Superior Catholic Finger

Starting with a random snippet of evangelist preaching isn't necessarily the newest of touches in music, but putting it at the beginning of a track called "Monster Lust" has its own appeal. Creed's second solo album was his conscious return to the more zoned-and-stoned style of Chrome, though given how there was a fair amount of that on X-Rated Fairy Tales it would be more accurate to say that on Finger Creed just decided to let everything run riot. Tempos are often more stretched out than before, effects are tweaked and then tweaked again; in short, it's everything that a lot of rock music both mainstream and underground in 1988 was generally avoiding. With new drummer Ted Preuss helping out with returning bassist Duran, Creed leads his merry men into another fantastic bout of aggro-death-science-fiction snarl. Creed's low, vicious voice perfectly suits his abrasive feedback and more, while the rhythm section can both pound out things in a metal-punk style or just go with the flow. "Who Cares" is one of the best in the latter vein, with heavily flanged drums mixing with the simple but effective basslines as Creed goes off with both guitar and distorted vocals. Thick blasts of feedback that fill up the mix in both rhythm and soloing often remain the way of things for Creed; "Too Bad," with its quick, almost punky verses, is a great example of him at his most crazed. The title track is one of Creed's best, a slow-and-low number with another great taking-off-to-Mars solo from the band and some disturbing rumbles down deep in the bass. Sometimes things maybe get a bit lost along the way — "The Cookie Jar" descends into some aimless bits before picking up the groove again — but otherwise Creed once again is flying high.