Johnny Cash never recorded a whole album of killing songs per se, but the success of his 2000 Murder anthology--which outsold its companion discs Love and God by a considerable margin-can be attributed to his willingness to sing about the deadliest sin from different perspectives. It's more than just "I tied Delia to a chair" and "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die." The Pine Box Boys offer an impressive variety of dark-hearted characters, too, but for most listeners a little of Arkansas Killing Time may go a long bloody way.

This evil work of art begins with the traditional "Skin and Bones Lady" sung a cappella by Lester T. Raww. He sounds a little like the lead singer of Shenandoah until he adds a demented slant to his voice for the next song, "56 AR." He lightens up considerably on the title track, which is so energetic it makes killing sound like a night at the honky tonk. To be fair, the narrator realizes that someday "they'll put me away in a grave dug in Arkansas clay."

Raww is one of the most compelling songwriters I've heard in a long time-so convincing are these twisted tales of bloodshed, I'm relieved the guy has found a proper creative outlet. Raww has a keen eye for detail and doesn't go for deliberately shocking examples of grotesquerie (although "I Kept Her Heart" delivers on exactly what its title implies). Listen to "Bucket of Guts" and you'll swear Old Willie is the latest reincarnation of Stagger Lee-the lively picking and grinning instrumental break seems to cheer him on. The best songs here explore the events that lead up to killing and its inevitable consequences, not the nasty act itself. Hardly anything that will corrupt our nation's youth-although if Raww and the boys thrown in some gratuitous sex stuff, I'm sure a former First Lady would raise be raising her voice about it.

Raww and his bandmates are clearly the masters of "horrorbilly," but is there an audience for this stuff? There's a reason the Sony/BMG conglomerate hasn't introduced a new catalogue-raiding CD series called Death Songs. Not commercial enough-even the once reliable gangsta rappers appear to be all threat and no action these days. But if you consider yourself even slightly adventurous, why not send a big screw you to the major labels and buy this one? At the very least, this is the most admirable stab at a country concept album since Red Headed Stranger, and nearly every track reveals something new on repeated listens.

The Pine Box Boys are all skilled musicians, Steven "Your Uncle" Dodds giving this bluegrassy band a particularly lively edge with his percussive touches. Banjo player Big Possum Carvidi and bassist Col. Timothy Leather are superb as well, suggesting the band could expand its subject matter on future recordings. Musically, they're already there-it's clear these guys grew up listening to a lot more than hillbilly music. The closing song, "Bakersfield" doesn't appear to have anything to do with killing at all. Or does it? Killing time in a lousy bar, maybe. If that ain't hell, it's pretty damn close.