By the same token however, there are those who would sneer at the thought of a Revolting Cocks reunion. After all, with Al Jourgensen now drug-free, one of the most prominent muses on classics like _Linger Fickin Good_ and _Beers, Steers & Queers_ has been removed from the equation altogether. Likewise, as the music industry grows increasingly more cynical, certain quarters have adopted the sort of intellectually snobbish attitude that would have them balk at any band so consciously infantile that they'd introduce their record with the line: "If murder is the ultimate expression of art, then I am the goddamn Pablo Picasso of death."

You need only sit through one hour of programmed music television -- even those channels that boast coverage of the alternative and metal scenes -- to realise that now, more than ever, the world needs a band who can say "fuck you" and make you believe it. This is something that _Cocked & Loaded_ has no qualms with delivering in spades, as Jourgensen and his partners in crime -- who on this record include ZZ Top's Billy Gibbon, Jello Biafra and Butthole Surfers' Gibby Haynes -- deliver track after track of sharp, acerbic and highly effective psycho-industrial cum rock 'n' roll.

Like _Psalm 69_ to _The Land of Rape & Honey_, _Cocked & Loaded_ jacks up the volume on the guitars and replaces a lot of the Kraftwerk-esque electronic flourishes utilised on its predecessors with riffs that are as nasty and in-your-face as it gets. Songs like "Pole Grinder" and "Jack in the Crack" are perfect examples of how well this approach works, but even the album's more experimental moments -- "Ten Million Ways to Die" and "Viagra Culture" -- don't drag down proceedings in the slightest.

For all these creative shifts however, the spirit of the Revolting Cocks remains solidly intact. Jourgensen may be off the smack, but he still has both middle fingers held aloft for all to see. We can only hope that it doesn't take him another thirteen years to drop a bombshell of similar quality on a world in tremendous need of a kick in the ass.