The second installment of singles, etc. from the Fiend. And while some folk like to pigeonhole this music as one type or another, I think the real genius of Alien Sex Fiend is the diversity of sound.

Well, diverse after you accept that almost everything sounds quite odd. Even the dance mixes convey the unusual nature of Nik Fiend's vision.

This collection is even more disjointed than the last; while the songs do move from one to another, there is little flow. The change of sound from piece to piece can be jarring at times. I like that.

So whether you're looking for a nice goth pop tune, or an early interpretation of industrial madness, or just something to take to the dance floor, you'll find the Fiend has something that fits anywhere. Now if there would only be a real new album someday.

I liked this band when it was known as Poobah, and I like it now. Alkaloid plays a form of noise-oriented pop-grunge that was probably first foisted by the Poster Children a few years back. Now that PC are bigger and cleaner, it is up to bands like Alkaloid to carry forth the banner.

This album is much more aggressive and noisy than the Poobah disc. There is a little more of a punk feel on some songs, but not enough to cry "trendy". No, Alkaloid's too smart for that. These folk meander around various methods of sonic assault, pausing here and there to deliver a personal message.

The most important thing a band can do is grow. I thought the Poobah disc was a big improvement over an earlier 7" I had heard, and this disc brings the band much closer to their own sound. You can still sometimes hear where the guys are coming from, but more often the sound has become Alkaloid's, and that alone. Dig in and enjoy.

You may remember a similar album with similar art and a similar name that came out about two years ago. Well, this is the new version.

For starters, the songs "Exploration", Technological Disguise" and "Senseless Abandon" have been replaced by "Onenemy", "Self Inflict" and "Parasite". The mixes are heavier, and some of the cool experimental touches (including the three dropped songs) are history.

I talked to Scott while he was working on this, and he said he hadn't had the time he wanted to complete the album the first time, and since so few people noticed it then, R.E.X. was giving him the chance to make things right.

My favorite song from the original disc, "Nothing Sacred", comes through with a little more emotion and feeling than the first version. The beginning is a little more subtle, the end a little heavier. That's much the same as the rest of the disc. There's an obvious improvement in the overall sound. And this was a good album to begin with. If you missed it the first time around, get on now.

A few folks have claimed there is no originality in the current spate of punk bands. I've always disagreed, and often pointed to the first Creedle disc as an example. "That's not punk!" they would exclaim. "That's just weird!" Well, you say tomato...

Creedle has its odd Fall-like moments, but in general, this is a punk band in the same way Iceburn is probably at heart a punk band. There is no concern for structure or any such constricting ideas. Music is whatever flows from the muse, not necessarily three-chords with a verse, chorus and bridge.

And Creedle will often resort to the sheer shock tactics of massive sonic assault. That's the sort of thing that will get you kicked out of the pop band-of-the-month club. "My God, that's just too loud!" the alternative nation will exclaim.

Fuck 'em. Tell them to listen to good music for a change. Burn their Weezer and Pavement discs. You know, if we get 100,000 folks to listen to this disc, we just might inspire a revolution.

Fairly moody prog-rock. I'm not sure if it is intent or just the way things happened, but the production left things just a little muddy, and I like it. It gives the music a human edge that a lot of overly-technical bands don't have.

Highly reminiscent of early Fates Warning or early Rush (I know, a little redundant). Lots of mystical and medieval imagery in the lyrics, and the guitar references some Celtic and Irish lines (along with the more traditional scale runs).

At times Elan overreaches the current level of talent in the band. Two guys performed this entire project, and at times the seams show. Michael McCormick is a good singer, but he tries to get above his range from time to time.

Once the guys manage to play within themselves (and add some more people, to get a more "live" sound), Elan could really have something.

Nice 'n' sloppy pop-punk from Huntington Beach. And that is pretty much the whole story.

The Grabbers are catchy enough, but there isn't much here to distinguish them from a huge list of bands, from Rancid to Supersuckers to…it goes on forever.

This album is fun, the songs are nice, and I had a good time listening to it. But to be honest, I can't find a single reason to recommend this album any more than the thousands of other punk discs out there. Maybe it's just some kinda burnout on the trend.

Just as the Rolling Stones took traditional r&b and crammed it down the throats of willing youngsters over thirty years ago, the Hyenas have been doing the same for about ten years (with time out for a break or two).

