Heavy pop with some real sixties feel. "Hard" is a real treat. The second tune on the a side is a weird rant against the government and crack. The usual conspiracy theory folks have put forth for years. It ends up sounding kinda stilted.

Then, as if things weren't strange enough, there's a Zep cover on the flip. A lounge-lizard version of the Velveeta-heavy "D'yer Maker". I think I'm more confused than when I started.

If you've heard of the Jerky Boys, then you know precisely what this stuff is. I didn't really like the Jerky boys, and this is not quite up to that standard of quality.

Of course, if you're like most folk, then you'll get off on this for at least a few minutes.

Now, I got the tape somewhere at CMJ, and it doesn't have a contact address or anything, so you probably can't do a damn thing with this review. But I figured I'd get in on the fad and register my opinion.

While almost entirely previously released material, this disc brings together the output of a unique band.

Exit 13 have fuzzy guitars, meander through the grind and death metal with flair, and manipulate the vocals in impressive ways. The wacked out guitar sound is great, and you just have no idea where the next riff will lead.

Folks have mentioned these guys from time to time. It's great to finally hear their stuff, and so much, too!

While I don't usually pay much attention to the press, these guys have some of the most creative reviews I've ever seen. So they must be doing something right to inspire such praise.

They're loud. Fairly untalented as musicians go, they can emote with the best, and their music fries my brain better than any of their beloved herb could.

You could think of Killdozer at 45, (early) Helmet at 16 (these are speeds, folks) or just give a listen to this thing. It should throw your mind into fits.

Meandering jazzy stuff whose phrasing reminds me a little of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. But this is more of an improvisational rock band, or at least rock instrumentation.

They're not afraid to be raucous and rip it out if they feel like it. Or be real quiet and keep things to a minimum. In other words, any and all attempts to pigeonhole these folk will fail.

Accomplished musicians making interesting music. The title of the album is probably the best way to describe it. Put it on and let your mind wander. You'll be surprised how far it goes.

Red Decibel's latest shipment to the Sony folks pack a nice, heavy-yet-bouncy seventies feel into the A-side. Live, they were a bit unfocused and tended to degenerate into Jane's-ey rants. Here they sound like a band that could sell a shitload.

A nice taste of one of the first releases of the new year. Listen and wait with anticipation.

Louder than Hell is certainly a comedy classic. I don't know about you, but from the first shouts of "I fucked 'til I was blind!" to the final rhapsody of "You lying whore!", it broke just about every rule there was.

Unfortunately, it made money. A lot of money. And lots of people bitched. Sam was homophobic, misogynistic and all those other bad things. He also had Ronald Reagan prancing around the Lincoln Bedroom with a hard-on after the Lybian bombing and taught a lot of us oral sex technique.

So Warner Brothers recorded mostly his tame material, and Sam got dull. While this isn't as fresh as Louder than Hell, it gets back to the basics. After all, comedy isn't pretty.

"Oh, we're a riot in a war! You know we said: It might be funny if we put a video camera right on the head of it, just so the last thing you see is the guy sticking his head out the window going 'Oh God!' That way you've got it on film! You know those generals were getting drunk all night going, 'Rewind it! Rewind it!'"

I'm sorry, but that's funny. Too bad he had to die to get good stuff out again, but at least it's there.

Good hard core, if a little muffled in the production. Tight, short songs that are big on attitude and a little short on real subjects from time to time.

This is the sort of thing major labels are snapping up right and left. It was the big sound about a year ago, so now they're interested. If you still are, give this a spin.

I hope that's the right title. I couldn't really read the handwriting. Oh well. Members of Napalm Death and Obituary team up for an industrial-death side project. And it sounds really good!

Both of the regular bands involved saw their sounds edge toward the commercial last time out. This is commercial, I suppose, but it rips to shreds most of the industrial bands I've heard. Fast, grinding riffs and nasty drumming keep the buzzsaw to my throat.

This is what side projects are supposed to do: bring out the creative side of genius. Instead of doing the same old thing, Mitch and folks have attacked a new sound and done a number on their competition. Absolutely stunning.

Sure, there's the novelty of this being a Christian death metal act. But Mortification need to play more interesting music for me to get truly excited.

Not that this is bad. But it gets a little banal at times, and I get the feeling they still don't quite have a feel for death metal yet, or at least enough to begin really experimenting, a la Believer or something like that.

As much as I want to like these guys, I just can't. Not yet, anyway.

Apparently tired of major-label bullshit, Lemmy and company crank out their best album in years on their own thing. I think. I got this in an envelope with no press or anything, and the return address was rubbed off by general post office abuse.

Their last album was so bad I couldn't listen. 1916 was pretty good for a major release, but this goes so far past that I can only wonder where these songs have been hiding the past few years.

Instantly infectious and still heavier than they have been since the early eighties, this has a fairly slick production that still manages to convey some jagged edges.

I've been a fan for ages. I don't know if this quite matches up to the late seventies stuff, but it does a fair nineties approximation of that, with good songs to boot. All hail our returning heroes!

