In 1993, new kingdom gave the finger to the gangsta-rap establishment with their brash, ballsy debut, Heavy Load. The duo drops an even heavier load on its second outing, flaunting a slower, lower sound oozing with dense beats, grungy power chords and subterranean bass. Grinding dirges like "Shining Amour," with its goth-metal attitude, and "Terror Mad Visionary," which sounds like Black Sabbath with an SP-1200 drum machine, snap and crackle like vintage vinyl – but probably won't go "pop" as long as pseudopunk and soft rap rule the charts.

It's bound to make no difference to these brothers from another planet, MCs Nosaj and Sebastian, who spout about rockets to "Andrumidia" and declare, "Nowadays when I write/The forces send me voices." Nosaj sums it up in "Half Asleep": "Say it loud. I'm a freak and I'm proud." But half the time, it's tough to decipher what either of them is saying behind the wall of low-fi processing that turns their words into pure sounds and noise into rhythm. Basement beats courtesy of producer Scott Harding (also known as Scotty Hard), a live drummer, turntable scratches and gritty guitar licks all stick to these voices like butter on biscuits, proving that while paradise may not be cheap, it is definitely dirty. (RS 745)

S.H. FERNANDO JR.