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Diatribe Diatribe Cargo If those Heaven's Gate folks are flying above in the champagne supernova in the sky, laughing at our miserable existence, I hope Diatribe's new CD was stuck in their backpacks. The vision of impending apocalypse so prevalent in Diatribe before pops up again in "Sick the Dogs" and "Land's End," although they aren't so over-the-top that they included the Hemlock Society pager number. Diatribe erects a perilous wall of sound that is tall and foreboding. "The Son" and "Junkyard" choke and please like a thick, foreign tongue slipping down the throat. "The Other Side" is a true standout for its beat stitchery, and "Four Fifty One" propels the industro-techno genre into the stratosphere. (Todd S. Inoue) Mission Infinite 108 Mission Infinite 108 Wake Up This local collection of organic hip-hop cuts is stuck on cruise control: around 90­92 beats per minute. Encore and Grand are the emcees, free flowing about hard times ("Inner City Parasites") and the constant search for respect and papers ("Mission Infinite," "Venus" and "Definition of a Dollar"). These are spare, low-key hip-hop songs with sanded down NYC-style raps. The soft-touch keyboards and lack of tempo fluctuation made me nod off toward the end, but Encore's and Grand's vocal gymnastics kept my interest from waning. Mission Infinite would be ideal when used in a mix, on the CD changer or for background music for Sunday dinner--sparingly at first. Venturing outside of the speed limit is dangerous but could make this Mission complete. (The band plays Sam's Soular Lounge at the Agenda Lounge in San Jose on April 21.) (Todd S. Inoue) [ Metro | Metroactive Central | Archives ]