Under Rated And Enjoyable To Listen To

When a band makes an album that is found to be weaker than the releases prior to it, it's always going to receive the workload of criticism and abuse, despite being in itself, a good album when not comparing it to the rest of the band's material. This has happened to many an album, including Carcass' Swansong, Metallica's self titled album, and Dismember's Hate Campaign. Hypocrisy's Catch 22 can be added to this list, due to it sounding somewhat different to the rest of their material beforehand. This is due to the Slipknot influence behind the music, as well as similar bands to them. However you'll never hear the influence unless of course you look for it, as this album is still pretty much standard Hypocrisy material with some simple riffs thrown in that sound similar to the simple minded genre that is nu metal.

The album opens up with the only song I'd say is a total nu metal cash in, Don't Judge Me, and while it is kind of generic in terms of a song trying to be as heavy as possible, it still sounds good to me. However it doesn't really fit in with the rest of album and is filler strategically placed for those listeners who normally skip the first "make an impression" tracks.

The rest of this album is mainly mid paced melodic death metal that is very well written when compared to many other melodic bands from Sweden, and yes, with a generic nu metal riff thrown in some songs. This one flaw doesn't make this album complete shit though, as the songs still have the large melodic doses that evoke emotions and thoughts from the listener. Peter Tägtgren's vocals help provoke these emotions by fitting into the tone the songs set, mostly sadness and anger, along with other elements thrown in like keyboards and violin samples. The production of this album is very good, each of the songs sound like they belong together (bar the already mentioned Don't Judge Me), with all of the instruments almost perfectly balanced together in the mix, so no instrument is taking over another, though the drums will at times (especially during choruses) sound a bit further away than the other instruments. The guitar tone is very thick, and it should be so as this is a very rhythm based album, with not too many solos, and when there are they seem secondary compared to everything else that is going on around them. I really like the bass tone, as it is very treble based, helping it cut through the thick guitars and be heard, though while still doing it's main job of reinforcing the guitar parts in the songs.

So what are the negative points? Every song on this album ends in a fade out. Whether it be continuing with the chorus and fading out or letting the instruments die down, every song fades out. This to me is a sign of bad song writing, not in the whole song itself but on the fact that they don't know how to end the song. There are also the annoying songs like Turn The Page and Public Puppets that while still having the really cool melodic chorus and bridge sections, have the irritating Slipknot rip off riffs for verses. These just sound like rushed songs that could have done with more time devoted to them. What else? Well we also have the over use of profanity in some of the songs, again another sign of bad song (lyrically) writing. Thankfully, this is limited to the Slipknot influenced songs and not spilling into the good songs too much, so I guess it's not too bad if the shit stays in it's designated pile.

Aside from it's bad points, Catch 22 is definitely worth a listen, even if it involves skipping two or three tracks out of ten, and is terribly under rated only because it's not a masterpiece like the rest of Hypocrisy's material. It's a mostly decent album that a lot of bands would like to say they had written.

Maleficarum - Across The Heavens

I'm not sure if many people have heard (or even hear of) this album, as there are a good number of bands bearing the name Maleficarum, most of them being black metal, however if it's not the widely used name to blame for the obscurity of these Italians, then it's a poorly run label, as Defiled Records has obviously been made bankrupt some years ago, with the name being taken up by someone else. These guys should have gotten a lot more recognition for what they've put into this album (and the demo previous to this according to hastings' review) as it really is superb quality death metal that isn't simply rehashed riffs from other perhaps more successful bands. I would even say it stands as a must have death metal album, at least by European standards anyway. The problem these guys would have faced is that this album was simply released too late. By this time period, the death metal, and metal scene in general, was in decline, especially in Europe. Brutal and solid original death metal that could really scare you and give you the creeps was no longer 'in', and instead it HAD to be melodic (ironically these guys did have some of that, just not enough perhaps to be counted as melodic death metal). Once brutal and pretty solid sounding bands such as Carcass, Death and In Flames were now going down the melodic path, with many others (a lot of them being pretenders and posers) following in their wake. Had this album been perhaps released even a year or so earlier, then perhaps this band would have gained more recognition and maybe even still be running to this day. This review is my way of showing them some recognition, even if it isn't much.

This album is made up of eleven tracks amounting to just under three quarters of an hour worth of material. The album artwork is one of the weirdest I've seen, adding uniqueness to this release. Only the band really knows what it is, but I'm guessing it's two aliens and... well I really don't know! The lyrics are quiet confused and broken up English, with the lyrics to Unfolded Dimensions being lost due to a printing error on the inner sleeve. Interestingly enough the inner sleeve not only has a thanks list, but also a "fuck you" list, adding a bit of humour to the album I suppose.

The production on this album is a bit quiet, and isn't very tight, with a lot of empty space that is not used a lot, synth (only during Across The Heavens and the three tracks after) and solos being the only sound tracks that ever take up any of the room. The sound is very strange, with the kick drum being the most audible sound in the production. So annoyingly every time you listen to a track on this album you're always hearing the kick more prominently than even the vocals! The guitars on this album don't really have a lot of low end to them, and the clean bass doesn't really do what it's supposed to and sounds more clangy than really holding down the bottom end. Andrea Zanetti's vocals consist of very low growls, that sound like John Tardy if his voice was a lot lower during the recording of Slowly We Rot. Zanetti also goes into whispers during clean parts of songs, like on the mid section of Season Of Black. There isn't really a set song structure, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on the taste of the listener, it definitely shows the music writer, Danny Cinicolo, has a progressive element to his song writing. No matter how you look at this release, it definitely is a very strange album.

