You know, not every death metal band would be happy with a member posing in a KLF t-shirt. But there it is on drummer Kev Frost, in black and white. Of course, Cerebral Fix are an anomaly. I can't make out whether or not the band is Christian (maybe it's one of those U2 things), but the lyrics are amazingly eco-sensitive and biblical-related.

But all of that is secondary to the riffs involved here. This is a far cry from their last album, which I recently discovered hiding in a corner at the station. Way cool is the only way to describe Bastards.

Tracks to swear by: "Descent into the Unconscious," "Sphereborn," "Middle Third (mono-Culture) I" and of the last three, which I think are covers, but I have no idea who did them first. Clue me in!

You folk love these guys. Not to be rude or strange, but I really don't get it. They are about as generic a death metal band as you can find. To be fair, they do have rather nice vocals, with just a hint of enunciation. But the music is really not terribly innovative or interesting.

Having sed all that, I must acknowledge the support many of you have for these guys. So I could very well be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. And I didn't say these guys were awful. So don't crucify me, okay?

Century Media's first stateside band (though they're better known in Europe) is a litle closer to traditional thrash than the rest of the fold. The vocals are still rather death-ish, but the music ranges from the occaisional early-maiden influences to an all-out 250 bpm assault.

These guys really have some things on their minds, and the lyrics show it. And the one instrumental, "Spider Jam," is very nice. Hexx definately has the chops. Once again the Bay area comes through, and another fine band makes its presence known. Dig these cuts too: "Fire Mushrooms," "Watery Graves," "Birds of Prey" and the title track.

While I have some appreciation for Mercyful Fate, King Diamond has become a real cartoon, especially after his appearance on the Geraldo "Devil Worship" program. While I'm sure his profession of faith in the Devil (whatever that meant) won him legions of new fans, his goofy make-up, which he says has some ritual meaning, makes him look like some ugly cousin to Batman.

To be honest, his last studio effort was much closer to Bon Jovi than any of us want to admit. However, this disc may wake him up and get him to record some stuff comparable to his early solo stuff. At least that (and this) had balls.

You all probably know these songs a lot better than me, so pick your favorites. The solos are just that, so if you're into that sort of thing, indulge yourself. I've always found such things masturbatory and usually detracting from any performance. But I'm weird.

And if the success of this disc can get KD to journey down a heavier path in the future, well, good deal.

It must be the water. For some reason Caroline decided the first things they would send me are two industrio-dance outfits, instead of stuff from Hole, Monster Magnet (which they distribute) or even the Smashing Pumpkins. Of course, these are their latest releases, so I'll bite. Plus, the slogan is "Loud Music Resource," and I`m not about to discriminate against dance or rap outfits.

That having been said, the Lords of Acid make on kind of music: songs about fucking. Music to fuck to. I have a few stories... . This is music that I can dance to. Of course, I can also dance to Poster Children, but this is good dance, not too far removed from Slavestate.

If you have to balls (and the open mind) to play this, check out "The Most Wonderful Girl," "I Sit on Acid" (which will be dedicated to my roommate this week), "Hey Ho!" and the amusing "I Must Increase My Bust."

If you get callers complaining, tell them to sit 'n' slam!

Not far removed from fellow Germans KMFDM (which, for the last time, does NOT stand for Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode, although that is a nice romantic theory), the Overlords are a bit more bouncy, but a little more overt in their pissed off message as well.

I could swear they somehow got Jello to sing on their way-cool cover of "Holiday in Cambodia," but the vocal work here simply shares many of his histrionics. "Hell's Kitchen" sounds frighteningly like "Personal Jesus" until you listen to the lyrics. Other songs I really dig: "Organic!," "Search & Destroy," "Moontrap" and "P.T.L. (Pass the Loot)," even though Jim Bakker-bashing songs are rather passe these days.

Hey, if you folks will play Ice-T with your metal (and you'd better have been playing cuts like "Midnight" along with "Body Count"), then this is no great leap. "Diversity Rules" has always been the law at KCOU. I like it.

The thing I like most about this album is the abundance of interludes. They create the mood of this album, making this a big step forward for the band. A ton of you are already playing this, with good reason. It is very good music. Pestilence create some of the best metal songs of the year, death or otherwise.

All of the instrumentals are worth playing in general format (my jocks love them). The best heavy tracks: "Twisted Truth," "Testimony" "Land of Tears" and "Stigmatized."

I wish this would have been a full-length album, but I understand accidents happen. To be honest, however, I see no death metal band that even comes close to Sorrow as far as lyrical content. Their vocabulary is large, and not just twisted like Carcass (though those guys are great, too).

The almost rollicking nature of "Awaiting the Savior" is very nice, but my favorite tune is "Curse the Sunrise." Hey, folk, dig this one. I've talked to a few of you about it, and we've been in agreement: Sorrow will be huge someday. So why don't you get on this today?

Not even a nod toward enunciation here. This is classic death metal with some guy hocking up phlegm on vocals. And he's got one hell of a rhythm, too.

These guys remind me of Grave, with their almost overbearing use of speed as a musical device. And, there's always the novelty of having two black musicians in a death metal band.

As with Grave, I must confess a desire to be able to differentiate between the songs. But I may be able to wean my friend Dave from mini-thins if I can wire him to the energy created by these guys.

I reviewed this a couple of issues ago as an advance, and now I finally have something with track titles. My opinion hasn't changed (note my report). In fact, I'm quite sure this album will be right up there with Morgoth, Cerebral Fix and Atheist as the best death metal of the year.

If you don't have it, give the CM folks a yell now. If you aren't playing it, get off your ass. This is fine, varied death metal, which makes it great, as far as I'm concerned. Tiamat is (are? I've never been sure of that grammatical rule) great.

Play every cut, but if you want to pick and choose, I like "Ancient Entity," "Mountains of Doom," "On Golden Wings," "Lady Temptress" and the soft one, "Angels Far Beyond."

The first Video Sheet Metal expanded the frontiers of "heavy metal" by including such cool bands as Soul Asylum, the Black Crowes and Sonic Youth, three bands I have given lotsa play on my show. This edition doesn't go quite so far, but what is there really kicks.

Take the first piece, featuring GWAR in a rather tame performance (I only counted one decapitation; c'mon guys, you're just not trying hard enough!). Big applause for the feature on Mind Over Four, one of the most underrated bands of all time. I also dug the fun with Agony Column, although it seemed rather restrained as well. The Tad and Skin Yard slices are very nice, too (love that chainsaw).