Jackyl's studio albums are fine and dandy if you're an enthusiast of testosterone-heavy, metallic blues boogie. But it doesn't take Einstein to figure out that Jackyl is best suited for the concert stage. And their 1998 live release, Night of the Living Dead, proves this point once and for all. Despite it not being a live career retrospective (it was issued after the group had only a pair of albums in the record store racks), the CD does manage to successfully transfer the group's over-the-top live energy to disc. While experiencing Jesse James Dupree wielding a chain saw during the Beavis & Butt-Head-approved "The Lumberjack" on record doesn't carry the same weight as experiencing it in the flesh, you'll still get the idea, while "Down on Me" and "Push Comes to Shove" rock out ferociously. A simple prerequisite though before cranking 'Night of the Living Dead' -- put on your cowboy boots and make sure your leather vest and chaps fit tight. Now feel free to proceed. ~ Greg Prato|

Rovi