About as old school as European death metal bands get. Once the rhythms get rolling, Anesthesy has a positively metal-core feel to its music.

But often enough, things bog down in a sort of doomy way, and there isn't enough going on musically to always keep my interest. Anesthesy seems more interested in keeping the songs long than really saving any flow. And the songs really suffer, because there are so many tempo changes and mood shifts (I know, I know, Euro old school). I just don't dig it, okay?

I suppose the real kicker is the music. At many times the band seems to be tripping over its instruments. Things are awfully technical and not terribly interesting.

Most psychedelic pop acts find the base of their sound in the wall of fuzzy strummed guitar that permeates the genre. And guess what? It can get dull quick.

But because Brick Layer Cake is headed up by Todd Trainer, who in real life drums for Shellac, Rifle Sport and Breaking Circus, the sound starts with the drums. Yes, psychedelic music with all the necessary overlays that is based on rhythm, not slush. The songs actually move. Hallelujah! A vision!

Well, the main difference is that it sounds like these songs were actually written. Crafted. Not this, "Well, you've got a nice guitar track, let's just decorate the tree" approach that has been so popular. My God, someone who works!

Forgive me my sarcasm, but I've had to listen to all of these people coo over My Bloody Valentine. Maybe they'll hear this and get the point I've been making for years. Or maybe they'll just dig the disc. That's okay, too.

Lilker and co. return with the second full-length. As devoted to grindcore as Extreme..., this disc goes a little further in the mellow direction (that term being extremely relative).

Perhaps the most remarkable thing is the precision behind the mess. Even when the music heats up and threatens to blow the radiator, the band plays within itself, simply pushing the feeling further. This is a band that really knows how to play. When everything is rolling well, the sound is sublime. I hate giving tracks, but I absolutely love "Godplayer". Well, that and a few others. You can dig in for yourself.

There are a few surprises (and I'll let you discover them yourself). After all, sometimes the best thing is to put the disc on, crank the volume, and lay down in splendor.

A punk-ska band that uses horns only occasionally. And they try to get as many jokes in as possible. Some might call this a party band.

And in that context, everything is fine. The musicianship is good, the tunes uptempo, and some of the jokes are even funny. Hey, not every band has to be out to change the world, right?

My only beef is the trendiness of the music, which isn't really these guys' fault. The genre is pretty limited. Any band who sounds like this will be compared to the Bosstones or Bim Skala Bim, and the production here is certainly below the Bosstones standard. Of course, the tunes are fresher.

I had fun with this disc. Is that a crime?

Sorta like what Buzzov*en might sound like if they listened to more Nugent (or even Lynyrd Skynyrd, like the boys in Eyehategod). Unfortunately, the production is pretty weak (I wish I could really hear what was going on).

I like what I can make out. This is pretty unusual noisy stuff. It would be nice to cut through the production fog and find the original music.

Chicken Dog really blows my socks off (even if I'm not wearing them at the moment). This is a cool album. Find it.

What's Voodoobilly, you ask? Well, somewhere between Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Great guitar licks somewhat obscured by weird and sometimes funny (always extreme) vocals.

You do have to be in the mood to really dig this. If for some reason you're just not in the mood for silliness, then wait until such an appropriate time. Everything is pretty low-key, except for the lyrical content, which focuses on, well, voodoo.

These guys should be awful fun live, and they are pretty amusing on disc, too. The music lays down a nice atmosphere for what follows. If you just float along for the ride, you'll enjoy it.

San Diego through-and-through. Produced by Mark Trombino (of Drive Like Jehu), Sprawl finds Drip Tank meandering again through the desolate world of post-punk pop music.

The most amazing thing about all of the S.D. punk and pseudo-punk bands is that none of them sound alike (unless, of course, they're side projects). Drip Tank take a power approach to the pop thing, making sure the guitars squeal and the vocals soar.

And the lyrical subjects. All I can say is "wackiness counts here!" Not all of this is pleasant wacky, either. Some of it is downright James Dobson (Dr. Toughlove himself) dangerous wacky. Should these people be executed or merely incarcerated? Well, then along comes a seriously silly song, and you forget about the other stuff.

