by Vincent Jeffries

The second release from this power-metal quartet offers more of Grip Inc.'s relentless riffing plus a little bit extra. Bandleader and metal legend Dave Lombardo delivers all the massive drumming fans should expect while his fellow musicians Gus Chambers (vocals,) Waldemar Sorychta (guitars, keyboards,) and bassist Jason Viebrooks push their progressive metal to new textural extremes. Chambers turns up the intensity on tracks like "Portrait of Henry" with his searing voice while Sorychta adds his own colorful guitar trickery and even some smooth keyboard work on choice cuts "The Summoning" and "Rusty Nail." Of course, Lombardo's crushing drum work takes center stage on this 1997 Metal Blade release, with the closer "Code of Silence" putting an emphatic punctuation on what is yet another demonstration of the musician's -- and his band's -- technical and creative metal mastery.