This has all the marking of a farm project: CEMA anti-piracy sticker, thanks to the folks at Capitol, etc. Oh well; Glad Dog is certainly indie.

Fairly average cheesy metal. The lyrics are rather dumb. I was listening to stuff like this seven or eight years ago.

But not now.

If you want to hear something really weird, dig the Lord's Prayer rendition. They're serious about it, although it sounds rather mocking. Oh well, damned strange is better than dull any day.

With equal talent for distortion sculpting and pop melodies, Ass Ponys come across much like Yo La Tengo (who, of course, are thanked in the liners. It always happens that way...).

While I am a fan of both, it takes a genius like Neil Young (who everyone is trying to replicate, anyway) to completely pull this sort of thing off.

But this comes close. The producer keeps the noise to a dull roar and makes sure the "musical" side of things is never completely lost.

These are happy popsters with a country tinge and a grungy underside. A nice little album.

Long before I was into punk there were the Big Boys. Too bad, but back in 1982 I was listening too... no, it's too damned depressing. Chalk it up to an isolated New Mexico junior high experience.

Yes almost a full ten years before the Bosstones wandered out of Boston the Big Boys were combining funk, horns and hardcore. So maybe the ska was a later addition (though I can hear an almost accidental Jamaican rhythm now and again), these guys were prescient. Now there are lots of folks who want to be like the MMB. They mean the Big Boys.

If your station is like my old one, you don't format reissues. This is worthy, not only for time passed but historical value. Not to mention a lot of fun (fun, fun?). Yes, indeed.

There's a reason singles are edited for radio: the label thinks commercial radio can't handle the original. Be it length, certain words or ideas or anything else, you can always be sure ignoring the radio edit is good policy.

Having said that, the edit here is not bad. But the club version (four minutes longer) is pretty awful good. If you got into the Assimilation stuff, especially Diatribe, or any of the recent Reconstriction, then this is worth your time.

Yes, that's a didgeridoo (I think I spelled that right) at the start of the album. Wait a minute and Coroner really kicks in.

And a lot more animated than their last effort. Still the same sound, but with more intensity.

Don't know Coroner? Go back into your station's library and listen. These guys were heavy when most of the metal universe was playing Poison. With roots in thrash, early on they departed from that potential dead end and created their own tightly-produced sound, which is in ample abundance here.

This does sound a little dated, but personally, some things are worth reminiscing about. Knowhutimeen?

Who else could make "Smells like Teen Spirit" sound like a 1984-era Madonna song? And the strings on "Even Flow"!

It is almost impossible to sit through a single song, not to mention the entire album. DeBell did a great job. This is just as annoying as commercial Muzak (a company headquartered right here in K.C., wouldn't ya know).

I've heard a "real" Muzak version of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and of course Guns 'N' Roses "You Could Be Mine" (talk about spooky). Don't ask me where; let's just say it wasn't at home.

This is a joke. Play it as one. While it's kinda sad this will almost certainly become C/Z's biggest seller ever, there is no other label who has had to suffer more under the grunge plague.

Let's hope Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots take the hint and get jobs where they are truly qualified: McDonald's.

Welcome to the post-hard core scene. Rapid-fire delivery that for all intents and purposes is rap, and a slower grind to the tunes. Bands like Suicidal and Biohazard have followed this path to success.

I can see where these guys would get a major label deal, but I just don't get into it. It sounds like a lot of stuff I've heard before. I know, I know, the kids love it. Henry Rollins is now a Seventeen pin-up, and I bet we'll see Mike Muir on the cover of Sassy soon. I don't have to like it.

I'm not sure what it is about the upper mideast, but folks up there haven't forgotten how great bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Helloween used to sound. Makes me glad to be heading that way. Those were the folks really getting on the Iced Earth bandwagon, and Environmental Hazzard is a great example of such a band.

I realize this stuff is sorta dated, but I love it. And they really mix things up to boot. I'll have to live with my early Queensryche and the like to relive the era gone by, but this is worthy successor to that great sound.

Yes, I reviewed this before, but due to a brain fart didn't realize two bands were involved. I talked about Mass Psychosis before, so I'll rectify the error and give Exterminance its due.

Nice grinding sound, but the singer sounds like he's got a vice on his testicles. Damn. I hope the Workmate loosens its grip soon.