The first track, The Raping Of Life, is quite the deceiver, as it has a female vocalist, Francesca Brancone, singing clean over a quiet a doomy track, with Zanetti growling underneath her vocals. This then goes into a succession of seven pretty hard hitting death metal tracks. They normally start very brutal, and then slow down into quite doomy parts, especially the chorus parts and solos, which are never shred friendly and more on the tasteful melodic side of solos like you'd hear from Mike Amott, though a lot more minor and doomy sounding than anything you'll hear from Carcass or Arch Enemy. You can start to tell once you're into the first three or four tracks of this album that Maleficarum were never totally into being brutal and wanted to be different, mixing in a lot more atmosphere into their sound, something that may not always work with other bands, but these guys certainly pull off well in Across The Heavens.

The eighth track, the title track, is a very creepy instrumental lasting only under two minutes. It is made up of some well used synth (as effects, not instruments thankfully!) and clean guitars that give it a very morbid sound, along with the whole album itself. The last three tracks are a lot more doom influenced than the songs before Across The Heavens, with a bit more synth used for an added morbid feeling effect. However they still hold that death metal core that keeps them from going straight into doom territories. The final track, Unfolded Dimensions, is very much designed with the end of the album in mind, so you can tell from the first riff that this is the end. It does go into a faster part after the two minute mark, stops at a clean and synth part, before bursting back into a fast pace before settling into, and ending with a very melodic part in it's last two minutes that could easily have fitted into an Arch Enemy album, only not quite as disappointing and boring.

In conclusion, I am very happy, and feel very lucky that I managed to get a hold of this album, as judging by what happened to this band, and everything else that Danny Cinicolo ever wrote and recorded (with this band or another), there aren't many copies to be obtained, and it's a shame as this truly is a great album. However, if you do find yourself staring at this CD, buy it without a hesitation, it's definatley worth whatever you pay for it.

I Think We May Be Seeing A Rust In Peace #2

Ok, I know that the heading of this review is a very bold statement, one that was made about the last album, United Abominations. While that album did deliver in terms of melodic metal, it was not a full return to full thrash roots, despite promises made by Mustaine to fans that it was. What's great about the run up to this new album, entitled Endgame, is that no promises of a return to the 80s have been made. The most Dave has said about this new album is, "This is the album I've been waiting to make since my career began".

Now this kind of quote is what gets me excited. It means that he's not too concerned about what fans want this time round. During United Abominations, you can tell he was trying to make something nostalgic, and subsequently failed in that goal. However, there have been no promises made, a new, and much more talented guitarist has been brought on board in the form of Chris Broderick and better yet, Dave Mustaine is allowing his other band members, who are all metal musicians (not whiny, experimental, pop musicians), to contribute to this new album. This track perfectly demonstrates what happens when you stop trying hard and just write what comes naturally to you.

Headcrusher is pretty much the polar opposite of everything Dave Mustaine has written and recorded in the last fifteen years. It doesn't start off with a bullshit build up intro like every song that Dave has written since Youthanasia and before. Instead it lives up to it's title and blasts right in with a very heavy and very fast riff under a tapped solo by Mustaine, backed up by excellent bass and drums. In come the vocals after the solo and they have improved. Not by an large degree, after all this is Mustaine and admittedly he's not an amazing singer, but they have improved.

The song continues into the chorus which is just made for the headbangers and chanters during a live show. The song has an awesome breakdown. Why is it good? Because Dave Mustaine thankfully doesn't seem to give a fuck about the metalcore bands that appeared on Gigantour over the years, and hence does not take the stupid laziness approach to breakdowns, and instead ends up sounding like Megadeth should, thrashy and progressive. Ok, there are vocal overdubs during this section, and this may put off some people. I don't see why people don't like them, but that is fair enough. Right after the breakdown we come to what I think Megadeth lovers and haters alike have been waiting for. Chris Broderick's solo. The man does not disappoint. Everyone, you can forget Marty Friedman, Broderick more or less pisses over everything that guy ever wrote in terms of solos, that is no lie. It starts off with a very strange scale before going into absolutely fast shred with weird rhythms and barely quarter second breaks. Seriously, if that's even everything that Broderick has to offer in terms of the kind of solos he'll be doing, I'll be worshipping him during Megadeth gigs.

The lyrics are dark and have a good mild gore content to them, which is a lyric subject I love. It's not full on gore like Black Friday, but it's still gore, however mild. Add to this the single cover, which is quite bloody and I'm happy, really happy with this track. Especially since I can play this, and put on Take No Prisoners afterwards, and the two tracks sound like they fit alongside each other and should be in the same album together, hence why I say we could be seeing Rust In Peace Part Two.

Now, I do have a doubt nagging inside my head as I listen to this track, and that's because it was written alongside Shawn Drover. Why is this a bad thing? Because the man is a huge Suffocation fan. I'm in doubt that this is what influenced most of this song, and that it'll be the only good track because of it, while the rest mainly consists of melody like United Abominations did, due to Dave mainly writing this album. However we still have to see what James Lomenzo and Chris Broderick have to bring to this album alongside Dave, so this should be a Megadeth album that will finally live up to it's hype... I hope.