"To be a god, to be of its own cause, is to obliterate the idea of something to follow the cause."

Think you could headbang to that? Indeed, few conventions are upheld here, save for the frequent lapses into neo-classical shredding. The album was produced by James Murphy, who is naturally favorable toward the guitar oriented sound (the bass is audible but routine). Though certainly made of the right stuff, the overall result reveals a group not yet sure of the right way to communicate its ideas and the album wilts into its second half, becoming ornate and lacking a definable center. (The album's closing track, "Guided by Polaris” sounds like a noisy reprise of "The Call of Ktulu") It's held together by an overflowing and dynamic energy.