By this stage in his prolific campaign, Dominick Fernow's VS output tends to fall into one of two camps - either distorted PTSD episodes, or tranced-out, melancholic meditations. This one falls into the latter sector. 'There Was A Black Banner On The Floor' is numbed to the bone with cold halogen drones and midnight atmosphere while a queasy, sub-heavy bass undertow and needling hi-hats count time. 'Al Qaeda Possess Nuclear Capacity' is one of his best, a dark, stepping trance for internal interrogation rendered with cold, ceramic clarity. 'Wahhabi Money Flows' is almost opulent, again with richer production values applied to the supple, cushioned subbass and widescreen pads to uncomfortably sumptuous effect, while 'Once This Fire Gathers Strength' departs on a deeply sorrowful, foreboding note with gorgeous synth pad chorales chained to a slow, industrial technoid throb.
