This is an interesting, if not entirely successful detour into funk-metal for the band that pioneered Rastafarian hard-core punk. Everything is slowed down here, and the sonic textures have thickened considerably. Drummer delivers both ponderous, stomping metal rhythms and funked-up grooves, while gets to show off his chops a bit more than he has in the past. The religious messages have, if anything, gotten more mystical and less coherent -- song titles like and give you an idea of what to expect. may or may not be a slightly homophobic cautionary tale for the age of AIDS, and appears to be a paean to 's wife (a perennial favorite subject for reggae musicians). As on , reggae is given short shrift on this album. In fact, the only reggae rhythm to be found at all is on an awkward tune that feels tacked onto the album's end. Fans will defend it, and is by no means a failure, but it's also far from being ' best work. ~ Rick Anderson