Yes, the Jack Brewer who used to sing for Saccharine Trust. He met the Bazooka folks in the studio for an earlier spoken word set, and they got together.

According to the label, this is a complete improvisation, Jack reading from notebooks and the band jamming as it feels.

If so, this is pretty impressive. As you get to the end, you begin to realize Bazooka's somewhat limited heavy jazz range, and, yes, Brewer does seem to have and endless supply of pretensions. But there are moments of real inspiration (I am particularly enamored of the middle of "The Sinister Rain").

I live for moments like that, and will endure the merely above average to experience them.

I've had many conversations recently about the future of death metal and grindcore. These folks were worried that truly mediocre but popular bands like A.C. and Cannibal Corpse are making the point that you have to really change your sound to get airplay and sales.

It might be true. But Convulse does manage to be heavy AND accessible. Yes, they steal a few grunge conventions, but once those riffs are mixed in with a generic but melodic death style, interesting things happen.

I see a commercial future for bands like Convulse. Death metal bands have let their standard sound become stagnant. In order for the movement to survive in any form, there has to be innovation. Convulse's tack is but one way.

Death metal should learn from its punk ancestors and not get too doctrinaire. Convulse pushes the edge, and does it well.

I get the feeling that Simone Holsbeek can sing, but she just doesn't want to. Instead, her vocals are twisted through layers of distortion, as is the accompanying music. No signs of change.

Despite the dumbest album title in years (Taurus No Bull), Cords TVT debut was a nice ball of nasty fuzz, and the originals on this EP are in the same vein. But when I saw the cover of the Guess Who's "American Woman" (dreadful), I figured the "Snowblind" must be Styx's song.

No, they pick the Sabbath tune, and do a decent job on it. Hell, Simone even lets her real vocals come through most of the time.

I'm still not sure if Cords is a weird joke or not. At times, particularly on the title track, the folk are positively riveting. Then the down side crashes in. Cords could be something if the inconsistency is dispensed with.

I said it with the release of their last album, and I will say it again: Desultory is the face of commercial death metal.

Sure, there are obvious references to Slayer, but there is a better sense of songwriting in the Desultory camp. Better riffs and the occasional intelligent lyric, which Tom Araya will be accused of when hell freezes over.

A general coherence pervades. This makes sense. It grooves. Yes, it is some distance from the old school of death metal, but if you're fans of Tiamat or anyone who has tried to inject some melody into death metal, then you should be digging in.

Desultory is one lean machine. There is no excess, only glory.

Simply smashing (too many World Cup matches, I guess). Grave has come through with certainly its best album and one of the best discs so far this year.

I thought I heard improvement on the recent EP, but nothing would have prepared me for this. Grave updates their sound with smatterings of Fear Factory, Morgoth and Pungent Stench, managing to merge those competing interests into one single sonic vision.

I have never been a real Grave fan at all. In fact, I really detested their early stuff. But in a time when it's evolve or die in the death metal world, Grave has come through with a masterpiece. Nothing more can be said.

Is it rap, metal or industrial? With the trendy terminology in use, I'll call it rap with a pleasant dose of the other two.

What the Hard Corps might have sounded like if they had found some nice beats. There are reasonable riffs and pieces of distortion flying around, but everything is grounded in the groove. It all fits together perfectly.

Completely infectious, I'd like to hear a full disc. Four tracks of crunchy goodness that manages to avoid being throwaway. It gets a little silly at times, but you try and find any act that doesn't tread those waters from time to time. Juster is pretty damned exciting.

Yes, their album comes out on Touch and Go. In fact, the A.T. folk congratulate T&G (Quaterstick, actually) for their fortune.

And with this taste, the good luck is all ours. Kepone is another one of those bands from Virginia, but they have a lot more in common with A.T. and T&G bands than most others in their area.

The two songs are so amazing, I can barely find words. Kepone is a trio, so the bass is used to double as a rhythm guitar at times. But everything is in motion all the time, kinda like a Chicago hard core noise band on speed (just the music, now). The vocals are from somewhere in the punk vein, a nice'n'harsh melodic assault.

I can just imagine the faces of the Quarterstick folk when they first heard this. Stunned disbelief, and then a mad race to the telephone. Deal in seconds.

The real world isn't like that, but then the real world hasn't encountered Kepone yet.
Watch out. Domination is next.

