Overseen by Pixies producer Gil Norton and recorded at Pink Floyd's Britannia Row Studios, where band favourites, Joy Division, had made Closer, Chrome marked a huge step forward, honed on the road after the constant touring to support previous album Ferment. With it's sleeve designed by Storm Thorgerson, it's as if the album was a dry run for Muse. There is increasing experimentation ? the 7 minutes plus of Fripp are, as writer Ben Cardew noted, "celestial and full of dread." As Pitchfork wrote, "It's as if Chrome were imported from another history of alt-rock, one more textured and romantic, where it sits deservedly atop the pile."