More of the same from Backstreet Boys

Now this is scary. The Backstreet Boys have made a startling shift to heavy metal, showing their true badass selves in raging rockers that attack the foundations of corporate America with a vengeance not seen since Rage Against the Machine. Ha ha. Just kidding.

 More of the same is what fans are going to get when Black & Blue arrives Tuesday - expressions of love so pure and true that the singers are nearly overwhelmed by the sheer sensuality of their words. Tracks like How Did I Fall In Love With You and the Babyface-produced Time (sample lyric: "Time goes on and on every day") are typical. As before, the oh-so-sweet love ballads are contrasted by choppy B-Boys street grooves - dangerous in the manner of a leather-jacketed millionaire strolling down Hollywood Boulevard surrounded by bodyguards. Yo, white boys in da house!

 There are few divergences - a Latin element, a splash of hip-hip, a song about cheating (gasp) - but the majority of this record consists of the same slick, obvious and formula music that made this group so big to begin with. The lyric in Everyone perhaps says it best, "We've been inside the circus. We took the pleasure with the pain. I guess there's something about us. Whatever comes around, we'll always be the same." At least it's better than 'N Sync.