it, although I actually like this song.

The rest you've already heard of or probably won't worry so much about, okay?

What a slow grind on side one. It just keeps going and going and going...

Nothing particularly great, and when the lyrics finally kick in, the hard core stylings aren't nearly as interesting. Not bad, but bland.

Side two, on the other hand, splices a slow grind and fast beat together much better. This is not the poser hard core of side one, it is the real thing. Not particularly distinctive, but good.

Whipped Cream
...& Other Delights advance cassette
(Dali)

A comprehensible My Bloody Valentine. I'm not sure if that means it's better or worse. The new psychedelia is all mush to me.