Reviews
"...Offers songs which are carefully arranged, less aggressive and almost symphonic in scope, letting James Keenan reference religion and sex while biting with ruthless verbal bitch slaps....Merciless.", 4 stars out of 5 - "...Echoes Tool's dark alt.rock dynamics in the stealthy riffing of 'Magdalena' and 'Judith', but it is with gentler songs such as '3 Libras' or the Led Zeppelin-influenced 'Renholder' that they truly shine.", 4 stars out of 5 - "...This is Killing Joke and Jane's Addiction; this is Soundgarden and Alice In Chains; Keenan's gorgeously intimate voice is shoved up front throughout and it's his throat's suckable folds that draw you deeper in...", Included in Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2000" - "...A positively ancient metal, a gothic throb that leapfrogs over rap metal back to the sleek PORNOGRAPHY-era dolor of the Cure and psychedlic-Valhalla songs of Led Zep....refreshing darkness.", 7 out of 10 - "...Mystic atmospherics and haunting, uplifting vocals....They have created a work of morbid beauty. In terms of darkness, it eclipses nearly everything else.", "...On the Ballad '3 Libras', Keenan Sings with an Elegance Few Could Have Imagined...", "...Less ominous than Maynard's former band Tool, leavening guitar shrapnel with genuinely pretty melodies and frilly production flourishes - kinda like neo-Metallica, but with 'cojones'." - Rating: A-