Drip Tank grows on you, sorta like kudzu (and I've seen a lot of that lately). If you don't keep it under control, it could choke you. But would you mind?

As the liners so accurately point out, these don't particularly sound like recent EOS output. And the new album won't sound like this stuff either. Hmm... so what to do?

Well, enjoy, for starters. This is what Cathedral would sound like if it was cool. But those boys cheezed out long ago, leaving a big void. The three originals are good, and then there is a cover of "Invisible Sun" that is remarkably close to the Police original. It actually sounds really cool, but you'll have to remind yourself that, indeed, this is Edge of Sanity.

I'm all for expanding horizons. And even if Edge of Sanity never passes this way again, I'm glad I got the holiday snaps.

Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber have been cranking out all sorts of techno-industrial recordings for more than 10 years. Usually the projects are more noise, dance, or ambient oriented. They haven't ever quite put together a completely satisfying metal-techno-industrial album.

Perhaps the experience remixing Fear Factory has done something, because for the first time, FLA has a guitar-dominated disc. Well, sampled guitar, but still. This is a metal album. Sure, folks will be flying to the dance floor at first note, too, but don't be mistaken. Millennium is a positively stunning industrial dance metal album.

Even more seamless than the Fear Factory remixes, Millennium is the best example yet of combining the worlds of techno and death metal. The vocals are much more distorted than your average industrial sound. It seems like everything Leeb and Fulber have been doing the past couple of years has resulted in this triumphant synthesis.

To top things off, every song is irresistible. You can't help but get excited by the mere feel of the songs. And once everything really kicks in, you will be hooked. A supreme achievement.

Sounding a lot more like Fudge Tunnel than their own recent outings, Justin and G. Christian plow their way through an upbeat (for Godflesh) tune. Even the lyrics aren't terminally depressing. The thing is, it even sounds good, unlike the plain blandness of Pure. The trademark screaming guitars make a passing appearance, but Godflesh seems to have updated, remaining musically relevant.

The 15-plus minute remix is a bit much, but still interesting. I'm not sure if I could sit through the whole thing if I were listening to the radio, though. Try 8- or 10-minute snippets.

Highly accessible doom-death musings. Lake of Tears sounds a lot like Tiamat without all the keyboards.

At times, things get awfully close to particular Tiamat songs (not to mention the album cover), which I found a little disconcerting. But in the moments that were truly original, I enjoyed LOT a lot. I think this is a perfectly natural way for death metal to hit the mainstream, and I wish these boys the best of luck.

But next time, don't write your songs ten seconds after listening to Clouds, okay?

When you're a pop three-piece, you really have to work to make your work stand out.

Lazy has the right idea, sounding a lot like many of the moody-at-one-moment/really-angry-at-another bands that populate the Merge.
Aspiring to write songs as well as Superchunk is one thing; being able to pull it off is another. Lazy's songs are pretty good, but their musicianship is a little lacking.

The production doesn't help. It is big and bold and reveals every little flaw. It's like the producer (Brian Paulson, who has, surprise surprise, produced Superchunk, Tsunami, etc.) decided early on to really punch up Lazy. But the music demands an understated approach. These aren't seasoned pros, but youngsters.

The talent is there, but a lot of development is needed. There are quite a few gems to snag out of this collection, but I think even more should come in the future.

Leeway claims to be the progenitor of the current wave of metal-core bands. I'd say bands like Gang Green were there first, but Gang Green was also pretty funny. The folks in Leeway go out of their way to be serious.

If Leeway is guilty of the first charge, that in itself is a great argument for the death penalty. I didn't like Leeway when I first heard the band, and I still don't. This is not good cheez, it's rancid cheez. Leeway is a poison that will rot your brain much faster than Ren and Stimpy or even Latoya Jackson's Exotic Club Crawl. It has big signs on it saying "stay away or face sterilization". Need I say more?

Well, to be honest, some of Adult Crash isn't quite that bad. But it's not much better.

