In the early 90s, a small flurry of death metal bands experimented with mixing death metal and jazz fusion.  Improbably, the results are almost invariably remarkable.  Pestilence was one such band, and Spheres was their death jazz contribution, a wonderfully crafted blend of jazz-themed riffs, odd time signatures, extremely synth-like guitar lines, and mature lyrics (they never bought into the gore schtick put forth by New Yorkers Cannibal Corpse and their ilk).  What else can I say: I love this style of music, and it thus follows that I love this album.  Too bad Roadrunner records hated it so much that it led to the demise of the band.  Pestilence plays advanced music that avoids the “wank-fest” trap that so many progressive metal bands fall into.  These songs never degenerate into over-indulgence, but reveal more and more individual character upon each repeated listen.  The riff to Multiple Beings, while not very complex, gets stuck in my head all day long.  There are many places throughout Spheres where the listener would swear a keyboard was being played – but it is all guitar synthesizers, something that was totally foreign to death metal at the time (and largely, still is).  To a fan of jazz fusion and death metal, Spheres, and its contemporary albums from Atheist and Cynic, is an absolute essential. Bottom line: Like fine wine, Spheres only gets better with age.

Review by, Mark

– After a relatively quiet January 2004, the year’s first heavyweight release dropped rather quietly onto store shelves.  Hypocrisy, always what I consider a criminally overlooked and underappreciated band, have been soldiering through the death metal underground practically since it began, and should be at near-legendary status – except they don’t seem to get the respect they badly deserve.  Their reputation was likely further damaged by the poorly-received Catch-22, an album largely influenced by American nu-metal band Slipknot.  In a controversial move, Tatgren decided to keep this new album firmly on safe territory, treading absolutely no new sonic ground whatsoever and releasing an album that for all the world could be Abducted Part Two.

The cover is eye-catchingly gorgeous, done in unified blue hues that represent the concept perfectly.  The three aliens, I presume, represent the trio of band members (drummer Lars has since dropped out of the band and has been replaced by former Immortal powerhouse Horgh) and their new – or, I should say, old – mindset: the alien theme that has made Hypocrisy so unique in the past is back in force.  Lyrically, Hypocrisy has always been about two things: alien cover-up conspiracies, and the (as they perceive) evils of Christianity.  The graphic inverted cross on the disc itself should erase any question as to their stance on organized religion.  The album opens up with an eerie chord progression and some experimental vocal effects reminiscent of Fractured Millennium, before kicking into a high-tempo thrash theme.  This is a rare occurrence, however, and most of The Arrival sticks to the tried-and-true Hypocrisy formula: slow or mid-tempo and crushingly heavy. While the album boasts nothing but solid songwriting, it is also largely repetitive of previous works, particularly songs like Eraser.  Criticism aside, I consider this album to be largely an artistic success, boasting the mid-period Hypocrisy that we know and love while seamlessly blending previous-awkward influences into a cohesive musical unit.  New World and Dead Sky Dawning are sure to be future classics.  Bottom line: heavy Hypocrisy returns with a vengeance.

Guest review, MarK