As much as he relies on occult imagery, King Dude—real name: Thomas Jefferson Cowgill—covets songwriting craft. He bows down at the altar of traditional song structures and craven ballads with plinking pianos, thudding drums, and distorted guitars. His voice, a croaking, growling, sneering baritone that plumbs the depths, certainly fits. About the only thing that doesn't mesh with the unceasingly dramatic cosmology is the name: King Dude. But he's totally serious about all of this—the angels, the devils, and the clichés. There's not a wink to be found. ANDREW R. TONRY