It has been the dream of multiculturalists (and advertising folk) everywhere to come up with a hybrid beast -- a new Elvis, as it were -- who might bridge the gap between suburban hardcore/heavy metal and downtown hip-hop. Many have failed, or else flickered briefly. (Anyone seen Anthrax or Public Enemy lately?) But with the coming of a new postmodern musical mentality, such bastard hellspawn are increasingly popular. And it ain't just Rage Against the Machine. As PM5K frontman Spider advertises in his grave drawls on "A Swim With the Sharks," "Ya get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing."

Though they now qualify as perennial winners on the Poll's hip-hop side (they won the category in 1994; a solo MC Spider won back in '90), this is the first time they've been mentioned on the metal tip. And that's got a lot to do with their full-length debut, Blood Splat Rating System (Conscious), wherein the guitars have more muscle and volume than ever before. Spider's trademark delivery seamlessly fuses G. Love's laconic gargle with throaty hardcore exclamations. And unlike macho dickhead hardcore bands like Clutch, there's an actual appreciation of hip-hop phrasing and arranging, combined with the aesthetic that's become Spider's family heirloom (he's Rob Zombie's little brother, ya know) -- "sin-o-rama" trash-culture mosaics, weird samples, and histrionic guitar riffs. But if PM5K's fertile territory has been ploughed by White Zombie, Blood Splat proves they've still got their own distinct future as a hip, urban-minded, neo-realist metallish rap-fusion with deep street credibility. At least, that's probably what the Beverly Hills 90210 people were thinking when they snapped these guys up for an episode. Just think -- maybe they'll be the metal Letters to Cleo!

-- Carly Carioli