One of the more hypnotic tracks from last fall's Suicides…, "Medication" is but the beginning here. The other two songs do nothing to hurt A.D.'s rep as musical pioneers, either.

A lot of critics have tried to pigeonhole these folk as "transcendental psychedelic college metal" (really, though it wasn't printed; the guy was trying to impress me with his vocabulary) or even dumber catch phrases.

Just good music. And if it is currently mellow, you can be sure the action will pick up soon. Plus, what's the volume on your stereo for? (If you want a great song for a metal show, just plug into "The Yellow Brick." It'll peel the latex off your listeners body parts.)

As usual: great songs, presented impeccably. Strangeness can be so rewarding sometimes.

Kinda spooky to see the Rough Trade logo on this disc. I guess we all know what happened here. The jewel box has a rather strange design, as well. But to the music.

A pleasant combination of doom and death sensibilities, with a dash of the grind at times. Simmer for ten minutes, and you have a wonderful… Christ, I sound like Chef Tell.

As this album has been around for a while, waiting to be released, it does sound a little dated. The production is adequate, but a little muddy. I do like the doom elements a lot. This is an amusing little wine and... there I go again. I think I need to eat some dinner. Jam this. I like.

For a real good laugh, read the press. Lines like "a band that tries not to be experimental" keep jumping out at you. Very cool.

At once really catchy and grotesquely offensive. I don't think I've heard anything this cool in some time. Matt from Relapse warned me I might like this...

Okay, okay, so he was right. And a few of you progressive types out there in radioland have picked up on this as well. Which is good, because the godfathers of industrial have all descended from the mountaintop and entered major-label (and mediocre release) hell. Time for nee blood to kick some life into the genre.

Great music for an S & M session. You could watch the welts grow as you writhe to the beat. Not many people dare record (or release) intense efforts like this. The world would be a much better place if folks did.

Truly an act of extreme depravity. And I love it.

It would have been real interesting to see how they fit five tunes on a vinyl seven-inch, but I am rather grateful for the CD service.

The title track, a rather straight (punk-wise) cover of the Tom Jones tune, is pretty decent. The other four originals are straight, by-the-book punk musings, which, of course, make me hop all over the room.

A lot of you didn't get into 13 Flavours of Doom, and you missed the boat. These guys have been around with various configurations for almost fifteen years, giving rise to the question many in MaxRNR have been asking: "What do you do when you're a 40-year-old punk?"

D.O.A. have a few years to ferment before then, but they don't seem to have aged a day yet.

A brutally intense band live (take Helmet and pump the adrenaline a bunch). The a-side is a real mess, with a ton of noise and absolutely no direction. Fuckin' cool.

The b-side is a P.I.L. cover, and everything seems to be in slow motion. Personally, I've heard these guys do much better live, but I'm not complaining. As for the comic book: completely tasteless art combined with irresponsible story lines.

If I didn't get this sent to me, I woulda bought two (but feel free to keep sending 'em!).

Epic doom death metal, brought to you by James Murphy, known for his work with Obituary, Death and Cancer. This is intended to be fucking huge (as I think I could quote Psycho, but I haven't talked to him about this). And it is good shit.

I complained about the Solstice album being unspectacular. This album has so many bright moments they almost drown each other out. The spotless production captures every perfectly-played note (and at this speed, that's pretty good), but at times it's like listening to an Yngwie Malmsteen solo - yeah, and?

Death metal is at a stage where bands need to move it to new and more interesting areas. A year ago, I would have hailed this album as not only a classic death metal album, but a classic, period. This is as far as the old genre can go. Time for bands like My Dying Bride, Fear Factory and Candiru to lead us from the abyss.

A nice heavy groove laid down on the first side. The song seems to be about a manic-depressive who has watched a little too much Nick at Nite. I think. I wasn't able to catch most of the lyrics, but the jacket has a distorted picture of Patty Duke, so I'm guessing. Even without any words it sounds cool as hell.

The flip is a wacky take on the sound of the first side. The vocals are really distorted, and... well, like the Butthole Surfers useta do a few years back. I bet these folk would be really cool live. The bass is amazing here.

As for the comics, they're a little funnier and tamer than the Dazzling Killmen set. But the marketing concept here is brilliant, with the execution up there as well.

These guys rely on a guitar sound more than any other industrial band I've heard. This lends to the KMFDM semblance (not a bad influence, in my book), but I can't think of another similar-style band who ignores the beat and bass more. And if the guitar is just some keen MIDI work, who gives a shit? This sounds great.

The guitar sound here is just amazing. Oh sure, the other industrial trappings are here, but there is more going on. I just hope this doesn't fall between the alternative and metal cracks. Both sides should spread wide and accept this love offering.

After ten years, those good folks at AT have decided to unleash this beast upon the CD-buying public.

When the right Rev. Horton Heat cruised out of Dallas (via Seattle and SubPop) a couple of years ago, everyone seemed to have forgotten that Evan and the H-Bombs are still cruising the country, cranking out raucous rockabilly tunes and generally tearing things up.

This album is testament to his talent and the future that is now. If you haven't seen him live, go. He'll be near your town soon (he played the Grand Emporium here three or four times last year). If you don't give this a listen, you are a musical deadbeat.

It's been a couple of years since the last (brilliant) album, so I was hoping for more than six tunes from these S.F. boys.

