After watching the Minneapolis-based duo Birthday Suits rock some sweet JAPanese ass a few weeks back, I realized how negligent I have been in not reviewing this record by an equally frenetic Minneapolis duo, Knife World. This self-titled full-length LP comes housed in some clever packaging that finds 3-D glasses mounted in the vinyl revealing a wasteland of playthings, erotic and otherwise, and an assortment of psychedelic drawings within the gatefold jacket. The music contained within is comparably mind-bending, simply for the fact that drummer Josh Journey-Heinz and guitarist Jon F. Nielson can play the shit out of their respective instruments. After the baiting lo-fi singer-songwriter intro on opener “Salutations From Ancient Cum”, Knife World unleashes a full-on psych-rock barrage that retreats only for the occasional melodic guitar workout as on “Ride With View and Major”, only to be launched back into another explosive burst of sound. There are riffs galore and when the vocals are added to the mix, Knife World sounds like a more technical, and more metal-leaning, version of early Comets of Fire. Being a duo, I mean this only as the highest praise. Better tune back in to Minneapolis. 8/10 -- David Perron (12 November, 2008)