Eardrums will explode when Rocket from the Crypt, the loudest band in San Diego, blasts into town for a show at 9 p.m. tomorrow at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave.

The band mixes '60s frat rock with modern-day punk rock and a menacing horn section, and is already on its third tour of 2001. Tomorrow's set will be the band's first this year in State College, said Rocket bassist Petey X.

"We did a promo tour for two weeks doing in-stores, and then we went out with (fellow band) the Explosion," X said. "This time out we're doing smaller markets. We wanted to hit the kinds of places we didn't do before."

Rocket from the Crypt is touring in support of its sixth full-length, Group Sounds, released by Vagrant Records in February.

The album, the band's first on the independent Vagrant after two releases on major-label Interscope, is louder, faster and rawer than its predecessor, 1998's RFTC.

It's also darker in comparison to the poppy, polished RFTC, although X said the difference was not intentional. "It's a little darker, but it just sort of happened that way," he said.

He credited the change in mood to recording sessions in Memphis, Tenn.

"Memphis was a lot of fun," X said, mentioning that Rocket frontman Speedo recorded some of his vocals while standing on Elvis Presley's grave. "But we had the songs when we got there. I don't think where we recorded dictated the record. But it did give it a vibe, a darker edge."

Group Sounds sports a cobra on its cover, and coincidentally Petey X was bitten by a snake while recording the album.

However, he said the experience did not frighten him and could have been worse.

"I grew up my whole life around reptiles, in Arizona," he said. "This wasn't a cobra. It was cool. I'm not dead, anyway."

Group Sounds features horn arrangements much more dominant than those on past Rocket albums, X said.

"If I had to compare (Group Sounds) to anything we've done before, I'd say it's (1992 Rocket album) Circa: Now! with better horns. We've matured and are playing them better and better."

He said Rocket members JC2000 (trumpet) and Apollo 9 (saxophone) are contributing to the band's songwriting and have helped make Group Sounds a stronger album than any Rocket from the Crypt has done in the past.

Rocket from the Crypt also presently includes guitarist N.D. and new drummer Ruby Mars. Superchunk's Jon Wurster handled the drumming on Group Sounds.

"(The horns have) changed the songwriting, now it's not just bent around guitars," X said. "Before, we wrote everything around guitars."

Now, someone will come up with a great horn line and we'll build a song around it."

I think the horns fleshed out the songs before, whereas now they're just as important in the writing."

In addition to stronger horns, Group Sounds also includes a ballad, "S.O.S.," and the haunting, piano-driven "Ghost Shark," both of which Rocket from the Crypt is playing nightly.

"We're playing 'S.O.S.' and 'Ghost Shark' every night," X said. "It throws a wrench into the set. Everything's really loud and fast and those songs throw everybody off."

He said the band's current set list covers its entire career.

"It's all over the place," he said. "We're trying to cover everything. The only record we're not doing songs from is (1991's) Paint as a Fragrance."

Tomorrow's show is open to all ages.