Obviously this isn't a mass-released product, but just a cheap cassette with three new songs on it. The guys were bummed that I didn't get into the new disc completely, and thus decided to try and make me smile with these three new tunes.

And it worked, for the most part. I like the looser sound they get with the demos, and, like on the most recent EP, Deceased is sticking with cool grooves and not wanking around so much (though some of those tendencies remain). If the rest of the next project (album, EP, whatever) is up to this quality, it should be a barnburner. I don't know if they'll send out copies of this stuff to radio stations or whatever, but drop a note and see what happens.

Torch songs sung in dominatrix leather. Former bandmate Rozz Williams helps out on a couple songs (this is a live recording). No, really.

I'm not sure who thought Demone was the creative force behind Christian Death (I use the term creative with some trepidation). But whoever that is has decided to bankroll her solo career. Not a great idea. Demone is a passable singer (though somewhat flat much of the time). But she has a way of destroying songs that might actually be good. It's just hard to tell with the way she over-emotes every syllable.

The disc ends with a Christian Death tune (about the only time the band really lets anything out) done by Demone and Williams. Demone mostly wails every thirty seconds or so, letting Williams do most of the work. Just like old times, I guess.

These German industrial hacks burst on to the U.S. scene a couple years ago with the Tribute to Metallica, which was silly but still made some sense. This time out, Die Krupps relies on original songs, and the results are even more satisfying.

The music is a little heavy on the metal cheese riffs and a little light on creativity, but Die Krupps acquits itself well, even if every song on this album sounds just like, well, German industrial output.

Of course, a lot of people really dig this sound (I must confess some weakness here), so there isn't that much to complain about. The songs are remixed by various folks, including Jeff Walker, Andrew Eldritch, Sascha (KMFDM) and F.M. Einheit (Einsturzende Neubauten). Also, Biohazard guests on "Bloodsuckers".

Plenty to sort through, plenty to enjoy. Die Krupps brings a full plate to the table.

The second outing from the Club is just as silly as the first. If you take any of the imagery or lyrics or anything propagated by this band as serious, then you're missing the joke.

As for the music, it is a pleasant compendium of dance styles, sticking to a generally industrial vein but with a few side glances to techno and other dance sub-genres. Again, this is intended to be fun. And I think it succeeds.

Certainly the stuff is rather danceable, and it's funny to boot. Electric Hellfire Club is not a genius band, but simply one that makes the party much more fun to attend. When these folks are around, people have a good time. So where's your invite?

A sublime mix of distortion, wailing guitars and vocals and bouncy bass, Gus pretty much embodies everything that is right (and wrong) with western Canadian hardcore bands.

The right: refusing to stay in a "safe" shell, the aforementioned bass sound, really funny songs and pure attitude.

The wrong: um, all of that is mixed on purée and presented to the listener as pate. Of course, you might think of this as a good thing, too.

FYI: Included on the disc is a set of seven 1985 Red Tide tracks. This is mostly presented as a memorial to the late Ken Jensen, who in addition to his duties with D.O.A. and the Hansons also played in Red Tide (an mention co-producing the Gus and producing the included Red Tide tracks).

In other words, this disc is chock full of sloppy, haranguing, bestial hardcore. It eats like a meal, so save your appetite.

Oh, and the title explains why there have been so many shootings of abortion doctors in Pensacola, Florida.

(Previous review to the contrary) I always assumed Iced Earth was from Germany. Never read a bio, but since the first IE disc (along with Despair) was the first missal I ever received from Century Media (a German company), I guess I just assumed too much. Of course, Iced Earth is a Tampa band.

Not that the music doesn't have a real European power metal sound, reminiscent of many German bands. But I guess I'll have to stop saying all those nasty things about Tampa bands (well, I guess the new Death taught me something about assumptions as well). So any, enough mea culpas. On with the review.

As many of you know, I consider Night of the Stormrider one of the 10 best metal albums of all time. So Burnt Offerings has a big shadow to fill.

This is not a single concept album (like Stormrider), the continuity is not quite as good. But all of the pieces are thematically related, and Iced Earth does match the music from the first and last tracks, to give sort of a bookend effect.

And then there is the music itself. Gorgeous and flowing, with a few more nods to current doom and death trends, but still a solidly power metal stance. Not many bands play this sort of music any more. No one plays it so well.

Iced Earth has returned, and it returns as a conqueror. The playing on Burnt Offerings is the band's finest, and new singer Matthew Barlow (the third in three albums) compliments the music terrifically. Nothing to complain about on this one. Just pure bliss.

