After only hinting at their interest in combining funk and metal on their debut album, San Francisco's
Mordred took the plunge with 1991's
In This Life. D.J. Aaron Vaughan provides samples and rap-style scratches to complement excellent bassist Art Liboon and the alternating power chords and funky lines of guitarists Danny White and James Sanguinetti. Highlights include "High Potency," "Esse Quam Videri," "Killing Time," and the title track, but the band only gets near funk metal perfection with the superlative combination of melodies, riffing, and scratching of "Falling Away." ~ Eduardo Rivadavia