Mudhoney, Soundgarden: School of African and Oriental Studies, London

THERE'S NO containing the capricious belligerence of Seattle's Soundgarden. Vocalist Chris Cornell — part monkey, part Adonis and all of a doodah — is stripped to the waist, flaunting his bronze and his brawn. The hands of Kim Thayil and Hiro Yamamoto, one of East Indian descent, one of Japanese, zip along the necks of their instruments, their heads bucking in blissful unison. Their bodies are hopelessly devoted to the fight and their souls are abandoned to the slash and burn, the tatters and the ashes of this merry prank.