Longtime Fiend fans might be a little thrown off by the self- released latest from shock innovators Alien Sex Fiend. Seemingly abandoned is their trademark flare for the quirky, weird- you- out rock-n-goth that has carried the band for more than a decade. Instead, it's replaced with a quirky, trance- you- out journey into the electronified minds of Nik and Mrs. Fiend, complete with their own version of the universe for you to explore.

That is to say that the Alien Sex Fiend we've all known and loved has evolved into something beyond themselves. Finding new uses for their digital gear, the band crashes headfirst into the dance world, providing access into the realm of bizarre to a new generation of listeners that are just beginning to poke their ears out from behind the blinding walls of commercial alternative music.

Self- prophetic to the end, Nocturnal Emissions even begins with a track originally released as a single in 1996 titled "Evolution." This is the listener's first clue that things are never going to be the same again. Instead of the immediate in- your- face- and- ugly tones once received from a band that very well could have been the forefathers of this whole Mansonite thing, we're introduced to a lush and seductive drumline from Mrs. Fiend, to be followed by haunting and echoing vocals reminding us that life must "evolve or die."

"On A Mission" takes us on a somewhat slower 8- minute- long drug- induced romp through consciousness and self- awareness Fiend- style before heading into the lengthy mascot track of the album, "Warp Out." At just under ten minutes, the phrase "too much acid" suddenly comes to light with respect to the unique ability of Alien Sex Fiend to produce intense LSD flashbacks in people that have never taken drugs. This track lays you out flat with alien rhythms and a droning, repetitive keyboard part that kicks in just as your experience begins to peak and your brain folds in upon itself.

If you manage to make it past this point without falling into a musically- induced coma, the instrumental "Room 101" is likely to finish the job. Apparently created by recording the ambient noises of a planet only the ASF folks are privy to the location of, the wicked and mesmerizing synth patches are a sure-fire way to achieve mental meltdown.

The rest of the disc shows off more of the brilliantly playful side of Alien Sex Fiend, including a track titled "Garbage," created in response to Garbage's inclusion of a track titled "Alien Sex Fiend" on their "Stupid Girl" single. The disc closes with a somewhat shaky yet hilarious song titled "Tarot" about domination and fortune- telling, and "Sticky," the final sonic transmission for this time around.

The band obviously recognizes that it's necessary to adapt in order to survive, and they've managed to do so by adopting only the portions of the emerging trends in popular music that they know they can twist around for their own purposes. All of this while preparing for a new tour and starting their own record label is a pretty fair achievement, to say the least-- now if only they could get rid of that god-awful cover art.

-Skaht Hansen