While the first track, "Just Can't Win", is so infectious even the most jaded slacker can't help but jump up and get moving, much of the rest of the album is more contemplative and steeped in the heavier side of the blues.

Okay, so the Hyenas don't want to party all the time. There are many shades of the blues, and as long as John Brannon keeps howling, I will not complain.

More polished and stylized than before, the Laughing Hyenas have nonetheless kept true to their roots and still moved forward. And are still bringing the essence of the blues to kids who truly need the message.

Cranking out the same straight-ahead rock and roll that made the Cult so popular a few years back, Lost Breed are trying to rev up the arena rock army.

I just don't think that many people care anymore. Only the really big bands do stadiums, which is where this sort of music is best appreciated. Well, I suppose a frat party would be appropriate as well. You just need an overload of testosterone and a lot of beer. And then this becomes really easy to swallow.

Lost Breed are really that. No one is trying to make music like this anymore. Personally, I think that just might be a good thing.

Mixing a little blues in with a heavy glam (in the 70s sense) and some flower power slogans, Love Revolution come out sounding one hell of a lot like Law and Order (remember them?)

Well, I loved that band, and this is a decent fix, though LR's lyrics are pretty silly, where LAO would get a little more serious and introspective.

But the same problems remain in selling this music. You can't very easily slip LR into a slot, and record companies love to do that. This band is too mellow for a lot of metal guys, but also far too heavy (and glam) for regular MDs. And when funk slip sinto the mix ("People Want To Be Free"), even the music starts to get a little absurd.

Hell, I'm all for playing what you like (particularly if I like it). I wish these guys well and hope someone (with a label) finds their stuff.

Be it Queen, Yes, ELP or those American poseurs Kansas Or Styx, I'm just not a big fan of supposed progressive rock. The songs often sound more constructed than composed, and everything seems pretty damned antiseptic.

So goes Magellan. This is not my kind of music. The playing is great, and there are parts of songs I quite dig. But the whole thing is so pompous and sterile, well, I can't get into it.

On the other hand, I can't think of another band that so completely replicates the late-70s prog-rock experience (down to 12-minute songs). If that is your bag, then I can't imagine you being disappointed.

Cool eclectic pop music, with just the right amounts of feedback and trippy nonsense.

Mold won't stay put in any mode for long, ripping from moody to pissed to just plain blissful. Chrissy Davis keeps the vocals aggressive enough to avoid the "babydoll" syndrome Kim Deal seems to have gotten herself into.

Not quite as loopy as their previous EP, Mold still keeps things on the lighter side. Serious subjects are broached, but you get discussion, not doctrine.

Perhaps Mold isn't accessible enough to be huge. These folks know how to make cool music. Fun and still substantial. Hard to fault.

Mixing all the good parts of Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Skin Yard (with a little down-home funk thrown in for good measure) Mumbleskinny seem to have mutated grunge into something I find really palatable.

The guitars wail, the bass booms and Mark Thiele hollers to wonderful effect. The production left things just a little muffled, which avoids the bombast to which many monster grunge types have succumbed.

The songs are anthemic and bowel-moving. This usually makes me wince; I hate it when bands are overly dramatic and excessive. But Mumbleskinny really cranks things up only when necessary, and for some reason I believe in this disc.

I liked the first Pearl Jam disc despite the anthems, and I even liked parts of the first Alice in Chains. Since then, those bands have lost touch with the anger and rage that drove those efforts, and things have become dull. Mumbleskinny is still pissed as hell at the world, and the results are simply stunning.

This one gets a "WOW".

First time I heard this, I said, "Wow, another great German import."

These guys are from Seattle.

And they sound like they've been listening to Skyclad, Iced Earth, Coroner, Celtic Frost and cool European bands like that.

I haven't dug a Euro-style album like this since Night of the Stormrider (and that was a classic). This is not what the headbangers are listening to anymore, and in fact the very idea of high craftsmanship is anathema in this era of grunge and punk revival. But good music can overcome the fads. And enough people out there know great music when they hear it.

Every song has a wonderful mixture of attention to detail and human flow. These songs are alive, vibrant and exciting. Let us feed.

Pretty decent gothic pop that really cranks things from time to time.

Odd thing for this sort of band: it is guitar-driven. Sure, there are plenty of keyboards, but much of this sounds like an early-80s Cure with a metal jones.

And when the guitars click, the songs are quite nice. Occasionally, the songwriters got lazy and forgot to really specify what the guitar should do, and things sink into the traditional goth guitar wanking. But thankfully, this isn't too terribly often.

