Reviewed by Jon Wilson

It's not often that I hear this kind of techno based industrial metal and really like it, but this really is an exception. Whereas Circle Of Dust, brainchild, etc sometimes become a bit predictable, this album always keeps you listening because they aren't afraid of experimenting. This music doesn't beat around the bush. When I first heard "Headscrew" I was totally mesmerised, as it is such an amazing start to the CD. The band also reel in some excellent guest vocalists and instrumentalists. I bought this album almost purely due to the fact that Mark Saloman does lead vocals on two tracks and Tommy Victor (of prong fame and currently in Danzig) doing lead vocals on "Skin Shed" and guitar on "Doomsayer" which features a rap by 'King' Saloman which is just brilliant. This song also became "Controller" on Prong's latest album. Jeff Bellow of Chatterbox also contributes as docs Gyro of Mortal. As well as there being some totally cool songs there are also lots of fillers in between tracks, such as the hypnotic "Circles". There are loads of great guitar and techno riffs like "Headscrew", "Violent", "Agony", "Doomsayer", "Skin Shed", "Scarred For Life" and "Leave Me Alone". Not all of the lyrics are provided on the inlay card, but they are mostly about pain and despair and are not usually explicitly Christian, though Saloman's are if you listen well enough. However, as the hidden track on the end reveals, they aren't scared to speak their minds about what they believe. A painful and challenging view on the end of an extremely heavy and brilliantly inspired album.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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