Now clearly more comfortable in his role as the consummate front man, Mortiis has not so much revolutionized as distilled the blueprint laid down on _The Smell of Rain_. Yes, this is, as he has been claiming, a much harder album; but it certainly isn't without its fair share of catchy, and dare I say, radio-friendly hooks. In fact, hard as it may have been to believe this a few years ago, songs like "Way Too Wicked" could very easily see Mortiis become staple MTV programming. For those not put off by this fact and who do take the trouble to dig into the core of this album, _The Grudge_ proves to be a very rewarding listening experience. Reminiscent on several occasions of a meeting between latter-day Ministry and David Bowie, some of Mortiis' finest moments can be found in the drum 'n' bass-influenced grooves of "Broken Skin", the electro-punk snarl of "Decadent & Desperate" and the reflective ambience of "The Loneliest Thing". Not that it's a veritable coup de grace, mind you. It does improve on _The Smell of Rain_ by leaps and bounds, but there are still times when Mortiis' ego just can't seem to relegate itself to second fiddle over his ability to write songs. Then again, who can argue that this hasn't always formed part and parcel of the man's appeal?