INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT PATTERNS

I think this is one of Death's most interesting albums to prog-heads, aside from Human, Symbolic and Sound Of Perseverance. Musically, the album sticks out like a sore thumb, and it remains interesting lyrically, as Death always has been unique in the lyric department. This is the album where Chuck's voice becomes significantly higher in pitch, but he can still deal out vocals like he always could. Chuck decides to keep Steve on bass, pick up Gene Hoglan for drums, and Andy LaRocque for guitar. Although not my favorite line up it's still excellent.

You can actually hear the fretless bass master's fills, which gives the album a kick and really puts the sound out there. Steve is perfect for this album and he really gives it a unique sound with his amplified bass fills. Andy's solos blend beautifully with the flow of the music, and most of my favorite Death solos come from this album. Gene Hoglan is a monster on the kit, smashing away as if it requires no effort for him. I think this is probably Death's most technical album, but Death don't make the same mistake that a lot of bands make when they go technical, which is direction.

The first track, "Overactive Imagination", is a great opener. It starts out fast, and changes into an even faster verse.

"In Human Form" has one of my favorite Bass lines ever. It has some great riffs and Chucks screaming sounds great.

"Jealousy" has to be one of the most technical songs on the album. Gene throws in some triplets at odd times, which work very well.

"Trapped in a Corner" is a classic. The drums seem to overtake everything in the song with what Gene is doing. Sure, the solos are great, but Gene is doing some very complicated stuff.

"Nothing is Everything" has the same, High-hat/Ride attack from Trapped in a Corner, but it still sounds good. Once the song gets to Chucks solo though, it really picks up.

"Mentally Blind" is one of my favorite Death songs ever. Why? Because of the drums. Gene again rips it up, especially the ending. If you listen to the ending, the double bass is probably the fastest he ever went. Not to mention the great bass and guitar work. Chuck really knew how to write some great songs.

Next comes the CD's title track, "Individual Thought Patterns". The song is slower than most of the other tracks, but it makes up for that in heavyness and technecality.

"Destiny" starts out acoustic. Just Andy playing. Then that fades out, and into great song with alot of melody. The chorus is one of my favorites, being an old school Death type song, screaming out the name of the track.

"Out Of Touch" is a song that starts off slow, and then turns into almost a full on thrash song. It's very fast, and probably helps with Genes work with Dark Angel and Testament. The guitar is awesome, like amost every Death song, and you can hear the little things Steve is doing.

"The Philosopher" closes out the CD. The intro is sort of dark, and goes great with the song. Everything is great. Chucks solo and his vocals take over the song, and that's what make it great.

Some artists get lost in technicality and have no clear direction of where they're going with the music, but that doesn't happen here. Every single solo is a blistering fest of emotion and intricasy. The solos are also pretty long on this album, which I love. Every single song is ripping and screaming with technicality and carefully placed riffs. The music seems to have a really big "push" to it's sound, not just because of the blasting bass, but because of the speedy and precocious guitars, blended with the heavy pounding drums.

My highlight songs are "Trapped In A Corner", "Jealousy", "In Human Form", and "The Philosopher". However, each song has it's own highlights and special parts to it. I'd say it's probably the most unique album Death have ever done, and it is a must have for any Death fan. Though I prefer Human and "Symbolic", the next album in Chuck Schuldiner's mission to progress DEATH metal.

Album rating: 8.5/10 points = 84 % on MPV scale = 4/5 stars

point-system: 0 - 3 points = 1 star / 3.5 - 5.5 points = 2 stars / 6 - 7 points = 3 stars / 7.5 - 8.5 points = 4 stars / 9 - 10 points = 5 stars