The first act consists of only one song: an extended ambient number, not unlike label mates Raison d'Être, which gradually builds in stridency and bombast before being abruptly and clumsily terminated -- a rather decent number until its lazy termination. The remaining seven tracks form the second act, and include no less than three covers.

Already I can hear some groans. Out of eight songs, three are covers and another an intro, yet I give the album 8.5? Obviously I consider this CD to be of well above average quality, yet an abundance of covers would seem to militate against this possibility.

The covers are actually all well performed and do seem to tie with the album's thematic scope. "Fire", originally by Arthur Brown, is entirely unknown to me. Chances are high that it has been completely reinvented into the most stridently martial song on the album. "Religion" is credited to a quintet of songwriters unknown to me. "Sympathy for the Devil" is of course by the Rolling Stones, but here rendered in an unrecognisable form. Only the lyrics initially alerted me to the fact that this was a cover!

The songs are varied, ranging from the ambience and bombastic nature of the aforementioned songs, through to the ritual ambience of "Credo IV" and the sultry darkness of "Religion". An album recommended for all those with an appreciation for music with martial tendencies, or even just a liking for the quintessential CMI industrial sound.