was for what -- the band's first fully mature work, one which successfully brought together all of its diverse influences while at the same time showcasing a singular vision. Also like , it was to be the band's masterpiece, in the original sense of that term -- a creative pinnacle which they would not reach again. The album opens with the title track, a blistering and musically exhilarating deploration of violence, and then moves directly into easily the most complex and yet viscerally compelling song the band ever produced. Singer digs deep into his bag of voices and pulls them all out, one by one: the frightening nasal falsetto that was his signature in the band's days, an almost bel canto baritone, and a declamatory speed-rap chatter that spews lyrics with the mechanical precision of a machine gun. He positively croons on the surprisingly melodic and But his voice isn't even the best thing happening here. It's the incredibly tight, funky, and tonally rich interplay between guitarist , bassist , and drummer that gives this album its deeply satisfying texture. The stop/start rhythms of the gorgeous guitar hook on 's completely counterintuitive ability to meld the raw directness of with an almost supernatural virtuosity without sacrificing the power of either approach -- this is music-making of an order not usually seen in . ~ Rick Anderson