Social Distortion: Mike Ness, Dennis Danell, John Maurer, Chuck Biscuits.

Audio Mixers: John Travis ; Mike Ness.

Illustrator: Kalynn Campbell.

Unknown Contributor Roles: John Maurer; Chuck Biscuits.

With White Light, White Heat, White Trash, Social Distortion made a conscious attempt to cash in on the alternative "revolution" of the early '90s." Underneath the layers of glossy hard rock production, the band still hold fast to some of their punk roots, but too often they sound like a heavy hard rock band. Of course, that commercial sheen is intentional -- it's the only way they could appeal to the legions of post-grunge alternative fans who appeared since Social Distortion released Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell in 1991. The problem is, the band doesn't deliver enough songs to justify the production. Mike Ness still wails away and growls out confessional lyrics, but too often they are ham-fisted and clichéd, much like the music that supports them. The band sounds tight and muscular, but the songs have few hooks to make them memorable. In trying to appeal to a wider audience, Social Distortion have lost much of their identity on White Light, White Heat, White Trash. ~ Stephen Thomas ErlewineR 7263

Social Distortion does one thing and does it well. The bulk of Social D's repertoire consists of variations on an unrelenting 4/4 jackhammer guitar-and-drums attack, with Mike Ness' nasal rasp giving voice to post-twelve step trailer-trash Americana in all its dubious glory. Since its inception in 1982, the band's records have typically sounded like So-Cal punk leavened by country and blues influences and a penchant for pop hooks.

The good news for Social Distortion fans is that WHITE LIGHT is no exception to the band's musical rules. While the song structures and chord progressions are slightly more sophisticated than on previous releases, the group returns after a four-year recording gap with all the raw edges intact. No punks-come-lately, Ness and his bandmates, who now include L.A. punk veteran Chuck Biscuits on drums, offer up a mature, substantive take on sin and redemption that makes you wonder how long it will take Johnny Cash to get around to covering them. This is the sound of a band that's been to hell and back, and short-sheeted the devil's bed in the process.