Well, six will have to do. They have further evolved from a thrash band with a little funk and the occasional scratch to a funk band with a little thrash and the occasional scratch. Not much thrashin' any more, really.

Not that I mind. Scott Holderby has a great voice, and he should be singing, not screaming, anyway. But I must say I was not prepared for the mellowness inside this case.

I like it as far as it goes. Please, boys, don't start emulating the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Faith No More just to score a quick payday. Please continue to do what you do. Please.

P.S. - This disc contains rather creative uses of metal. Use extensively.

After a (deserved) friendly lecture from Munsey, I found out that Tony Nicole Tony (never refer to it as TNT, I learned) is indeed an indie with major connections. Fair enough. Now to judge the music:

Well, the single left me with the impression this could be glam or real heavy. It turned out to be glam, on the weird side.

I think I almost liked just the single better. The album is rather pretentious, and it doesn't come close to meeting the goals it seems to set for itself.

I like acoustic guitar work as much as the next guy, but when you start off acoustic and go heavy in every song, it gets real old real fast.

Potential, but not realized at all here.

Co-produced by Don "Breaking the Chains" Dokken. After that sinks in, I'll be back.

Of course, this is a rather tame NB release. The call and response between vocals and guitars is reminiscent of Circus of Power (again) and Masters of Reality, both of whom have new major label albums out.

Not to be really rude or anything, but I can't find a shred of originality wandering anywhere in this disc. It's a good representation of seventies anthem-metal, but I thought we are all past that. If you can't improve on the past, leave it alone.

This is alright, but just barely.

With more than a passing resemblance of the Titanics, the Satanics cruise out of Boston sounding like they've cruised out of the delta.

Oddly enough, this reminds me of the Circus of Power's first album: production a little muddy (but it sounds best that way), cheap riffs and wacky lyrics. And while COP wasn't kidding, and thus became a sort of bad joke, these boys are kidding and the joke is on us.

Just in case you're curious, the humidity is what will really fuck you in Hell, the Devil has been known to have a candle sticking out his ass and selling your soul can leave you a lifetime supply of good barbecue sauce (where do I sign?).

What else can I say about this except: Enjoy!

The liners are much more belligerent than the music, which sounds a lot like Kai Hansen's Gamma Ray thing. Not quite so produced, but it sounds good for a demo.

So Eurometal is alive and well in Michigan. Something has to be going better than Chris Webber's counting method (one... two... uhhh... two?).

I don't know if these guys are going to be able to do anything, as the market for this sound passed a few years back. If they wait out the storm, maybe their time will come again.

But for what it's worth, I like this stuff.

Completely unspectacular death metal. Maybe it's just my mood. I mean, I like a lot of the riffwork, and the drumming is solid (almost industrial). The vocals are presented with the right level of animosity and bile. And even a hint of enunciation.

I think all that may be what's eliciting this response. It almost seems calculated. Scott Burns has become such a proficient producer, perhaps he is subconsciously saying, "Now we need this here, and this here, and this..."

Strikeouts are boring. Throw a few ground balls, guys.

Another album cut off by the Rough Trade folding, this is an extremely sophisticated death metal album (not just because of the presence of synthesizers). But they do help the doom atmosphere, and when things get rolling, they really go!

One of the finer death metal releases this year. Not terribly experimental, but certainly on the forefront of the death metal universe (and it was recorded a year-and-a-half ago). Since then, their bassist and guitarist have died, but they plan to record with a new line-up soon. Sounds like a good idea to me.

Paula told me "Hey, don't get pissed, but this is more straight ahead metal than our other stuff." I assured her that was alright. I can judge the dead, the quick and the glam equally.

Some of the classic examples of glam metal are live albums, the Scorps's "Tokyo Tapes" being freshest in my mind. If a band really sucks and is poor, a live recording can make them sound like idiots. Studio production can hide a lot of errors that this sort of recording cannot.

And the verdict: These guys have the chops. The songwriting is decent, though mostly unspectacular. And enjoyable, if rather benign, experience. I've heard worse and better.

There are sixteen bands on this thing, thus LimP 012 is Volume 17. Make sense?

From the famous and sublime (Smashing Pumpkins) to the somewhat obscure and tasty (The Luck of Eden Hall), this collection of Chicago-area talent reeks of a most pleasant odor.

I could list the other cool tracks and bands, but why don't you just check this bastard out for yourself? There is something here for everyone, and I couldn't find a clunker in the bunch.

Don't be an asshole and play only the Smashing Pumpkins tune. It's not the best one here (though it ain't bad). Why don't you search through and find something else even cooler.

Smile, Godspeaks loves you.

Tony Fredianelli
Breakneck Speed advance cassette
(Shrapnel)

Instead of the usual nice, neat, clean and precise Shrapnel sound, we get pelted and jabbed from every direction with slashing riffage and real vitriol. Bravo!

Along with the Fredianelli album above, this represents a heavier direction for Shrapnel recordings. Not as frenzied as the other, but more experiemental with samplings and the like. At times the mixing is heavy-handed, but this rocks (dude?)!

Actually, this live thing is a buzz thing to get people awake for their new studio album, due when, Karl? Rather accessible pop-thrash (or so I have to describe this), it still packs a punch. It kept my interest, anyway.