ABOVE aches with the pain of living in a world streaked by deception, betrayal and disgust. Lumbering rhythms occasionally rumble into Sabbathville ("X-Ray Mind" and "Lifeless Dead"). Staley nods through the sinuous confines of "Long Gone Day," coasting on a surreal Brazilian beat prodded along by Martin's vibraphone and Nalgas Sin Carne's sax solo. This hour of emotional bloodletting ends with a convoluted two-part piece: The instrumental "November Hotel" starts with a faraway tribal beat that builds up gradually as McCready's guitar eases in and unleashes a wave of effects-laden riffs that flow into a disembodied declaration of solitude called "All Alone."
