Nemesis was never a group that catered to bass purists; its brand of hardcore rap isn't pure bass in the sense that the 2 Live Crew, Afro-Rican, 95 South, and Tag Team are bass.

Nonetheless, the Dallas combo was influenced by the bass music that came out of Florida and Georgia, and it tried to cash in on its popularity with album titles like Munchies for Your Bass, Temple of Boom, and Tha People Want Bass.

Released in 1993, Temple of Boom was Nemesis' third album, and reunited the group with the Too Short-influenced Ron C.

This CD is quite similar to Munchies for Your Bass; like that 1991 release, this is an R-rated party album that is full of sleek R&B-influenced grooves.

The conscious raps of Nemesis' first album, To Hell and Back, are long gone.

Instead, this CD's concerns include sex, women in tight dresses, and malt liquor.

Not surprisingly, some of the hip-hoppers who remembered the "all-praises-due-to-Allah" outlook that defined parts of To Hell and Back felt that Nemesis had sold out by becoming more sexually exploitive and questioned this album's sincerity.

Regardless, this isn't without its pleasures.

It isn't as consistent as Munchies for Your Bass, which is arguably the group's best album, but this CD does have its share of infectious grooves -- most notably, "Cloud 7," "The Big, Bad, The Bass," and "Nemesis on the Premises." Although not the best album in the Nemesis catalog, Temple of Boom is good for some cheap thrills here and there.