Coming a year after , it's great to hear that hadn't lost their ueberheavy edge. , , and bassist effectively peeled back the pretentious excesses of , turned them in on themselves, and came up with a leaner, meaner but no less ambitious outing. The centerpiece track, despite the fact that it is second on the disc, is A tome about alcoholism and recovery, it's strident riff opens out onto vast sonic panoramas where pianos and rhythm section offer the space he needs to take his guitar playing into overdrive. Also, lyrically this is an evolutionary track on the set; it opens doors for the rest of the narratives here. Whereas the opener, is an anthem of resistance and independence, from onward, themes of acceptance, surrender, and willingness become the M.O. for transcendent transformation. Struggles with the past, new encounters, and near despair are common themes, as on the brilliantly textured and detailed Note the beautiful interplay between the guitars and keyboards on the insane drums and buzz saw attack on the intro to or the brilliant play on the intro to in the intro to before the almighty riffing takes it into crunchland with a deep, poignant reflection on spiritual and religious hypocrisy. This is hard, heavy at its very best lyrically and musically. ~ Thom Jurek