A couple of the highlights from their full-length (see page 2) and two other very nice songs. These guys have an almost perfect feel for pop music.

I wonder where these guys have been that I haven't heard word one about them before? Well, it's not like that's so difficult. What I do know is I'll be paying a little more attention to these matters from now on.

Same verdict as the disc: absolutely great.

Guitar-driven pop music (but then, isn't it all?). Here, though, the guitar seems rather heavy in the mix, which gives it that early-eighties Marshall Crenshaw/Nick Lowe sorta feel.

The lyrics are pretty damn goofy, but like any good popsters, there is something past the surface that makes it stick.

Everything just keeps rolling along, and I keep noticing that things are getting just a shade darker. Perhaps it's just my imagination, but I hope not. A little depression never hurt anyone.

If you wondered where it all began, this is a brushed-up version of their 1990 European debut. Things are a little cleaner, but just as brutal. And now you can see why folks like me just bow and cry "Master!".

Exceptionally accomplished for a debut, it's pretty easy to understand why these folk have gotten the attention they have: a simple knack for writing good music.

Grind of the highest order. A vital re-issue (though the first official stateside release) that deserves monster play. The title track alone is simply amazing.

One nice thing about these guys is you cannot put them in any category. The demo I reviewed last spring had four almost completely different songs on it, and the same goes for this.

The A-side is a fast, pop-punk kinda thing. Accessible, yet high-quality. The flip reprises the seventies wank guitar they used on their earlier tune "Fonzie", but this is more of serious funk grind.

Despite my personal connection to these folk, I must say objectively that they are about the most creative and cool-sounding unsigned band around. Hopefully some over-eager A&R freak won't fuck with their weirdness just to sell a few records.

While the cliches show like well-worn artificial turf seams, at least they pick the good ones.

And they keep the manic energy of Cross the Styx going all through this one as well. Sinister must wear themselves out at their shows, because this more activity than humans should have to endure.

Not that it's all so fast, but just everything that's going on is pretty amazing. This is another winner from these guys.

They don't just borrow from Black Sabbath, they bathe in it. Not just the heaviness, but the whole stoner philosophy.

Yes, it's cool to smoke pot again (I never noticed it going out of style, but then all of my friends are too poor to get hooked on coke) and Sleep should cash in. If I could get stoned, I suppose this would be good music for such an activity.

By the way, I did not notice any direct theft of riffs or themes, which means these boys have done a good job. One listen and you'll go, "I haven't heard that Sabbath tune." And it will be Sleep.

Mostly Michael Gibbons, who was last heard with the band Leeway. He's still playing a very technical, classical guitar, and it sounds like a lot of other good guitar players.

This is that classic metal sound of the mid-to-late eighties, just like Leeway played. Not much here to distinguish from a large pack of such bands. Gibbons is a capable singer, but the music just sounds too familiar.

You folks have been reporting this for quite a while, but I get my first taste through the CMJ bag.

I understand the appeal. Wall-of-noise screams interspersed with slightly mellower moments. This is where grunge and hard core meet head to head.

There is this odd, almost unconscious feeling I get listening to this. I like it, but for no good reason. It just resonates with my bones. Wish I could do better than that, but I'm afraid my lexicon is all tapped out for now.

Jam this, please.

Combining standard rock rhythms and middle-eastern melodies (well, at least a pretty good approximation), Sri Lanka have a fairly addictive sound.

The beat rarely slows down, but things don't get too heavy or overwhelming. Everything just keeps moving forward at a nice pace.

I've heard other bands do a song or two in a style like this, but I think these folk have a grip on something original. I know I haven't heard anything like this for an entire album. And the dance cut at the end of the album manages to convey this sense into a fast goth cut.

Something good and different. I like their chances.

Despite the bizarre testimonial from WFIT, I decided to listen to this. There was a "Subliminal Bob" side and a "Not Subliminal Bob" side. The marking tape was switched.

Adding to my confusion were all the songs by other bands. I guess we can chalk that up to eccentric. And if you like such stuff as They Might Be Giants or King Missile, this could appeal to you. It's pretty atonal and makes the most sense if you live in New York. Witness the WFIT support. I live in Michigan and never liked Too Much Joy. Oh well.

Sounds like a hippie version of the Lemonheads, who I last found interesting about five years ago, when they were a real band and not just Evan Dando's ego.

Weird meshing of Manchester rhythms and pseudo-psychedelic acoustic guitars. And that wimpy keyboard sound that I thought went out with the Mamas and the Papas.

I smell a marketing plan here, and I don't like it. I think the songwriters could do a much better job if they wrote what they believed in, not what they think will garner them a record deal.

More seventies cheez from these Aussies, who nonetheless do seem a bit more modern here than on Weedseed. This new direction, though, cranks them right into the path of about a hundred other bands who want to be the next big post-grunge outfit.

They're still not terribly catchy or original. And in between those towers lies the detritus of many obscure bands. I think there is talent here somewhere, but it will take more effort than I've heard so far to bring that to the light of day.

Take a chance, guys, and find your own sound!