Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Up front I must warn you this is no ordinary album. It's the soundtrack for Criss Angel's supernatural freak show, "Mindfreak," which he also wrote, produced, directed and stars in at The World Underground Theater in NYC. The show opened in December of 2001 and has been extended to January of 2003 at this point. You may recognize the name Criss Angel from his appearances on everything from an ABC Prime Time Special to MTV, E!, WB, TLC, TNN, UPN and Howard Stern Show. He has created an arena of his own to display his expertise as a musician, martial arts master, dancer and most importantly, Illusionist. In a not so friendly rivalry with David Blaine, Criss Angel has performed some even more outlandish stunts than Blaine, including setting a record for body suspension as he hung for 5 hrs. and 40 min. from 8 fishhooks his back attached to his back in Times Square on 02/20/02. His street magic is also pretty amazing as has been demonstrated in the numerous television specials he's participated in.

"Mindfreak" is a far cry from David Copperfield and other famous illusionist 's performances. This is magic on the dark side and has won high praise from such opposites as Clive Barker and Howard Stern. The soundtrack to the show isn't an easy listen, especially since you wonder what's happening on the stage while the music on the album is playing. If I lived anywhere close to NYC, I'd be first in line to see the show. But, since that isn't the case, keep your eyes peeled for the performance scheduled to air on the ABCFamily channel on 10/20/02 (for more info see www.crissangel.com). In the mean time, this CD is totally electronic trance music. You either totally lose yourself in it and trance out, or leave it for background music you won't be concentrating on. There really isn't any in between in my opinion. The compositions by Angel are well done and I can totally see this album dominating a Rave having nothing to do with the theatrics it was created for. "Mindfreak" is an interesting diversion if you're inclined to take chances