i just bought squareone on sunday and its only tuesday, but the anticipation of when this cd graces my mailbox is probably going to kill me. for now i guess i gotta listen to the samples... bummer =( awesome music, bravo phil!

From the second you pop this album into your player, you are aware that you are about to embark on a journey. It feels as if you are violently thrust into the mind of Phil Istomin through the disguise of his brainchild ManicProject. The world that is painted is strangely familiar to those of us who have been subject to the literature of George Orwell and the films of David Lynch. You were not invited into this world, rather injected. The relationship you have with the artist is parasitic in nature and he wants you expulsed. Given the current climate of World issues, this album could not have arrived in a timelier manner. As it is clear that we are all along for the ride with the current state of affairs in the world today, so too are we in SquareOne. Tranquil melodies blended together with pulverizing beats; you can tell that there is a struggle between the powers at bay. Whether it is man versus nature, rich versus poor, high versus low, even man versus man, there is an unbalance that Istomin has captured and exposed within each layer of every song. Near the albums end you start to get a glimmer of hope, that he has begun addressing the root causes for the volatile atmosphere. In spite of this, conflict is ubiquitous. Upon completion, you will have left this place. It is a place of neutrality, neither good nor bad, all we know is that we are back at SquareOne.

A rising star of the industrial great basin scene. Phil has put together an epitome of his life over the past 3 years in what's quickly becoming his most successful album to date. SquareOne is lyrical and melodic composed over a baseline of industrial beat and sound bytes. While preserving his own creative originality he manages to conjure the complexity and sophistication of Trent Reznor, which is obviously a heavy influence. His strongest tracks this time around include the highly invoked Black, White, and Blue in which he enlists the help of local rap star Buck Dexter. SquareOne climaxes in a relaxed release with it's final track Ascending. It's beauty and sad decent pulls together and solidifies the genius of the album folded in subtly and well crafted sound. This is becoming a much needed underground industrial resurfacing composed by Phil Istomin and his ManicProject. Catch it now.

I have been listening to ManicProject since day one. I loved NO MORE SILENCE, but this album tops them all off. You won't find another sound like it, but you will be able to recognize who their influences are. Every song has a different sound, making it easy to leave in your CD player for months and not realize it. The artist placed more sound layers and voice overs throughout, making it harder to disect the meanings behind each song.... I like that he expresses his thoughts through his music mysteriously. You can tell that this CD was made from heart and soul. WELL DONE! Also the album art is amazing, done by the artist himself. A true talented artist in my opinion!