Superjoint Ritual

When your logo is a pentagram with a pot leaf in the center, and your vocalist is "God of metal" Phil Anselmo (Pantera), you've got all the symbolism needed to pull off a skin-peeling speed-metal record. And that's exactly what Superjoint Ritual did, creating 13 blistering tracks and christening them A Lethal Dose of American Hatred. The band's music is the quintessential metal menagerie: screeching about Satan, demonic group-growl overdubs, breakneck speed guitars (do they even change chords?), and more double bass drumming than an old Sepultura record. As if Superjoint Ritual didn't have enough hardcore credibility, it recently played the main stage at Ozzfest. "The SJR (crowd, fans, martyrs . . . !) are insane," Anselmo wrote in his tour diary. "Every show has been unfucking believable!" This week, the band will bring the insanity to Tempe, where n(-metal coed band Lacuna Coil will provide some gentler opening foreplay before Superjoint Ritual's extreme ear fuck.