Actually, it's a pretty cool sound. And the music is fast but not sloppily played.

I laid out the August issue of The Note, a regional music mag with distribution of 40,000. After digging through the various bins of CDs and tapes, I found the advance for this album. I played it back and forth about five times, really annoying a couple of people.

So I had an inkling that this kicked ass. When the vinyl showed up in my mail, I was pretty happy. One of the things I'm a sucker for is D.C. post-punk. So they're not based in our nation's capital any more. Does that change the sound? No.

I know a lot of you don't play anything that doesn't have overharmonized guitars and incoherent vocals. So be it. But these vocals do have a nice rasp, and there is fine music going on.

You folk should pay attention to more T&G bands than the Jesus Lizard. Just so you know.

Oooh, dogie! (archaic western term; indulge me) Incorporating samples into great traditional death metal that is infectious enough to make me attempt to headbutt my monitor (but I missed and hit the kekjhgs instead).

This is a real find. While I have to give the top prize to Morgoth (they arrived in the same package, of course), this gets rookie of the year honors in my book. Some great sounds here.

Creativity has always spun me the right way, and Graveyard Rodeo may have what it takes to turn around reactionary death metal bands and get things evolving again. More power to them!

Calling Half Japanese an acquired taste is an understatement. Calling Jad Fair's voice annoying is to voice truth, but then, you could say the same about Daniel Johnston (who has one of his songs covered here).

And they are both in the same category: guys with marginal musical talent who are geniuses when it comes to observing things. And creating moods with their music.

It is still music, after all. Even when Ornette Coleman or John Zorn fly off the furthest cliff, only Wynton Marsalis would say it isn't jazz. This is certainly weird, but it is also strangely affecting.

Jad Fair has improved his playing and even his singing, and Moe Tucker achieves a nice early VU sound in her production, which is certainly more than appropriate.

Two new and four live tracks are what you get. Well, that and the always amazing Jesus Lizard.

Saw a review. The guy said he still doesn't get JL. Yeah, and he probably thinks Soundgarden is a progressive band, too.

There is still no one better at producing killer riffage and stellar (did I really use that word) rhythms. The first new tune sounds like a reworking of the AC/DC style, but totally JL. New track two has a definite DC feel to it.

This is not your everyday Jesus Lizard. But then, there is no such thing. And if you want to know what you (and I, since they came through same day as the Big Star show) missed on their last tour, dig the last four tracks.

A new album would not be too much to ask for, I say.

Quirky pop-country music. Everything sounds simple on the surface, but then you start to peel the thing like an onion. And it just keeps getting deeper.

The melodies sort of spin around each other, and the near-spoken vocal delivery makes the words' sounds clear, if not their meaning.

It just keeps rolling along, on and on. In a pleasant way, of course. Almost hypnotic, especially that mellotone organ effect. This and a Dogbowl album and my mind would be ready for an extensive field trip.

Lead track from their new album Psychoschizophrenia, a title which sets new standards for redundancy.

The last time I saw these guys, they were playing a lame cover of the Paul McCartney-penned Badfinger song.

This is average glam, and where would we be without such things today?

Chris Connelly, Martin Atkins, Mary Lynn Bowling and David Simms. If those names don't sound familiar... well, they should.

Four mixes of a Dudley Moore tune, with one instrumental segue thrown in to mix things up.

I'm not sure what caused them to do this, but it is oddly infectious. The manage to keep the late sixties feel and still give it a nineties sampled spin. No press to tell me if this is a one-off or what (I'd bet on that), but I should be happy with gifts like this.

With ex-members (of ex-bands) Candlemass, Hexenhaus and King Diamond's band among others, you might figure on some excellent doom.

No shit, hunh? This proves that if you sing pseudo-operatically, your backing music doesn't have to be boring. Not to slag on Solitude Aeturnus, who I love, but the kicks their last album down a hill and into a ditch.

Simply put, Memento Mori's members sound like they've been disappointed with the way their legacy has been acted upon by today's young doomsters. And with this album, they should drag everyone else's bloody carcass into a new dimension.

Is that clear enough for you?

Speaking of yanking cranks (see Pestilence review), Morgoth pretty much can do that whenever. I'm willing and submissive.

They've picked up a spot from the doom crowd, but not enough to get annoying. This is still straight-ahead death metal, and it's surprising how good it can sound when put together by folk who know what they're doing.