More black than death, Morgana Lefay cranks out a fine set of music. The band adheres to traditional hard rock riff schools and merges those thoughts with smatterings from the nether reaches of the metal universe.

Kinda like old Mercyful Fate, really, except ML kicks out the jams a little heavier and with a little less satanic silliness.

But ignoring the lyrics (which at times are interesting), ML just jams. Sure, there's a lot of that early eighties Euro-styling, but I like it. The playing is immaculate and with feeling, so you aren't overwhelmed or bored. Dig in.

Not just Brazilian, the press here claims these guys are as big as Sepultura in Brazil. But due to some unspecified reason, U.S. labels haven't taken note until now. Sounds suspicious, eh?

Well, if Overdose isn't as popular as Sepultura, it should be. Progress is a great synthesis of industrial beats and thick, tight guitar lines. In fact, I haven't heard anything quite like this before. Perhaps a little intramural rivalry will spur Sepultura on to a better album next time. This Overdose will be tough to beat.

There are lots of reasons Overdose should be as popular in the U.S. as Sepultura. If their previous albums are anywhere are good as this one, well, we norteamericanos have missed out on a lot. This disc alone is worth praise and adulation. Hell, the sampled percussion is a wondrous innovation all by itself.

Don't doubt, but play. Play, play, play. Beat your head against a wall. And play again.

Anyone else remember when the only pop-punk band really active was Naked Raygun? Hell, it was only eight years ago. Then Bad Religion came back and Bret Gurewitz really got Epitaph going and then the whole Southern California thing… Well, soon there was plenty of company, and the original core of Naked Raygun had split.

Thus the first Pegboy EP, then album, four and three years ago, respectively. Perfectly stunning, winning over a ton of NR fans and many more. Reverential screeds plastered all over the world waiting for the next album.

After two years came the four tracks on Fore. Great tunes, where was the album?

Here it is, and it recalls Naked Raygun in full fury, and then some. John Haggerty and friends really should record some more. Three chords never sounded so good. No one could hope to do it better. Hopefully things won't take so long next time.

My first encounter with ROUS came about five years ago, when I discovered their mordant and twisted cover of "Summertime Blues" on, well, I think it was their first album. I simply remember some other DJ bringing the forties, it was summer and no authority figures were near the station. That rendition touched a chord in my soul. I do wish I remember the name of the album, though.

Categorizing here is dangerous, because ROUS make it clear there is no intention of sticking to any particular style. I like to think the Rats sound like the Stones off drugs (which would be pretty twisted, indeed). Everything seems to shuffle around a broad base of 60s pop and blues riffs. With enough distortion to make sure your parents don't get nostalgic. Well, the lyrics probably would take care of that little problem, too.

With the Rats, you have to anticipate the unusual. No two songs sound alike (which is nice), and there is this cool feel that does, indeed, make me nostalgic for college summer nights where the only thing that needed to be done was mass consumption of intoxicants. And no hangover the next day, either.

If you don't know who the folks behind Scorn are by now, then you should ask someone. There is a serious musical history.

That note aside, a new Scorn disc is always a reason to celebrate. No, it's not terribly heavy all the time, but things are always more than interesting. Messrs. (M.) Harris and Bullen have, as usual, collected a nice array of sounds and presented them with their usual panache.

If there were such a thing as ambient industrial (and I suppose there is), then Scorn should be the embodiment of that ideal. Here's a party tip: crank up your stereo and drop a couple Scorn discs in. Watch the mood shift. People will actually be attempting to speak intelligently, not just picking up the nearest available bedpost.

Well, maybe this music wasn't intended for social engineering, but it's worth a shot. And even if you don't throw massive bashes, Scorn will do right by you, expanding both your musical and your sub consciousness (es).

Combining the grandiose verbal assault of White Zombie with the stripped down sound of Pantera, Section 3 1 5 seems poised to cash in on popular sounds.

The production leaves everything muffled, though, and that's a problem as far as mass acceptance. As you also may know, I really don't like the current sounds of White Zombie and Pantera, so obviously this wouldn't register too well with me.

