Hard-hitting synth-rockers Orgy celebrated the release of their second album, "Vapor Transmission," in Los Angeles on Friday at a party featuring a live performance and scenes right out of a rock 'n' roll circus.

Guests ranging from Courtney Love to Backstreet Boy Howie D. to Rod Stewart hobnobbed on each floor of El Capitan Entertainment Centre; a makeup crew gave attendees Orgy makeovers; and scantily clad women hired as entertainment made out on a bed in one of the upstairs dance rooms.

Despite the glitz, singer Jay Gordon said the bash was just a warm-up for the band's upcoming tour.

"It's like a great, big, glorified rehearsal," said the singer, who wore a black leather jacket and pants on his tall, lanky frame.

"It's really cool to do something for our friends," drummer Bobby Hewitt told Sonicnet (MTV.com's sister site). "Usually we play shows, and we just roll through town. But this is a little more intimate, and it's gonna be an amazing party."

Also among the attendees at the Orgy Ball were members of Korn, Limp Bizkit, Sugar Ray, Cypress Hill, Goldfinger and Anthrax, as well as Tommy Lee, Danny Boy from House of Pain and former teen idol Leif Garrett.

"I'm a fan of alcohol, and it's open bar," Anthrax singer John Bush said when asked if he is an Orgy fan. "I knew it was gonna be a great scene, too."

Not too surprisingly, Orgy's performance drew generously from the recently released "Vapor Transmission," and included the single "Fiction (Dreams in Digital)."

The song, which recently peaked at number 7 on "Billboard" magazine's Modern Rock Tracks chart, is about idolatry of cartoon characters, according to Gordon. "It's based on virtual beings that humans are getting really attached to," he said. "In Japan, they're getting really connected to these virtual stars, so to speak. They're, like, huge. It just kind of freaks me out... glorified cartoons, but it's cool."

The band's producer, Josh Abraham, came up with most of the music for "Fiction," but the song was a particularly hard number to nail, Hewitt said. "This was one of those songs that took forever," he said.

"Vapor Transmission" follows Orgy's 1998 breakthrough debut "Candyass," which went platinum with the help of their hit cover of New Order's "Blue Monday." Like its predecessor, the new LP is chock full of electronic-enhanced rockers with sing-along choruses.

Hewitt said he felt "Eva," which juxtaposes tranquil verses with crashing choruses, was a musical breakthrough for the band. "There's no samples, there's no loop... it's just very raw drumwise, guitarwise," he said. "It's just a straightforward rock song, but still it sounds like Orgy."

Gordon said the album is a result of the band keeping an open mind in the studio and following its impulses. "If there's any brilliance to be determined in this band, it would be because of the spontaneity in the studio," he said. "That's how we're evolving right now, and we'll see what happens."

Orgy have not settled on tour plans but are eyeing the planned 2001 edition of Family Values, Hewitt said.