Thayil is a stalking catalog of them: speed, dynamics, precision, texture. And the group's four songwriters pen tunes so solid that they can sustain such embellishments as Middle Eastern riffing, out-of-nowhere bridges and studio wizardry. The result is highly sophisticated clangor, an elegant din.

"Black Hole Sun," with its George Harrison lead figure, sold Superunknown to the masses; the rest of the record – "4th of July," "Head Down" and "Fell on Black Days," in particular – is even more frighteningly good.

Flannel-clad mall rats bought up yards of Purple, and the band took up extended residence on MTV, but Stone Temple Pilots broke little new ground. Which is no surprise. Suffering from the Dave Clark Five syndrome, the Pilots stand on the shoulders of giants (particularly Pearl Jam) and fail to measure up. Weiland's voice is a rugged beauty, and the Pilots' guitars hit hard; it's just that there's no getting over their strange fate – Stone Temple Pilots, even when undoubtedly trying for original licks, don't find them. (RS 698/699)

PAUL CORIO