Cursed is still one of my favorite albums, and I have a feeling they surpassed themselves here (and by the number of your reports, I see you've noticed as well).

Prepare for the ascension; Morgoth has claimed the title as king of death metal.

Their first album was a collection of rushed pop tunes with hints of jazz, punk and lots of other stuff mixed in.

Bill and Steven of ALL have taken the kids under their wing, producing this thing and asking them back on tour this fall (though Cruz edited my review of the My Name-Jawbox-ALL show in the new ALL pressbook to leave out the first two bands).

I guess you can't promote someone else's band, or maybe it was a spatial thing. I don't care, though anyone who's read my shit knows if you leave something out you're liable to get confused. Tangent closed.

Right. I can hear a definite ALL influence grooving through here. While the influences are as diverse as always, everything is tighter. Not too tight, but at least up to a Treepeople standard.

This would be up there on my list of fave albums; I've been jamming the advance for some time now. I know many of you have shied away from C/Z stuff as too poppy. Not so here; get off yer ass and play it!

Sure is good music for a funeral. Organ, mellowness and just the right amount of guitar at moments.

And let's not forget the willowy, almost whispered vocals. The press compares them to Julee Cruise (bleah), but here they are at least an octave lower, giving them a nice contralto sound (look it up).

I could die to this.

Very riff-dependent for a death metal band, everything is so clean, even the vocals. I wish I could get into it more, but something is holding me back.

I'm sure it will come to me one of these days, but I just can't put my finger on it.

Maybe it's because the riff the sounds depends on seems to be repeated in every song. That could be it.

Maybe it's because, apart from the little intros, most of the songs have similar constructions. This is well-played material, and it sounds great. It just doesn't yank my crank today.

Ex-members of such Bay-area stalwarts as Primus, Sister Double Happiness and Samiam combine here to create a sound that just pounds those other bands to death.

Heavy, heavy, heavy, but still there's this underlying groove. I believe something was mentioned about albums in the future. I know I'll be waiting with great anticipation.

Five originals and a Sab cover make for a great package. The production is above average and PT put on a credible defense of the doom and traditional metal theory.

One of the better demos I've heard in quite some time.

Italian thrash. Nothing special here, except that I do like the song whose only lyric seems to be "fuck". An interesting concept.

The CD mastering is pretty low, so maybe that had something to do with it. This is so... mundane.

Karl tells me these guys are legendary in Italy. Take that for what it's worth.

This is Dirty Looks with a few special guests, like Robin Crosby (of the ex-Ratt) and some guy from XYZ, a band which never should have been.

The cover is, by far, the most tasteless I've seen since that Fantasies thing TNT put out a couple of years ago. Just to say.

The music is basic Dirty Looks post-AC/DC stuff. Nothing exceptional, but at least as good as their Atlantic stuff. For cheesy commercial metal, it's pretty good. It didn't piss me off, at least.

Fairly anthemic death metal. Kinda an odd distinction, no? But being distinct can be tough in this genre, and Sentenced are certainly talented enough to make a mark.

A lot of movement, and yet everything stays in control. No sloppy playing here.

Maybe too controlled at times. It gets calculated sounding after a while, like the machine that's been oiled for life. Maybe a squeak or two would help.

Still, the songs are interesting and not at all average. Definitely worth your time.

Also known as Screaming to God, this had the unfortunate problem of showing up the same day as the Treponem Pal. So I was a bit underwhelmed.

Not much, though. High-grade industrial dance, a la Ministry. More samples and less guitars and you have the idea. If there were a spot more bass I think I would be happier, but that's no good reason to bitch.

Um, much like the last Young Gods album, the last track is long. Twenty-five and a half minutes long, to be accurate. Personally, I liked it.

Consistency. When you get a Tar record, you know exactly what you're getting. The tempo rarely changes, and the noise level is altered even less. What's most amazing is that the songs are rather distinct anyway.

Part of that has to do with an excellent rhythm section that simply pulverizes anything in its path. And the vocals are still evolving, even more clear and melodic than on Clincher.

Another T&G band that deserves more play on the loud side than it gets, Tar have become one of the better post-punk outfits around. Well, their record deal proves that. But their output is also rapidly becoming most impressive. If you listened to them three years ago and didn't get it, give 'em a try now.