The liners note the story of a man who has passed from the days of "good young poet with potential" to "fifty-year-old poet". The poems on this spoken word set (no music included) reflect the passage of time, though not necessarily in a linear sense.

Lally celebrates the ordinary, combining some poetry conventions with conversation. Completely lacking in pretense, Lally relates everyday events. The everyday includes racism and other -isms, the general roads of life, family and how that can warp you.

The best thing about Lally's poetry is the way he makes you reconsider your surroundings using events that seem superficial at first. He doesn't sound deep, but moments after hearing Lally, a new meaning will hit you. And then your awareness is expanded.

That's the true test of poetry. Lally succeeds.

The Leaving Trains are probably the least-known legendary punk band around. Those who have been paying attention for the last 15 years or so know not to miss a show, but when it comes to albums, well, things can get spotty.

Some confusion would be understandable on this disc, though, as bassist and producer Chaz Ramirez was killed while trying to put The Big Jinx together. It's a weird story, but mostly sad. Especially since the Trains have come up with some of their catchiest songs ever.

For starters, once you get past the title track, which is an intentional load of samples and assorted odds, the songs are tight and rather accessible. The lyrics are as entertaining as ever, and Ramirez's last project was quite well produced, indeed.

Predicting any sort of major success for the Leaving Trains is like betting on U.S. World Cup chances, but you never know. Maybe enough people will come to their senses and dig in.

Completely underproduced, this sounds like it was recorded in a mattress factory. Where's the sound?

Inhabit is a big improvement over previous efforts. Instead of merely copying their influences, I hear the genesis of a real Living Sacrifice sound. And you can't call it progressive, though it is slower than before.

I really wish I could hear everything that is going on. There is just so much mush in the background, it's very difficult. With better engineering, I think Living Sacrifice could really leap out. The chops are fine and some decent musical ideas are emerging. Next time, I guess.

Trademark black metal (or silly metal, as I like to call it). The most popular purveyors of this stuff are King Diamond and Mercyful Fate, though Mayhem are quite a bit heavier than the recent output from the King.

That doesn't meant it isn't silly. But I really dug a similar album a couple of years back by Darkthrone, and I have to admit part of me thinks this is pretty cool.

The somewhat muddy production (at times the vocals and even the drums get completely lost) tends to point out the limited musical range of the band, and it is easy to get bored.

Heard worse, heard better, oh well.

As the first two tracks are from In the Shadows, I won't even talk about them. You have had plenty of time to play them.

The four live tracks allows the band to get old material released on their new label. The recording is decent, although a little muddy. That's surprising, considering who put the set to tape. The performances are passable, and you certainly already know the songs.

There is a new album in the fall; wait for that.

This is a re-issue of their 1987 album (which up until now has been fairly difficult to obtain). And it does vary significantly from their current sound.

As you might expect, the samples are gone, and there were no keyboards. There is a distinct overt hardcore feel that has become more subducted in recent years.

And yet, you can still hear where Neurosis's current doom-blast sound came from. Instead of composing entire dirges, the bands preferred to use such moments as intros to their punk blasts.

Many of you know I consider Neurosis one of the finest bands on the planet. In fact, I've been cranking their more recent A.T. albums a lot lately. Pain of Mind is fascinating, because I can hear the evolution of the band. And while it is not where the band is today, one thing is similar: outstanding music. Neurosis has always known how to create greatness.

Another in Century Media's campaign to dig up old punk recordings and schlep them out in hopes of cashing in on the current punk revival.

Well, it may not be that bad, but this reissue of a 1982 album just doesn't have a lot going for it. These boys were one of the foremost purveyors of Oi, a form of punk that mixes in a little ska and a general good sense of melody (sound familiar?). If you watch MTV, you'll remember Kurt Loder equating Oi with all Nazi skinhead bands in Germany. What a fuckwad.

Anyway, this good, but nothing special. It's interesting from an historical point of view, but current relevance is minimal.

Grindcore with some metal riffage, much like the first Carcass records. Hell, Shane McLachlan even has these monster dreadlocks.

Nothing particularly inventive, but things move along nicely. I can feel a load of energy flowing through the songs. It's nice to tap into that sort of thing occasionally.

In the end, though, there just isn't anything here to differentiate Phobia from an increasing number of bands who sound too much alike. When it comes to creativity, Phobia falls short.