Pale copy of the real thing – 48%
Annable Courts, November 24th, 2022
Here we get good vocals, notably on the harrowing highs. We get fairly modern-sounding drums, with clicky kicks and overall tight with a sense of space given to the other instruments; also an aggressive, balanced guitar tone with good presence, and not blatantly overcooked like its countrymen of the early nineties’ scene. And interestingly in spite of it being substantially a fat bowl of meat and potatoes in heaviness, we hear some hints of their later sound: ‘Left to rot’ (choir part) as one strong instance where a full-bloomed melodic Hypocrisy makes a surprising cameo before its time.
Let’s cut to the chase now. This is a poor man’s early death metal album: dumbed down, far simpler and less potent, lower quality material. This couldn’t possibly hold a candle to contemporaries Napalm Death and their heinous sonic violence, Carcass’ moribund stench, Morbid Angel or Immolation’s subtly implied divine vibes, or Suffocation’s explicit brutality. Contrary to those, this doesn’t do any one thing particularly well. It’s simply a whole level below in composition, like students attempting to emulate the masters, which notion isn’t outlandish considering the fact Tägtgren lived in the U.S. then and this record is in essence directly inspired by the American scene, but more like a cheap copy rather than an innovative twist contributing a plausible added value. Compared with the real thing, this feels distinctly weak and primitive, often bordering on tasteless and nearly amorphous.
It’s like run-of-the-mill, grey drabness to what the true innovators were fomenting. A bland knock-off that comes across as very flat artistically; awfully linear, nearly expressionless. Every fan can hum the catchy tremolo lick from ‘Impotent God’, and some sections work (just only a couple, though), but not nearly often enough. The rare melodic parts show little to no emotion. It’s like they’re just there because, well, it was an idea to include a part that was in minor. The harmonization in the riffs brings nothing: it’s just a random song-writing device here. The heavy parts are generally bland nearly to the point they’re like textbook lessons. Some parts seriously sound like the band were not trying. Power chords tossed around for the sake of power chords, random gallops, insipid tremolo picking…a feeling the guitar work is quasi-aimless, and the songs sometimes vacant, despite the ongoing activity, like window-dressing. Trying to grasp what’s going on here, this sounds like the guys were so focused on execution, they forgot to work out quality sections to include in it.
Just a comparison before concluding: ‘Soul of a new machine’ by Fear Factory came out that same year. Whether one thinks that album is literal trash or not is besides the point, as it speaks volumes as to where a band like that was, and where Hypocrisy was. The first was in the process of inventing a new sound, furthering the metal experience and pushing the envelope hard, while the second was passively settling for a limited version of a sound that had already been conceived, developed, and was gradually evolving towards a second phase already.
This band would become so much more interesting later when the melodic element blossomed into something unique, and they figured out their identity with the sci-fi/alien aesthetic and that trademark atmospheric doom-like sorrow.
rafazardly 