There was never any question that Motorpsychos, a virtual house band at the 31st Street Pub, rocked.

But with "Coming of Rage," the band has taken it up a notch, or two or three, with the kind of crushing metal assault that could have the masses pressed against the barricades at Ozzfest.

"Yes, this is heavier than the last one," affirms singer-guitarist Pamela Simmons. "And the heaviest songs on this CD are the most recently written, so we are definitely moving in that direction. It just feels good, I guess. It feels right."

"Coming of Rage" opens with a blare of feedback, a bass that bursts in like a tsunami, a rumble of Metallica-style kick drums and the three ladies up front wailing and screaming about being done wrong. It doesn't let up much over the next nine fierce, finger-pointing songs.

" 'Anybody Cares' is about a group of people [jerks] who claim to be politically minded but are truly self-absorbed, and 'Monster' was based on an evil person from a past relationship," Simmons says. " 'Busted' is directed toward two entities: one is another band that we felt didn't treat us very fairly, and the other is a girl that [expletive-d] me off. Both shall remain nameless!"

You get the idea, though.

Taking their name from a Russ Meyer film, Motorpsychos hit their first gear back in 2000, fronted by Simmons and Rachel Cassady, two former members of Go to Helen. When Cassady split in 2004, the band not only picked up Abby Krizner but Simmons and bassist Amy Bianco took on more duties in front of drummer Dennis Brown.

"Amy and I had to get used to singing because we hadn't previously except for an occasional backing vocal, and I had to get used to playing with a second guitarist. We're all moving in a common direction and we've learned to write for each other's strengths. The album title is a play on the expression, 'coming of age' because we've been a band for nine years now, our sound continues to evolve. Even though we're 'growing up,' our music is still very aggressive."

That's not surprising given the cumulative influences at work in Motorpsychos. "I'm the girl-band groupie," Simmons says. "L7 is my all-time favorite band and I like Monster Magnet a lot. Other band members cut their teeth on the likes of Slayer, Pantera and Metallica."

Deep in the album, the song "Matriarch" contains the line "good for a girl," the kind of compliment that might be tossed at Motorpsychos if it weren't such an understatement. Asked if they feel like they have to take it up a notch being women, Simmons shrugs that off.

"It's probably easier to tell you what we don't do," she says. "We don't wear jeans and flannel shirts. We don't stop in between each song and tune and take a drink and tell the audience what the next song's called and what it's about. We pound the audience with song after song, only taking short breaks after three or four. We're very conscious to keep the energy level high and engage the crowd. We understand that the show isn't just about our music; it's also about our delivery, our visuals, having fun and making sure that the audience has fun."

To that end, they have some special treats in store for the release party on Saturday night. They'll decorate the bar, have prizes like tattoos and piercing and an autographed guitar, and once again, "the Crocker Rockers," as they call themselves, will bake cookies -- in interesting shapes ... from scratch.

"They'll be in the bags with a bunch of other fun stuff," Simmons says. "This time, we made Motorpsychos activity books with puzzles and games, jokes and riddles. It's called 'Motor Skills.' We're making 150 goodie bags. We go all out -- with the music, with the show, and with the fun, and we really appreciate our fans. The next day, we don't only want to hear, 'Boy they really rocked!' We also want to hear, 'Wow! That was a great show! I had a blast!' "