Earnest pop musings set off by pile-driving riffs and soaring choruses. A bit anthemic, but LiV carries this off with aplomb.

The A-side is nice and sparse, with the crush coming as the verse merges with the chorus. Perhaps reminiscent of grunge construction, though the sound isn't terribly similar.

"Push Me", on the flip, comes a lot closer to the early Pearl Jam sound. Not a rip, as the production remains sparse and the riffs are in no way similar (though that bass does wander dangerously close to Settle), but you can hear the influence.

I hope LiV sticks with the sound on "`fraid", which is pretty interesting. Obviously the folks have a solid pop base and are just trying to figure out how to make that work. Keep it up.

As the guiding creative force behind Europe, Norum managed to set back the cause of melodic hard rock at least one decade. Maybe it was the excesses of whiny vocals and Uriah Heep-esque keys, or maybe it was just the stupid songs. I don't know.

But after that band's demise made the world safe again, Norum has embarked on a solo career. And this time, he's singing.

Well, he's a decent singer (sounds a lot like Gary Moore, to whom this album is dedicated), but now he's flinging bluesy Thin Lizzy riffs, though the lyrics haven't improved one bit.

I bet the 12-year-old European boys are just nuts about this stuff, but I think I worked out my affection for such things about 10 years ago. Norum is more than competent at songwriting, singing and guitar playing, but this is still a pretty dull album. Lots of bombast can't cover up an empty soul.

Folding a grungy industrial sound over slow anthemic hard rock, Release manages to make even the most promising riff grind to a halt at times.

The best moments of End of the Light are pale facsimiles of Streetcleaner. The sound is much cleaner and not threatening in the slightest (which is a problem, of course). Once the tempo gets this slow, the band had better do something interesting, or folks begin to nod off. Release just grinds along, utilizing the dullest parts of industrial metal and grunge.

This is not so much a bad album as a boring one. I think the producer should have found a way to create a more diverse and vicious sound, but then, the band should have helped out with better music. I just fell asleep during this one.

Moving a traditional Goth sound into the industrial universe, Rosetta Stone keeps the sound lean and the lyrics moody. Perhaps something akin to a mix of early Depeche and Sisters. I can deal with this.

Beneath the apparent disregard for a lush pop sound is great songwriting. Sure, it takes a little while to uncover the glories underneath, but shouldn't music challenge a little.

This disc also contains a couple of re-mixes not found on the original UK import (which is why this is subtitled revised edition 1.1). They don't add much to the package, but they don't suck either. If you've got the space, why not use it?

Goth without the silly trappings, Rosetta Stone has created a cool, moody atmosphere without all the whiny extravagance. Bully for them.

The title track mixes nice pop music with punk vocals. The cassette cover model (presumably the "most impressive girl" of the title) is decked out in leather and a mohawk. You get the idea.

The second track, "Disappointment", runs more to the style of the Stooges, and the last track is a Ramonesey raver.

Round sounds like it's trying to merge some rather disparate areas of punk music. The performances are more than adequate, though the production is below even regular demo quality (much is muffled in the mix). Sure, you don't need to be so punchy if you're punx, but still. I'd like to hear a lead line now and again.

Round sounds like a band with real songwriting ability. I'd like to hear a better-quality recording, but even this makes me simply desire more.

Bitter and dispirited industrial (I know, all these bands are like that) that transcends the usual genre ethos for despair (see?).

Also, the title does mean something. Much of the disc has so many layers of guitars, keyboards, vocals, etc., that it sounds like a thrash version of Queen's greatest hits. If not really great, it sure is interesting.

Very simply put, this disc contains nine visions of pure pain and suffering (mostly for your ears, if you listen to is at the same volume I did) that really have to be experienced to be comprehended. You simply cannot imagine the sonic anarchy within until you subject your stereo equipment to the torture of Strapping Young Lad.

Metalcore by the numbers. Nothing to really complain about, except that every time a silly metal cliche is called for, Stuck Mojo cranks one out. I mean, most of the kids who wanted an album where they could predict every chord and tempo change has already bought the last Slayer disc.

And as regular readers can testify, I'm pretty fucking tired of the Biohazard metalcore-funk-rap gig. Mostly because almost all the folks involved don't have a funky bone in their bodies, and the syncopation remains straight, making the whole package stilted as hell.

Stuck Mojo is not bad, just boring. And that's a shame, because the lyrical ideas are pretty good (even if the words do descend into cliche territory from time to time). Perhaps a little more work and creativity on the musical end will help. Until then, Stuck Mojo will be crammed into an increasingly irrelevant (but heavily populated) subgenre along with a thousand bands who sound all too much the same.