And don't misunderstand: this is still a goth band. The songs are presented dramatically, with lots of choirs sings and such in the production. Sorta like if King Diamond wanted to front Sisters of Mercy (earlier more than later).

In all, a very attractive set. Things are a little silly at times, but you have to get into goth to really like it. Let yourself go. You can always come back.

Well, here's the lineup: Therapy? takes on "Diable", Gunshot and Biohazard each take a swipe at "Triad", and Pitch Shifter does those two, plus "NCM" "To Die Is Gain".

Results? Therapy? is stunning as ever. The Pitch Shifter self-remixes sound a lot like the originals (though somewhat heaver at times). Gunshot takes a 1990-era Bomb Squad mood (read: Fear of a Black Planet) and spins it over nicely. This is the most unusual and probably exciting track on the disc. The music is almost completely deconstructed, but the vocals remain pretty much straight up.

Biohazard takes on the same track, and just doesn't measure up. This one suffers from a little bit of muffling in the production, and while there are some interesting ideas in the breaks, the verse is pretty much a straight read-through of the original over a new drum track.

A worthy effort; this disc is worth grabbing just for the Therapy? and Gunshot tracks. And the Biohazard isn't so much bad as just average. Pitch Shifter loses the war, as their remixes don't seem to change much at all (with the exception of "To Die Is Gain"-a really nice bit). Dig in.

As innovators and a major influence on the current industrial scene, you might expect a little more from this collection of Psychic TV commercial outings. PTV is, of course, the place where Genesis P. Orridge stopped off after the Throbbing Gristle gig got a little tiresome.

The songs here range from the highly accessible to pretty experimental. Of course, the three renditions of "Godstar" fall at the ends and in between. And a lot of the collection seems a little superfluous and not quite up to snuff.

Which is the problem with wandering out to the edge of audience comprehension. A lot of Psychic TV (even the single releases) is pretty out there. You have to be in a certain mood to appreciate the madness. In some of these songs you can hear Orridge and Co. wandering into the realm of acid house, so perhaps a little ex is in order.

Whatever. This disc shows the amazing breadth of the Psychic TV experience, and also manages to convey as few of the band's flaws. A pretty neat trick, that.

Meandering pop that, when aided by a cool moog organ, gets really spooky.

Most of the tunes are somewhat psychedelic enough, with most of the ethereal effects coming via the regular instruments and not their feedback. The mix keeps everything wild competition, and it takes a few listens to figure out just what the hell is going on here.

Which is a great way to do things. Music shouldn't be easy. And while the average listener could pass by Sabalon Glitz and say, "Hey, that's pretty cool", if she actually sits down and listens to the disc, her reaction might be even more ecstatic.

I like the way the band puts things together. I wonder if it can be replicated live, but for now, I have to say this is a really wondrous album.

Due to circumstances beyond the band's control, Skyclad albums have had little exposure to the U.S. market. Yeah, there was that one through BMG a few years back, but it wasn't worked. Most of the other sightings have been through import gigs.

But now, as you probably have noticed, Noise has a U.S. office. So all those great European metal bands like Coroner and Kreator and Skyclad will get their U.S. due.

Not having heard the band in a few years, I'm rather struck by the meticulous attention to detail. Unlike a lot of technical bands, though, Skyclad plays with plenty of emotion. These songs are anything but sterile and dull.

Taking all the best from the eighties Euro-metal invasion, and throwing in new instrumentation (which has been copied by many other bands), Skyclad is perhaps the finest example of current European hard rock.

This album is about a year old. A new one is in the works (the band enters the studio in about a month or so), but since us yankees haven't gotten much of a shot at Prince, the Noise folks decided to warm the waters. Perfectly fine by me.

Heavy nastiness that would be at home with either Glazed Baby or Buzzov*en. Of course, Spilth is not quite as polished as those bands (if you can imagine).

The two songs are both quite lengthy and mastered to an amazing lo-fi sound. Songs construction as such is nonexistent; the tales (that's what they are) kinda slouch toward Babylon at a slow and rough rate of speed.

This is a 33 7"; if you play it at 45, however, it sounds amazingly like Black Sabbath. That's how slow a lot of this grinds. Sure, it's excruciating at times; I think that's the point. Quite an unholy racket.

These are the original mixes, not the ones found on an earlier release (but later-mixed) album of the same name.

