Though were still about a year away from hitting the peak of their powers in the studio, their second album, 1990's , was a major improvement over their self-released debut, and it was their first recording to suggest that they would mature into one of the best American bands of the 1990s. As a songwriter, was starting to really get in touch with his self-loathing, and and offer a powerful and sometimes disturbing look into one man's obsessions. Just as importantly, the band had finally learned to make the most of their musical muscle; 's nicotine-laced growl merged "heavy- " bellow with a man's sense of phrasing, while the guitars of and the rhythm section of managed to combine bruising power with a remarkable sense of drama and dynamics. While lots of bands riding the " "/" " bandwagon at the time owed an obvious debt to , were one of the few that fully grasped not just their pomp and heaviness, but their precision, their timing, and their understanding of . While it pales in comparison to what would achieve on made it clear had truly arrived, and would not be ignored. ~ Mark Deming