When the Birthday Party disbanded in 1983, Nick Cave immediately formed the Bad Seeds with bandmate Mick Harvey, ex-Magazine bassist Barry Adamson, and Einsturzende Neubaten instrumentalist Blixa Bargeld for a visceral, modern take on American gospel and blues. The opening dramatic snaps of Leonard Cohen's "Avalanche" set the tone. Cave wanders into a heart of a darkness invoking gothic terrors, biblical prophecies and a strung-out wanderlust that sends the tunes into a humping overdrive. The Birthday Party thrived on chaos. The Bad Seeds would thrive on controlled chaos. The title track has become a live staple, its tribal groove setting up a tense, rhythmic tug of war. "Saint Huck" and "Cabin Fever" further Cave's verbose, idiosyncratic take on modern singer-songwriterdom. "A Box for Black Paul" seats Cave at the piano to pour out a brilliant and inebriated funeral eulogy that devolves into frustrated obscenity and psychotic repetitive ramblings as it nears the ten-minute mark.