As the album's title, Modus Operandi implies, this is drum-n-bass as cold and sterile as an abandoned warehouse, but features small touches of warmness, as though there were life in one of those old crates.

Modus Operandi is mostly thematic. The songs sound a like the music from bomb-difusing scenes in James Bond films, supporting some waves and oozes of sound that suggest there's intellegence lurking underneath the surface. Over all the creepiness, though, there are a number of tracks on Photek's full-length debut that really stand out.

"Minotaur" is an singular drum pounding out a precisely timed African beat over a melodic but powerful torrential downpour that brings destruction from the last city it devoured. "Axiom" is the tension building between two outlaws in a showdown, while Modus Operandi's highpoint is its title cut, which slows down the rhythm, R. Kelly- style, adding piano and standup bass for a cold, jazzy feel.

Photek is the consummate d-n-b specialist who strives to perfect every sound and every note. He's a master of waveforms, samples and MIDI patterns. He's the violent demon of sound, ready to strike with an unrelentless anger. But most of all, he's a creator, and he's finally delivered his monster to the electronic world.

-Ryan Schreiber