Skinlab

Nü metal is pretty patently the mainstream now; the charts are full of Stainds, Nickelbacks, Disturbeds and other bands for whom personal torment and societal persecution aren't just the potential results of lifestyle choices but ideal states of being, conditions to be prized and fetishized. In our accelerated consumer culture, this classic rock-and-roll stance has gradually become so highly stylized that if you want to be one of society's true outcasts, you'll need to drop at least a cool grand on accessories. Weird.

So anyway, there's Skinlab, who in another age might be playing bright-sheen post-biker metal à la Iron Maiden, but instead is with us in the here and now. And so they play the nü metal. They pretty much rule at it, too, and there are few things in life more welcome than people who are masters of their craft. Skinlab's producer, Steve Evetts, understands that it's not the bass that's important in metal, no matter what kind of metal we're talking about: In the words of the Dead Milkmen, "it's the guitar," and the guitar on The Revolting Room is crisp and catchy and tighter than a sailor's knot. The opening skree in the song "Come Get It" is a feedback tone that thrillingly holds its ground for the entire first verse; the rest of the song is a chiropractor's dream, all head-nodding and pelvis-thrusting big beats buoying repetitive, mesmerizing riffs that are difficult if not impossible to resist. The song's more radio-ready cousin is a sparkling number called "Anthem for a Falling Star," nakedly fabulous pop for people who really can't stand all those smiling pop stars. Lyrically, well, there's lots of "can't take this pain" and "this pain is killing me" and "can't explain the way I feel inside." So there's that. But Skinlab plays with a conviction and intensity that bands like P.O.D. and Papa Roach couldn't even fake well, and it will probably mean a lot to a fair number of people. They exemplify a thing somewhat bigger than the tropes to which nü metal's marketers routinely reduce it. They are worth watching. See for yourself when they hit Deep Ellum Live on June 28 with Superjoint Ritual and Speedealer.