Caveman

On its first album, the substandard metal duo Caveman grunts out Neanderthal vocals in interchangeable songs such as "Death of the Mammoth" and "Me Fire Make Cold Go Away." Displaying remarkable dexterity for primitive men, singer-guitarist Gulk and drummer Krug are amusing -- for about half a song.

The disc quickly falls short of genre landmarks such as the video game Caveman Ugh-lympics, the recurring Saturday Night Live sketch "Caveman Lawyer," and ESPN's Rome Is Burning. Still, the mildly thrashy fare is better than at least three of the overproduced crossover bands Headbanger's Ball plays every week. The band's "backstory": Before being frozen in a glacier and unthawing several epochs later in Shalersville, they garnered favorable national press as the supporting act on an early Dio tour. If you're looking for prehistoric entertainment, Ice Age is on cable this month. Its soundtrack, featuring Rusted Root, isn't nearly as gnarly, but boy, that sloth can really act.