Search - Hypocrisy :: Into the Abyss

Into the Abyss...

Winter-Fell | Okanogan, WA United States | 01/27/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ok. First off, if you are new to Hypocrisy do not buy this cd first. This is the most hit and miss album these guys have released. Go with Abducted, their self titled album, or the Arrival. There are some great songs on this cd (some of their best, in fact) but also some of their worst.



Legions Descend - 3/5 - A good opener, but nowhere near what Hypocrisy is capable of. It reminds me a bit of Immortal. It's good at first, but then it just seems to drag on and on. Not a good thing when the song is under four minutes.



Blinded - 4/5 - This is much better than the first song. Fast and thrashy with a somewhat epic sounding chorus. Great breakdown as well.



Resurrection - 4/5 - For some reason, I have always liked Hypocrisy's slow songs better than their fast ones. I think they are heavier. This song sounds a lot like The Fourth Dimension, but with ligher vocals and a great chord progression for the chorus.



Unleash the Beast - 5/5 - Now I am starting to hear some of the S/T album. With clean vocals, this song would have easily been at home on any Pain album, but here it sounds like a fantastic cross between Another Dead End for Another Dead Man and Self Inflicted Overload. It has, dare I say, a punk feel to it. Kind of like D.R.I. with a lethal injection of testosterone.



Digital Prophecy - 3/5 - Killing Art no. 10? This song just does not catch my attention. It seems pointless.



Fire in the Sky - 5/5 - In the midst of what is probably Hypocrisy's most mediocre album is one of their greatest songs. Up to this point on the cd, some songs are good, but this is the first that seems really inspired. This is a prime example of what makes this band great.



Total Eclipse - 4/5 - Good God. Killing Art no. 11... Short and sweet, it is a great fast paced song, but Hypocrisy has been here before and done it better.



Unfold the Sorrow - 6/5 - In my opinion the best song on the cd. Just great. Very dark lyrics about a father killing his daughter (at least that is what I gather). Nice guitar solo, and a chorus that will be stuck in your head for months.



Sodomized - 3/5 - What a nice name for a song. Anyway, it is a good fast song, but nothing new. Good breakdown, but the drumming gets a bit repetative.



Deathrow (No Regrets) - 5/5 - Well, they end this album with a great song. This really sounds like the old Hypocrisy material. Very epic and claustraphobic at the same time. Just gotta love it.



I do like this cd quite a bit and if this was any band but Hypocrisy it might even get five stars. But if a band is capable of releasing flawless albums (as they have several times), then they should be held to that standard. Unless, of course, they are experimenting, which here they are not.



"

Thank god...Hypocrisy is back!

Pablosa | Buenos Aires, Capital Federal Argentina | 04/13/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hypocrisy is back after the selftitled album with a more brutal (almost like the beginning) album. All the fans gathered together in happiness because P.Tagtgren and co. are back(after what can be considered their "softest" album)with what made Hypocrisy a great death metal band in their first releases: fast and brutal songs(like the first two albums; 5 total). We'll find less melodies and less slow-melancholic songs(4 total, which I think they're cool). It was said that Peter Tagtgren's solo project "Pain" made him leave the "underground" scene to a more commercial one, in which he doesn`t feel very comfortable; so he wanted to go back to his "roots"... What made this album not as good as their best is that these dudes focused more in the brutality than in the composition or songwriting; a certain lack of imagination, if you prefer. These "return to brutality" is also showed in the cover and the album title(P.T. has something with "the abyss":his studio, his solo project, also a song). Conclusion: Hypocrisy is back with their brutal approach, but for next album, some "fresher" ideas, besides brutality, would be great."

Pulverizing!.

Pablosa | 12/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those who have followed Hipocrisy during the past decade, this album marks an (arguably) welcome return to the fast and fierce death metal of their early days. Whether you prefer their wilder early stage, or the moodier sound of their latter recordings, you must admit that "Into the abyss" is a brilliant disc, and, together with their fantastic 1999 eponymous LP, probably their best. True Swedish death metal doesn't get any better than this. On "Into the abyss", Peter Tagtgren and company mantain the momentum from the very first opening lines to the last blistering riff, something Hipocrisy has not been able to achieve in many of their previous full-lengh records. There are plenty of warp speed blasters this time around. Terrific numbers like "Legions descend" and "Total eclipse" fully demonstrate that this band means serious business with this album. There are only two slow tempo numbers on this set, the sinister "Resurrected", and the typical Hipocrisy epical, "Deathrow (no regrets)". Slow they might be, but surely they pack as much menacing crunch as the fast ones. There are no fillers on "Into the abyss". Even the tracks contributed by bass player Michael Hedlund ("Fire in the sky") and drummer Lars Szoke ("Unfold the sorrow") snap. Productionwise, Tagtgren got rid of the excessive treble that has been present in the band's records since 1996's "Abducted", and crafted their best sounding album yet, raw but well defined and perfectly balanced. "Into the abyss" is the second outstanding studio LP Hipocrisy delivers in a row. Let's hope they keep up their muse."