Singer and guitarist Dylan's Carlson, who has made four previous albums with different collaborators under the name Earth, once told an interviewer that, given a choice between being a lab technician and a wealthy rock star, he'd opt for the latter. Carlson's comment seems unremarkable until you realize the almost comically arcane nature of his artistic goal: to turn '70s-style hard rock and heavy-metal licks into jagged, minimalist pieces that echo the stately grace of medieval and Renaissance church music.

As such, Earth – who debuted in 1991 with Bureaucratic Desire for Revenge, on which Carlson's good friend Kurt Cobain screamed a little – have always produced striking results. But where 1992's Earth 2 explored sound and stasis in the style of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno, Pentastar: In the Style of Demons finds Earth more involved with actual songs. Their fascination with disembodied big rock remains; "Introduction" and "Coda Maestoso in F(flat) Minor," which frame the album, are robust, majestic, Black Sabbath-esque riffs transformed into symphonic hot-rod music. But on "High Command" and the excellent "Tallahassee," Carlson and bassist-guitarist Ian Dickson create real melodies, whispering and grunting from within the fuzzy jams. In the album's scarves-in-the-air version of Jimi Hendrix's "Peace in Mississippi," even the guitars seem to sing.

Covering Hendrix makes sense, actually: For all of Earth's esoteric ambition, the secret to their musical success is flash. These experiments are not just for lab techs. (RS 746)

JAMES HUNTER