It is one of life's eternal ironies that Thunders is dead and David Johansen (ex-Doll, now Buster Poindexter) is still around on those Entertainment Weekly commercials lip-synching "Hot Hot Hot". But then, Johansen has proven how much talent he had.

As this disc does for Thunders. While the set isn't as fresh and exciting as the earliest New York Dolls songs, this mix leaves no doubt as to the simple power of Thunders' writing and playing.

Thousands of kids have tried to somehow find what Thunders seemed to have inside of him: the essence of a punk guitarist: raw, simple and powerful. Very few have even approached his standard. This set reminds all of us why we should miss Johnny Thunders.

After Steve left (was kicked out of, whatever) Tyrannosaurus Rex (soon to be T. Rex), he did what came naturally: got stoned a lot and played some music.

This disc comes from sessions recorded in his house for was to be a Warner Brothers solo lp. Apart from the fact that the music is too disjointed to sell to the masses, Took never bothered to even let the Warners people listen to his tapes.

Well, the ostensible producer of these tapes (Tony Secunda) has finally decided to get them out. And honestly, the songs do sound 23 years old. The idea of acoustic psychedelia hasn't really come back, and certainly not in such a raw form. Took is a decent guitarist, and some of his songs have a little appeal.

But as a musical document, the disc has little use other than to show strange ramblings from another age. Steve Peregrine Took was an interesting fellow, but he wasn't a genius. Just a nice guy who got stoned a bit too much.

An interesting combination of mid-eighties metal, early seventies Sabbath, late seventies AC/DC and a dash of grunge. Well, at least, that's what I hear.

The songs have a nice bluesy tinge, though the guitars are punched-up, metal-style. Of course, songs like "Peacemaker" do remind me of Iron Maiden. But Dale Flood's vocal style recalls both Ozzy and Bon Scott (he sounds generally like Ozzy, but he throws the words out in a drawl like Scott), which is a little unusual.

A cool album of varying sounds and feels. Much like their primary influences. Unorthodox doesn't steal anything; they mix and match too much for that. Plus all the riffs are certainly home-brew. Where was this album when I was in high school, when I could listen to one tape over and over until it was imprinted on my brain?

Well, this is techno's answer to new age music. So once you get over that, then you can really start to hear what is going on.

A lot of this is decent, but uninspired. However, check out the A.S.A., Digital Poodle and Synaethesia. For the beginner just checking this sort of music out, these are not as initially mind-numbing as some of the other pieces.

To make me really dig an ambient piece, there has to be a lot going on. It doesn't have to be fast or even coherent, but I want to know someone is trying. Just mushing around keyboards for ten minutes doesn't wash with me, and I'm happy to say these artists all do much better than that.

A decent sampler of what's around. You can probably find better, but you can also find a lot worse.

A group of 17 songs by bands that are united only in the fact that none of them can be considered grunge bands. Oh, and they hail from Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Most of the tunes are your basic college-pop stuff, the sort of thing bands in the Pacific Northwest own the patent on.

But there are a few surprises, and of course, appearances by some of my personal favorite bands, Dirt Fishermen, Built to Spill and Medicine Hat.

Plenty to adore here, as the bands seem to be stretching their sounds instead of playing things safe. My compliments to the chef.

Decent punk-tinged pop that brings thoughts of Treepeople (or Stuntman or whatever those folk call themselves these days), Superchunk and their ilk.

Not bad company. The songwriting is not quite as universally strong as you might find in those bands, but it holds up well enough. And Wax never stays in one spot for long, so you can't get bored or annoyed.

This isn't a "big break" sort of album, but it is a nice start. If Wax can improve on this base and really shore up some of the inconsistencies and get a better feel for crafting tunes, then there is quite a chance for a decent future.

These boys have real potential.

This is exactly the kind of space music that would come on my clock radio at noon on Sundays. I would sleep all through the hour until one.

And I still would. Lots of keyboards and special effects, but not much really going on. Sure, if you've got a head full of acid you might get into this more, but even so I'd rather hear something a bit more interesting.

If all you want is soothing tones to clear your mind, then this might do the trick. But if you want something that assaults your senses even in the slightest way, move to something else.

Kataklysm
Sorcery advance cassette
(Nuclear Blast)

I remember really hating their last disc. But this one is pretty decent. It's still awful silly and pretentious, but the wild mixing of grind, doom and death metal (with some keys and drum machines-I really like those!) is rather interesting.