Daily Staff Writer

“Family Values Tour ’98”

Various Artists

When “Korn’s Family Values Tour” kicked off, it wasn’t a big deal.

The show was basically just a couple of hard-core and hip-hop-influenced bands playing together.

But, as a result of some master plan or major coincidence, every band on the tour hit it big and have since become some of the hottest tickets in the industry.

“Family Values Tour ’98” is the first live compilation release from the tour and comes close to capturing the amazing energy that poured off the stage during the concert.

Incubus’ song, “New Skin,” sets the mood for the album with a mix of rapping, screaming and musical creativity.

Three songs from Orgy, including the hit New Order cover “Blue Monday,” tend to drag on a bit since the band’s industrial-style music is pretty redundant.

One of the hottest bands on the album, Limp Bizkit, does a rockin’ version of its recent hit, a cover of George Michael’s butt-shakin’ “Faith.”

But the highlight of the whole album begins with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst asking, “How many of you remember the House of Pain,” as the band plays its own rendition of “Jump Around.” (Limp Bizkit’s DJ Lethal was the former DJ of House of Pain.)

It wasn’t a surprise that rapper Ice Cube, who worked with Korn on its latest release, was added to the tour. And his high-energy tracks, such as “Natural Born Killaz” and classic N.W.A. tunes “Straight Outta Compton” and “Fuck Tha Police,” show he hasn’t lost a step.

“Du Hast” is the only track from Rammstein, which begs the question, “Does the band have any other songs?” If so, are its other lyrics as complex as “You hate me”?

Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis, a trained bag-pipe player, kicks off the Korn section of the record by piping out a beautiful opening of “Shoots and Ladders.” That tune and five others make up a medley titled “Shot Liver Medley.”

To close things out with a bang, Korn’s “Freak On a Leash” and “Got the Life” rock the crowd, and more importantly, your stereo.

Though there a few hits missing, notably Korn’s “Blind” and Limp Bizkit’s “Counterfeit,” “Family Values Tour ’98” offers a solid mix from the Korn family.

4 stars out of five

— Kyle Moss

“Adios”

KMFDM

The pioneers of aggressive-industrial dance have called it quits, releasing the final installment of over a decade of powerful and influential electronic music.

In the past, KMFDM has been known for its powerful singles amid the electronic shrapnel of the genre.

However, in KMFDM’s latest recording, “Adios,” the grinding guitars, heavy beats and seething vocals of previous albums are replaced by an overwhelming assault of buzzing and popping synthetic beats.

The impact of each song is virtually lost because of the curse of redundancy faced by house and techno music.

One of the greatest weaknesses KMFDM faces is the shortened list of contributing artists; however, two commanding forces are behind every song on “Adios.”

Tim Skold presents raspy, drawn-out, Rob Zombie-type vocals that work effectively in “D.I.Y” and “Today,” the album’s strongest tracks. Also, Sasha Konietzko delivers the distorted screams and moans that have become a KMFDM trademark.

However, “Adios” seems almost too masterminded at certain points.

“R.U.OK?” and “Full Worm Garden” are based almost entirely on a repeating cycle of whirling effects which eliminate the internal substances within each song.

The vocals and lyrics are lost and unimportant without the backbone of a drum machine or steady guitar riff.

Turning over a new leaf may be a wise choice for KMFDM, since the promise of a memorable final album has been seemingly unfulfilled.

2 1/2 stars out of five

— Ryan Rogness

“Hello Vertigo”

Papa Vegas

The first few seconds of “Hello Vertigo” leave a nasty taste in the ear — the same kind you’d get if you just got roped into judging a college garage band festival.

Thankfully, that moment passes, and the listener is left with something more original.

Why Papa Vegas would choose to open its album with the banal strains of “Something Wrong” is not so much of a mystery. The track isn’t a complete loss, but the opening strains aren’t encouraging.

After making it past the beginning, the album opens up vistas of atmospheric pop — which, like undercooked spaghetti, sticks to nothing but does no harm with the attempt.

The songs contain disparate elements of pop, alternative and some sound bites.

Basically, it’s so across-the-board that it’s hard to pigeonhole. That’s either a sign of genre-busting greatness or an unfocused freshman effort.

There is something here which reminds the old folks of The Alan Parsons Project. You get that same kind of modernist poetry backed by light and airy guitars before a power-chord-filled chorus tries to blow you away.

Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

“Long Days” is good track to win radio play. Oasis has nothing on these guys when it comes to doing Beatle imitations.

The lyrical hook is also effective. “Been locked inside this orange room so long I’m jaded/ Ten thousand years what am I looking for,” is very poetic.

There is little doubt these guys spent quite a bit of time in high school listening to Pink Floyd and wishing they could “be like those guys some day.”

They aren’t quite ready to blow Floyd out of the water, but for a new band, they do a pretty good job representing.

Overall, the effect is not entirely unpleasant, but there isn’t much here to hold on to. You get more kicks in “Karate Kid III” than in this thing.

I wouldn’t discount Papa Vegas over this, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on the album’s success.

You’re better off digging out old copies of The Smithereens and dusting off that old tape of “The Wall.”

2 stars out of five

— Greg Jerrett

“Sacrificed”

Razed in Black

The latest record from the Hawaiian techno/industrial band Razed in Black promises a bright and successful future for electronic music.

Built on the strong foundations of tapping electronic drums and clouds of undulating effects, the songs from “Sacrificed” evolve into the muscle and bone of powerful techno music.

Deep chugging guitars drive head-banging force into the interior of the high-pitched dancing keyboards. But singer Romell Regulacion gives the gift of life to the chaos with his incredible vocal range and physical lyrics.

The moments between songs get rather drawn out and comical, though.

The non-musical sounds made by smashing an alarm clock and being whipped during a dominatrix struggle are used for transitional elements.

But when the rushing speed of the dance floor beats start again, the lost time is forgotten.

“I Worship You” and “I’ve Suffered Long Enough” offer spooky waves of electronically-enhanced warping noises that drive like a bullet into the heart of each song.

The super-sexy “Lust” begins with the droning effects of a funky jungle beat that crawls into the erotically forceful lyrics, “Take my lust…” Midway through the track, a female beckons to “Lick my tongue/ Drench my affection.”

Through complicated resonating moods, Razed in Black has effectively created a living being from techno and industrial music.

The songs present a danceable, funky and rock-solid experience for a wide range of listening pleasure.

4 stars out of five

— Ryan Rogness