At the initial recording session in Milan, the new partnership set to work on Martin's demos which were beginning to have diminishing influence on the final results. "There were no hard and fast rules - sometimes the songs drastically changed from the demo and sometimes they were pretty similar. Martin didn't like to explain his songs to anyone and, knowing that, the other group members would rarely ask him what they were about. It's clear to me that the ambiguity of his words and the subversive quality of some of them (with their possible dark meanings) is what makes them interesting. It is also probably right to say that from 'Violator' onwards, the final results bore less resemblance to the original demos than ever." It would be fair to attribute this to Alan and Flood whose dominance of the studio was quick to develop and ultimately provided a lasting and fruitful liaison.