Of all the innumerable rap/metal hybrid bands that appeared in the wake of Anthrax's "I'm the Man", these guys were one of the best.

"Fool's Game"

  1. "State of Mind" (5:16)
  2. "Spectacle of Fear" (3:00)
  3. "Every Day's a Holiday" (2:43)
  4. "Spellbound" (3:42)
  5. "Sever and Splice" (3:20)
  6. "The Artist" (4:25)
  7. "Shatter" (3:46)
  8. "Reckless Abandon" (4:02)
  9. "Super Freak" (2:19)
  10. "Numb" (4:49)

Their debut album, mostly mid-tempo thrash, with the only hint of funk being their cover of Rick James' "Super Freak" (and a bit of funky bass on "Every Day's a Holiday", I suppose.) Nice, but nothing that special.

"In This Life"

  1. "In This Life" (5:02)
  2. "The Strain" (3:46)
  3. "High Potency" (3:39)
  4. "Window" (4:46)
  5. "Esse Quam Videri" (2:53)
  6. "A Beginning"--instrumental (0:52)
  7. "Falling Away" (5:05)
  8. "Killing Time" (5:18)
  9. "Downtown" (3:08)
  10. "Progress" (3:53)
  11. "Larger Than Life" (3:30)

Hey, they've actually got a DJ/turntable player in the band! Luckily, the scritchy-scratchy stuff doesn't get in the way of the music, which is kinda funky thrash. "Falling Away" and "Esse Quam Videri" are the most rap-ish tracks here. Oh should mention this CD is out of print and getting hard to find, although I did nail down a copy for $3.99 (thrashed to hell, but plays ok.)

"Vision"

  1. "In Time" (4:08)
  2. "West County Hospital" (4:35)
  3. "The Vagrant" (3:56)
  4. "Reach" (4:38)
  5. "Close Minded" (2:42)
  6. "Vision" (4:00)

Found a new/sealed copy of this EP for $1.99. They turned up the funk and tuned down the thrash here, resulting in a muddled and uninteresting sound. "The Vagrant" is a cool track, I suppose, and "Close Minded" is kinda neat with the D.J. rapping the lead vocal, but otherwise it just takes up valuable real estate on my wall...

"The Next Room"

  1. "Lo-Cal, Hi-Fiber" (3:38)
  2. "Skid" (4:03)
  3. "Crash" (3:52)
  4. "Splinter Down" (6:28)
  5. "Shut" (3:54)
  6. "Pauper's Wine" (6:11)
  7. "Acrophobia" (3:18)
  8. "Murray the Mover" (4:54)
  9. "In a Turn" (5:27)
  10. "The Trellis" (3:47)
  11. "The Next Room Over" (2:59)
  12. "Rubber Crutch" (5:58)

I got this merely as a collection-filler, but to my surprise, it turned out to be pretty damn good! "Lo-Cal, Hi-Fiber" is a screamfest bore, but the next few songs inject the funk. The rap elements are kept blessedly toned down, and the new lead singer adds an extra dose of freshness. All in all, it's comparable to classic-era Faith No More -- there's even weird instrumental bits between the songs, a la Mr. Bungle. This was the band's final album.

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