INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT PATTERNS

Nestled safely in between two landmarks of death metal, 'Individual Thought Patterns' doesn't seem to get the same sort of attention that it's predecessor ('Human') or successor ('Symbolic') would earn over time. However, despite suffering a bad case of middle child syndrome, Death's fifth album can be labelled as one of the first truly progressive death metal albums ever. With a much stronger lineup of musicians and more consistent songwriting than 'Human', 'Individual Thought Patterns' signifies the beginning of the era in Death's career I believe to be their greatest.

Stylistically, 'Individual Thought Patterns' is in fact, quite similar to 'Human', although the improvements make all the difference here. First and foremost, Death mastermind Chuck Schuldiner saw fit to enlist an all-star cast of heavy metal musicians from around the United States. New to Death are two of the greatest heavy metal musicians around, Andy LaRocque (best known for his axework with King Diamond) and Gene Hoglan- also known as the 'human atomic clock'- who would go on to be the drummer for Devin Townsend's Strapping Young Lad. While Chuck Schuldiner always seemed to tower over the other musicians in previous works (especially the earlier material), he seems better matched with these musicians, whose technicality easily rival his own. Still, Chuck Schuldiner's dependence on the phrygian mode can wear a bit tiresome when employed for virtually every solo, but the guitar work here is more memorable than previously. On a related note, 'Trapped In A Corner' would feature Schuldiner's best guitar solo to date, effortlessly flowing through the music, while adding fresh new ideas to the song.

Lyrically, Schuldiner should be commended for putting a deeper meaning behind the music than the typical graphic violence and movie horror most death metal bands defaulted to (and still do) but structurally, his lyrics feel like they need some work on them. The rhymes are generally kept very simple and very little abstract imagery is used, instead simply choosing to describe things as they are. Minding this, this is likely an artistic choice of Schuldiner to do so, although the lyrics tend to leave little to the imagination.

The album is undoubtedly worth a listen from progressive metal and death metal fans alike. While I would be the first to admit I haven't 'been into' Death before listening to this album of theirs, 'Individual Thought Patterns' represents the first time I have been impressed by the band's work; even 'Human' did relatively little for me. While 'Individual Thought Patterns' doesn't feel as if it fully realizes Death's potential, it stands as being a great album from the metal icon.

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