Sounding and pounding out a heavily percussive, rhythmically insistent, almost metronomic beat on opening track "Downstairs", gigantically resonant basslines and a tribal drum pattern batten down a background through which a scratchily pealing guitar line and droning keyboard weave a darkened minamilist texture. Other critics have taken the vocalists to task for their monotone delivery, but that seems to me to miss the point of the music produced by Religious Knives on this CD entirely; tracks like "Basement Watch" and "Major Score" emphasize the colossal punch packed collectively by the instruments, even when stripped down to what is essentially a two-note affair. The remoteness of both the male and female vocalists on "Door" doesn't to my ears appear to be an affectation, but rather just another element added to the universal reference point of the on-the-slightly-sinister-side, 'Sixties-influenced psychedelic vibe popularized by the band this release (with the exclusion of one letter) pays homage to, with "On a Drive" perhaps the most representative example (though not to claim that Jim Morrison possessed a set of one dimensional pipes; rather that as his baritone croon complemented the ornate sound his bandmates produced, so the monotone vocals complement the droning on the 'Knives release). A very aggressive (yet deliberately paced) confrontational,drone-driven, post-rock release, it may not be for everyone, and should probably be best listened to through one sitting, but gifts back moments of surprising reward. Rated up to a 3.5.