Produced by Franz Treichler from the Young Gods, this is much more coherent than their last release. Everything seems amped up to a new level of viciousness.

It's been quite a while since I've heard an industrial album that was this hostile (well, besides Skin Chamber). Hostile and still club-accessible, I meant to say. Let the guitars rule!

And everything else as well. I must say, this sounds a lot like a Young Gods album, except that the songs are not written around guitars. I'm sure the production had a bit to do with that. But not a complaint. After the sparseness of their last album, this attention to walls of noise is welcome.

Plainly put, this is fine. Like, f-i-i-i-n-e. I know, that's a silly way of putting it, but don't miss out here.

I've found my favorite album of the year so far. And that's saying an awful lot. And it's really odd, because this is very cleanly produced, dramatic to a fault and includes almost overpowering keyboards. Any one of those things is often enough to make me hate an album. But not here.

Combining Goth, industrial and a keen love of sixties Brit groups the Beatles and Black Sabbath (ultra-heavy pop music), Pete and the boys have concocted a masterpiece. These songs go on for ten minutes at times, and yet you don't get bored, simply mesmerized.

And let's talk about Peter Steele's voice. He goes lower than almost anyone I've ever heard (so I guess basso profundo or whatever the press said was pretty accurate), but it is most impressive when he lets it loose into the stratosphere. To call it a roar is to castrate it.

This is not a metal album. But metal (sucka) djs should certainly play it. If this isn't a big alternative hit as well, somebody fucked up the marketing.

Just listen. You can't help but go absolutely insane.

As you might expect, this is an uneven set of songs by young bands.

And with that negative comes the positive: some of these guys are really trying to go beyond the obvious and derivative. In another word: potential.

Much like the Columbia (Mo.) compilation I reviewed earlier this year, there is everything from metal to mellow to an odd retro-eighties sounding band.

You can find something you like, and probably something you'll hate as well. I'm sure half of these bands are no longer together. But remember: this is the ground floor of the music industry. One must always keep in touch with the source.

This could just as easily be titled Martin Atkins' Recent Greatest Hits, as this is his label, and he had a hand in most of these recordings, performing on most.

Of course, Invisible has always struck me as a kind of community thing, with different folk pitching in a different times to make amazing things happen. While Pigface is the most famous (and perhaps best) example of this, the other fifteen bands on this disc deserve a listen. Sure, some of them don't exist (or never really did, except in studio), but they all reflect the attitude.

Chicago is, of course, industrial dance hq. Invisible is, at least artistically, the lord of that scene. If you don't believe me, then one trip through this will convince. This is a musical edge, folks.

Um, I wasn't sure how things could get much worse than the Lillian Axe when this dropped into the discer next. Lillian Axe are geniuses next to these guys.

Below average glam that is plain annoying at times. And it's a whole album of the stuff.

I was predicting chord changes entire songs before they occurred.

Wait! I hear a new Aldo Nova album in the distance!

For all of you who think Japanese music begins and ends with Loudness and E*Z*O, this should change your mind. A lot of scowling and screeching guitars going on.

In other words, it sounds great. And an album is on its way, as it should be. These folk are out on tour, and I think to catch a show would be heavenly. Pardon me while I spoo.

Bones Garage
Bones Garage
(demo)

This is a side project of Harm's Way (below) and Damien. Sounds like they have a few kinks to work out. Trying to do sorta a euro-doom thing, but it doesn't click yet. Keep trying.

The vocals are mixed great, but the rest of the music is buried beneath. And I like what I hear of the music. One nice take on the doom motif and a couple of upbeat numbers. All impressive. Better production should really help out their sound.

It seems the new trend is to merge punk and grunge. While Rocket FTC is the only band to get it completely right so far, ths isn't too bad. Fun to listen to, anyway.

Three basses and drums. I sure wish there was some production here, because the sound is rather interesting. The lyrics are a bit cliched, but that sound!

There's a reason bands like Cinderella, Poison and Bon Jovi don't sell any more: people are bored with that sound and moronic lyric content. Too bad for this, because it is well-produced and the playing and singing are more than competent. Just wish he had something to say.

A compilation of +8 Records artists. This means electronic dance music coming out of the Detroit area. There's a reason this stuff is undergound: it is a challenge to listen to.