This was Al Jourgensen's first full-length venture into the darker possibilities of electronic music. Harsh synthesizers, brutal drums and cynical lyrics defied the easy classification of "techno-dance" when this album was released in the mid'80s. The programming is proficient and creative, taking the limited sound technology of the time into new areas. "Just Like You" and "All Day" make early use of processed vocals and cryptic spoken-word fragments. In "We Believe" and "Over The Shoulder" Jourgensen renders ominously driving bass lines and metallic percussion to project pessimistic visions of a cold, technocratic society. The album's second half is dominated by a long drum & noise piece: an interesting experiment that would lead to intriguing sound collages on subsequent albums. --Mark McCleerey