AFTER HOURS

ONE OF the best bills was the Homestead Records night at old reliable CBGB's. Volcano Suns were as explosive as their name suggests--a galvanizing whirlwind of raging guitars pummelling their way through manic, twisting themes. Live Skull dealt with much darker territory. They have an aggressive guitar attack that evokes contradictory emotions. At times they are an aural analogy of depression and chaos. At other times they convey exaltation tinged with paralyzing fear.

Best of all was Big Black, who sound just like their name--huge, dark and ominous. Lead singer and noted fanzine author Steve Albini declaims lyrics filled with bad times, alienation and apartness while the guitarist throws up a stormy maelstrom of booming dread and a drum machine marches the whole thing around in relentless military lockstep. Big Black are frighteningly powerful.

RG