Though there's not one song as gripping as those on Kittie's debut, Spit, the new album is much fiercer. The opening track is a full assault of drums, sick bass lines, and thunderous guitars. Thank goodness. I wouldn't want Kittie to have gotten soft with age. The Lander sisters made sure Oracle kicks you in the crown. The echoing chant on "Mouthful of Poison" and yearning vocals on "In Winter" lead to gut-ripping growls, never letting your ears settle in and get comfy. Kittie's cover of Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell" isn't exactly innovative – screaming will intensify almost any song's foreboding feeling. Yet "What I Always Wanted" and "Pink Lemonade" prove that slowing things down a bit sometimes better achieves that desired effect. "Severed" and "No Name" are mentally savage songs, and "Safe" is to Oracle what "Paper Doll" was to Spit, but the piano and ballad-like ending make it creepier.

Unfortunately, I don't know what the hell Morgan is saying and lyrics weren't available – but that's metal for you. I'm guessing she's really pissed off, otherwise she wouldn't be trying to skin her throat track after track. Whatever she's eating for breakfast is what we should be feeding our armed forces.

Mercedes' drumming will knock you on your ass, and Talena's bass playing has improved impressively. Overall, though, the noise is often too muddled, and it's difficult to tell the songs apart, despite their arrangements. That said, I'm happy to report there's almost nothing for radio to throw into the mix that'll play nice with other Top 40 favorites. Oracle is relentless metal. It's obvious that Kittie aren't looking to please anyone but themselves.

Beautifulgarbage (the title is taken from a line in Hole's "Celebrity Skin") dabbles through much of the musical gamut. The first two songs, "Shut Your Mouth" and "Androgyny," mirror the first two tracks from the Garbage's self-titled debut – the rock of "Supervixen" and the quirk of "Queer" nostalgically bleed through. But that's about all that's stylistically recognizable. Shirley Manson quasi-raps, for crying out loud. I guess we should have seen it coming when Garbage wrote the dashing and dramatic "The World Is Not Enough" for that James Bond film.

Here we get everything from neo-disco on "Til the Day I Die" to sixties girl groups with a sweeping, swoony chorus on "Can't Cry These Tears." Some would say "Untouchable" is too close to Britney Spears' latest song for their comfort, but quite frankly, I don't mind a hormonal, grown woman like Manson treating me to "uh-uh"s and dominating lyrics over a dance-pop hook. "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go)" is early Madonna, church bells, and computer noises. The myriad of slow songs on Beautifulgarbage are too gloomy for anyone to notice their delicacy. The groovy, beat-driven "Breaking Up the Girl" and "Parade" are more what Garbage are – and should be – known for. Though their new album is not as exciting or sexy as the past two releases, Garbage are just too good to be not good for too long. That last sentence made as about as much sense as the album.