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Hypocrisy: A Taste Of Extreme Divinity Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal Nuclear Blast Records October 23rd, 2009
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Review
To an extent, A Taste Of Extreme Divinity was what Hypocrisy's fans are all truly waiting for. While it's not a true return to the days of Penetralia, it certainly consist of the same intensity that was born and nurtured back then. This new direction by the band finds them blending their more recent Melodic Death sounds with the firey intensity of their rooted straight forward Death Metal sound, without the insane fixation on aliens like it was becoming around the time of The Arrival. But, this doesn't cover the entire CD, just the better majority of it. At first glance, you would think the band was going straight for their roots with "Valley Of The Damned", but this, and "Hang Him High" consist of some high grade heavy as hell metal with some melody thrown into the mix, but not enough to completely overpower it. The vocals are a lot tighter and more ferocious then on previous works, and really just hammers these tracks home. But, sadly, the more recent days of Hypocrisy have not been forgotten, as "Solar Empire" kicks in and really relies on the sound the band has had lately: A mid-paced, sometimes faster, tempo laced with melodic riffs and varied harmonized, yet harsh vocals that are overlayed atop each other in the final mix. Now, that's not to say that "Solar Empire" is an absolutely horrible track, or that it's the only one that sounds out of place, or like it randomly appeared. There are other tracks out there, such as "No Tomorrow", that sound much like it, with one exception: They are just all around more entertaining then that one is, especially "Global Domination" and "Alive", both featuring some really heavy riffs and just sound tighter from start to finish. Aside "Solar Empire" being a bit of a bore, you also have "The Quest", the slowest track on the album, which is also the most boring track and feels very drawn out after a while. A Taste Of Extreme Divinity finds Hypocrisy almost catering to their two main audiences. The ones who enjoyed the earlier works will leave the earlier tracks on this one, aside "Solar Empire", due to how heavy and tight the music is, while the audience that enjoys the newer sound will find plenty of melodic hooks, overlaying for effect, and well performed catchy Melodic Death tracks that will wind up lodged in their brains. While this isn't the best album the band has put out, it's definitely one of the better ones lately, and if you're a fan, is definitely worth checking out.
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