On the plus side, there isn't anything terribly near plagarism going on. A lot of bands sound like this today. And more than a few are a little further down the road than Section 3 1 5. Keep working, guys. Things will get better.

Great pop music that simply keeps rolling down the river. Everything seems so simple at the surface, you get lulled into a false sense of complacency. Oops.

See, like many a Drag City act, the music and the lyrics are both poetic. The whole has a meaning unto itself. If you think you get it the first time, then think again. There's another meaning. Which is right? Listen again and find yet another passageway. That's what good poetry can do to you.

It would be too easy to label Silver Jews' sound as hypnotic pop, but then, it does relax your mind and invite your subconscious to stop by for tea. Of course, Silver Jews claim no responsibility for what you do while under the influence of their music. After all, lawsuits can be nasty.

Many folks have claimed Slayer has been wallowing in self-parody since that cover of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" on the Less than Zero soundtrack. Artistically, I'm inclined to agree.

But I liked Seasons in the Abyss. It had lots of fat riffs and amusing songs. You can't take it seriously, but as a big slab of gooey cheez that offended lots of people, it was great.

Divine Intervention seems to be an attempt to return to the faster, heavier days. But all that I can hear is an abandonment of basic cool riffage while adding more fast songs.

Will the average listener notice a difference? No. But I just couldn't get into this disc, even after a few plays. I really wanted to hear it, but in the end, it bummed me out.

Yes, another cool industrial band once licensed by Metal Blade has returned to the Canadians. Soulstorm sounds kind of like a lower-tech version of Godflesh. Lots of hollering, distorted guitars and nasty industrial beats.

I saw these guys when I lived in Michigan, and they pulled the sound off exceptionally well live. And they played just as hard even though there were about ten people in the club. Nice guys.

Much like other bands who do the metal-industrial thing, the lack of melody tends to make some of the songs run together. There isn't always a big difference between the beats, and, well, you can get confused. Of course, then you come across a track like "Mass Murder Culture", and you know all is well with the world.

Occasionally dreary, you should persevere and find the real gems included within.

Quite a few good folk noticed the first Tubalcain release, 25 Assorted Needles. There, traditional hard rock riffs were merged with Athan Maroulis' somewhat goth vocal style and a nice underlaying of industrial dance beats. If you missed it, the disc was quite tasty.

Now comes Left, an EP with four original tracks, one re-mix of a song from Needles and a cover of Bowie's "Andy Warhol".

Yes, the style has shifted somewhat. With acoustic guitar getting at least as much play as the electrics, things are mellower, but just as intense. The production is just as immaculate as before, layering the sounds and still keeping things distinct. If you wanted to focus on this little guitar lead that seems to have buried itself, well, you can.

With the caveat that I prefer Treepeople's rendition of "Andy Warhol" a little better, Left picks up right where Tubalcain, um, left off. If there were only more songs.

Fast and heavy industrial stuff that would be sheer pleasure at a dance club. After all, it's easier to dance to 200bpm music. No one can tell you're fucking up or not. And if you do keep up, it's a hell of an aerobic workout.

Various distorted noises and those banging beats. Is there anything else? No, not really. Are you gonna complain? I didn't think so.

For truly one-dimensional music, Ultraviolence is fun and a real rush.

If you're like me, there is a certain part of you that yearns for quality anthemic metal, such as was popular in the early- and mid-eighties. You know, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest (and not their later stuff; some on), etc.

The danger, of course, is than many of these bands rip-off rather than revise. They accept mediocrity. That is not the case with Wicked Maraya.

Yes, you can clearly hear who influenced these guys (a couple of American bands make that list, too), but this is their music, not a carbon copy of someone else's.

There isn't anything particularly groundbreaking going on here, but it just sounds so great. Cycles is a fun disc to play. Nothing to be ashamed of there.

Ultraviolence
Life of Destructor advance cassette
(Earache)

Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga! Like Nintendo music on PCP, Ultraviolence just keeps cranking out insane beats and wild noise. Could be the music of the age.