Hallowed Ground

After the surprise success of their landmark debut, could have just released another collection of teen-rage songs disguised as , and coasted into the modern spotlight alongside contemporaries like and . Instead they made , a hellfire-and-brimstone-beaten exorcism that both enraged and enthralled critics and fans alike. Like purging himself of the memories of his father's death through , bandleader uses the record to expel his love/hate relationship with religion, and the results are alternately breathtaking and terrifying. Contrary to initial public response, is not a parody. , the son of a Baptist minister, may wear his faith like a badge of honor, but it's a badge, not a shield, and what keeps the songs so volatile is the fact that they're filtered through the eyes, ears, heart, and loins of a teenager. Like the first record, all of the songs on were written during 's high-school years -- he was barely in his twenties when it was released -- resulting in a perfect rendering of the sweetness and brutality of the postpubescent teen, especially on the album's centerpiece; a searing indictment of loyalties broken and the snitches that break them, is the perfect balm for the bloody righteousness of youth, and when screams, "I'll stand right up in the heart of Hell/I never tell," it's hard not to stand right beside him. Christian imagery aside, is not as polarizing as some make it out to be. The band explores gothic and child murder on the banjo-fueled bawdy and bluesy -inflected infatuation on and nuclear holocaust on the brooding title track, leaving little doubt that this is the same band that penned underground classics like Even the decidedly politically uncorrect with its mid-section that includes everything from jaw harp to the screaming alto sax of , is full of the same smirk and swagger that made the soundtrack to so many people's halcyon days. are nothing if not true to themselves, and is a testament to their tenacity, courage, and sheer obliviousness to industry ogling. Each track is as naked as it is bursting with ideas, and as the landscape changes, the band changes with it, leaving the listener at a crossroads; with each incantation, growling invective, and honey-whispered promise, they're forced to either jump off the train or ride it along with them into the mouth of Hell. ~ James Christopher Monger