The world of heavy metal music – once again coming to the
limelight, albeit slowly – is filled with so many bands that one
would be hard-pressed to say they recognize a good number of the
groups. Even in my metalhead days in the ’80s, I couldn’t claim I
knew a lot about many of the groups. Nowadays, it’s even harder for
me to keep track.
Hypocrisy is one of these bands that falls into the “possibly
not so well known” category, but those in the know realize they’ve
stumbled onto something good. Once just a death metal group, Peter
Tägtgren and crew refined their sound and band vision over
five years to become a well-respected group in their field. Almost
calling it a day after their most recent studio effort
The Final Chapter (they have a new album coming in the next
few months), Hypocrisy gives their fans a special gift with
Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken, a live album that is an
incredibly powerful introduction to this group.
Recorded at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany in 1998,
lead vocalist/guitarist Tägtgren, guitarist Mattias Kamijo,
bassist Mikael Hadlund and drummer Lars Szöke plow through 11
tracks covering their entire career. If you’ve never heard
Hypocrisy before this album as I hadn’t, be prepared for one hell
of a handshake. The tone of this band’s music is incredible, with
guitar lines that ring out (thanks possibly to Tägtgren’s
custom axe – is that an 11-string guitar?) and bore themselves into
your skull.
Though not every song is played at breakneck speed, Hypocrisy
know when it’s time to turn up the juice and when it’s best to let
the power of the music itself do the talking. The album’s opening
cut, “Roswell 47,” is a shining example of this musical control
that Hypocrisy have. Likewise, “A Coming Race” contains possibly
some of the strongest material from this live show.
Throughout it all, Tägtgren and crew never let the energy
level dip. True, you might not understand every single word that
Tägtgren growls into the microphone, but you don’t need to
decipher what he’s saying to understand the brute force of the
music presented in this concert. From “Buried” and “Left To Rot” to
“Pleasure Of Molestation” and “The Final Chapter,” Hypocrisy make
every note count, as if they were playing their last show, and they
want to go out on a positive note.
Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken is bolstered by four additional
studio tracks, though I’ve been unable to discover if these were
specially recorded for this album or if they were leftovers from
previous sessions. Either way, it really doesn’t matter, ’cause
these tracks are just as good. Cuts like “TIme Warp”, “Fuck U” and
“Beginning Of The End” make the listener drool for the upcoming new
studio album – and should make everyone want to thank Hypocrisy for
deciding not to end the band after
The Final Chapter.
Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken is a metal feast for the ears,
though it admittedly isn’t for everyone. Still, if you like getting
a good buzz from hearing metal played the way it was meant to be
played, then this album is sure to please.