Bumblefoot is a reference to a thimble Thal wears on one of his toes in order to play a guitar with his foot. This creates some interesting sounds, but I would imagine it would be more entertaining live, just for the spectacle.

Thal works much more at making his songs sound like, well, songs than most guitar instrumentalists. His style is more laid back and jazzy than much of Shrapnel's lineup (though he does have his shred and prog moments), and I like the feel he imparts into his songs. I can sense a real person behind the playing.

At times the music does get overbearing and repetitive (particularly when loud; I'm not sure if this is just me or not) and I lose interest. But for the most part, Thal has the best traits of the instrumental guitar player. Above all, this is a fun album (with each song symbolizing a particular animal disease, oddly enough).

I suppose it's refreshing to hear a band stick to its guns, even when that sound is so dated you can determine fossil ages by it.

Unleashed is about the only band still cranking out that pure Swedish death metal sound album after album, and Victory keeps that streak intact.

Personally, I'm kinda tired of the whole thing, particularly when I know that these guys could actually do something creative if they wanted to. But instead, Unleashed stays put. I'm sure this satisfies the diehard fans, but those of us who really dig innovation are pretty well stuck.

The execution of this album (production, playing, songwriting) is as good as I've heard from Unleashed. But I'm afraid I'm so tired of the sound my critical ear is burnt out. Come on, guys. Just move a little bit. Please.

A cool compilation with 23 songs from 15 Australian bands, most of them wandering somewhere in the punk universe. Almost universally sloppy and not great recordings to boot, but the spirit of the thing is rather fun.

Shame File is much like Spill Records (which I profiled a few issues back) in that it is as much a way of bands to hawk their demos and such. While I wish more of these songs didn't sound like they were recorded on a portable tape player, I suppose it all comes down to the title of the compilation. If you really like surfing the underground, this tape is for you.

(Striving for Togetherness)

A compilation of the first four SFT releases and some extra tracks of cool stuff the guys found and upcoming S.F.T. releases.

As a document of non-metal northeastern hardcore, these four releases make for interesting listening. Intent to Injure and Headfirst are no longer around, and Without a Cause has mutated into Fahrenheit 451, but you still can get an idea of where today's ideas moved through.

Of the new tracks, the two from The Six and Violence have the finest production and really rip; Roguish Armament reminds me of the Beastie Boys with a Patois bent, and Steel Fucking Morticians (Uncle Al from Murphy's Law, Scott Lewis from Brutal Truth, Gary Miles and Morgan Liebman) simply take a Zornian approach to hardcore and make glorious noise.

A total of 27 tracks from all over the hardcore universe. There's something for everyone, and if you're a hardcore fan, you're sure to like most of this.

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Fifteen tracks, 10 bands. All more electro than industrial, all German.

The songs are more experimental than straightforward industrial hack fare, with a greater emphasis on keyboards and sound effects than your average KMFDM or latter-day EN.

All this leads to a more lean and mean sound. Most tunes eschew guitars, preferring to focus on the more ethereal uses of sequencers and such. While the occasional track falls flat, that can happen when people are trying new things. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

In general, this collection works. If you're looking for traditional metal-hacking German industrial noise, you will be disappointed. But if you want to travel a little closer to the experimental edge, then plow forth.

Featuring songs like "Dance Motherfucker Dance" and "Jesus Christ Is My Wife", Voot Warnings are the most amusing and irreverent punk outfit I've heard since the Lee Harvey Oswald Band.

On a few tunes, a fairly off-key horn section drops in, adding to the chaos. Well, the sax player is decent, but those trombones... yow!

As you might be able to tell from the cover, this is not music intended to be taken seriously. Voot Warnings is in this for the fun, so you might as well hitch on the ride. The stuff is astonishingly warped and funny, and while the music is absolutely unaccomplished, it serves the purpose.

Despite the title, this is not really space music. Oh sure, all the trappings are here: whirling wind noises, serious keyboard abuse, eerie samples. But Len Del Rio (a member of Pressurehed, also touring with Nik Turner and others), who is Zero Gravity, is far too concerned with making interesting music to stick with the space ideal.

For example, the title track is a nice techno piece. "Time... in My Brain" has a nice little melody running through it, and could almost be released (with editing) as a novelty single. "Interferon" is positively Gothic (though with more Moog-style keys than real Goth). In other words, expect the unexpected.

A cool trip through the electronic universe. Del Rio has assimilated many styles, refusing to stick to any one thought. This makes for a most entertaining album, one which might be superficially stuck in ambient, but that most any fan of experimental electronic music will crave.