WELCOME TO THE 90's WHERE THE GOVERNMENT'S YOUR MOTHER
SCATTERBRAL
HERE COMES TROUBLE
IN-EFFECT
ROBE
Wmg.
SCATTERBRAIN 'HERE COMES TROUBLE' ON IN-EFFECT
LP, CASSETTE, AND SPECIALLY PRICED COMPACT DISC 3012
FEATURING THOSE CLASSICS DON'T CALL ME DUDE,' 'SONATA #3,' & 'HERE COMES TROUBLE'
PRONG
Beg To Differ
Epic
IGOR'S RECORD COLLECTION
Is Prong after a straight metal
crowd or are they still as adamant
about maintaining their rapport with
more left-field audiences? Apparent-
ly both. It's a precarious balancing
act-Mark Dodson's bare-bones pro-
duction accentuating each player,
Tommy Victor's rifferama fireworks
more focused than ever Still, the
Prong throng maintain their trade-
mark industrialized doomscape:
discordant heaviness sans egg-
beater thrash pretense, urban
paranoid lyricism and rhythmic sen-
sibility, especially on "Prime Cut." In
some respects, they've ripped away
too much of the grand and grungy
head-dusting crust of previous et-
forts. Tommy's vocals, once as
vicious and punishing as Prong's
overall barage, are also more listener
friendly. This softening around the
edges is a natural though sadly
missed casualty of the move to ma-
jor label land, but Beg To Differ still
pokes metallic mundanity in the
eye-with a very sharp stick, MG
SLACK
SLACK
Deep Like Space
CZ
Portland, Oregon-based Slack
plays the kind of slicked-up white-boy
funk that always sounds best when
you hear it live. Perhaps that's why
Deep Like Space, their second effort,
contains two live cuts. "Sally In-
sania" is a Slack sampler which
dunks "Rhinestone Cowboy" and
big band hit "In the Mood" in a deep,
foamy funk bath. The second live
song is an almost unrecognizable
cover of "Louie, Louie" that'll make
you forget every other version of that
overdone song. The studio numbers,
including standouts "My TV" and
"Rage in the New Age," stick to vinyl
slightly better than the hard bass
popping and sax jamming that is
crunchier live, but every song will
definitely make you move. A juiced
up second effort from a band that
deserves more recognition. KV
THE JUNGLE BROTHERS
Done By the Forces of Nature
Warner/Red Alert
This album will take you all over
the place from New York City to the
deepest jungles in Africa to
somewhere off in space. Every one
of the sixteen songs are consistent-
ly funky, raw and creative. The Jungle
Brothers have a strong grasp on their
African heritage, which is apparent
on their album cover as well as in
their use of bongos, bells and African
singing and chanting. Although
Afrika and Mike G. are excellent rap-
pers, neither one conforms to the rapi
stereotype; the JB's wear no gold or
other materialistic rap regalia. In fact.
this disc is too musically diverse to
pigeonhole as a "rap album." It may
remind you of 3 Feet High and Rising,
yet the JBs are setting trends, not
following them. Their DJ, Sammy B
does some cool sampling from,
among others, Abba and the Bee
Gees. Also, they have guest
appearances by De La Soul, Little
Red Alert and Monie Love. Highly
recommended. MGo
JERRY'S KIDS
Kill Kill Kill
Taang
A lot of East Coast bands have
failed on second attempts, but Jerry's
Kids' new one is consistent with their
first album, which was a masterpiece.
Dave Aronson is back in the band
along with Rick Jones and Rockin'
Bob Cenci, and they have a new
drummer. There's a revised version
of "Machine Gun," which rattles the
brain, and other songs like "Fire"
and "Torn Apart" are definite barn
burners. A truly ripping effort, and the
CD includes the first album. RR
NOMEANSNO
Wrong
Alternative Tentacles
No band today deserves to have
the bass mixed as high as the three
boys from Victoria, B.C. Their
drum/bass sound is so dense it'll
stick in your throat and choke you,
so you'd better sit down and start
chewin NoMeansNo dishes out
meaningful think-about-it lyrics, set
to hair-splitting speedfunk and hyp
notizing syncopation. Rhetorical
questions are chucked in too liberally
to be subtle, but this is a record about
getting down and using your brain.
This is the fourth offering from these
hard-working hardcores, and they
still refuse to be pigeonholed. All you
can do is slap that puppy on, close
your eyes and watch them sweat. KV
BAD
RELIGIO
CONTROL
BAD RELIGION
No Control
Epitaph
This latest gem from Greg, Brett
and the boys perpetuates the potent
sonic standard set by their first Ep.
Bad Religion, way back in '81. After
ten years, you still know what you're
getting when you buy a Bad Religion
alburn: Non-stop angry guitar punch,
pumped up drum thump and
unparaleled lyrical integrity (they
guarantee at least six SAT words
per song). When B.R. released Suf
for in 1988, they reignited the flames
of hard and harmonic early LA
punk. No Control fans those flames
(with pages torn from a purloined dic-
tionary) into a towering inferno that
will boil your blood and move your
MG MG MGo Mil Odamer, MCM MOM,
Rick Robert, KV Kinen Vors
mind. This is the real thing-do not
miss out or you'll have escape from
this "world of slow decay." MCM
TUDOWED
Red Chads
MORBID ANGEL,
BOLT THROWER & CARCASS
Lps
Earache
Three more spine-tingling tales of
pandemonium from Earache's Vault
of Doom. Bolt Thrower and Morbid
Angel possess more of a speedy
gloom-metal outlook, while Carcass
embalms its listeners with psycho-
pathic gutcore. These legions all
have vocalists suffering from severe
cases of gravel throat resulting in the
most evil epidemic of deathrash the
living world has ever known. Carcass
relies on disfigurements of nature
and autopsy reports for lyrical
content and combines that with
krunching and distorted musical
mayhem. Bolt Thrower is heavily into
role playing games, evolving from the
Dungeons and Dragons vein, and
use the concepts in their music and
cover art. Morbid Angel jolts the soul
in the same manner as BT., with a
plentiful supply of chaotic leads.
Guaranteed to give you nightmares
-and an earache. RR
VISION
In the Blink of an Eye
Nemesis
Vision is another great band
bustin' out of Jersey. This four-piece
mixes it up with definitive backbone
and guts. Its power thrash that's not
too fast, to the point and understan-
dable. Crucial lyrics provide values
and morals to today's youth. Don't
get me wrong about it not being too
fast-this record jams-but some
songs are slow paced and provide
powerful expression. Cuts like "The
Life," "What's Inside" and "The Only
One stick in my head. Look for more
projects on the Nemesis label in the
near future. RR
83