TRIPSIS

Alchemist continues to release top quality metal albums in a time where 99% of all metal releases are complete dross. I bet there's more then hundred metal releases every month so claiming one percent is good might even be too optimistic. But anyway, Alchemist reside in the top of the genre. Unfortunately not in popularity though. I think this might be part of the reason why they attempted a much more metalized industrial approach on Tripsis: short and aggressive tracks, hoarse singing only and, unfortunately, less diversity in the song writing.

It seems to be really very difficult these days to find a metal band that does not keep repeating their one trick over the course of an entire album. And Alchemist has fallen in the same trap on this album. All songs are still pretty good but I'm exhausted by the time the album gets halfway. It gets me really worried about the next album. Will also the subtly layered guitars have to go in favour of a typical metal riff-fest?

Let's hope not. That they may find their way back into the more progressive galaxies they used to hike to a few albums back. First half of the album is 4 stars, second half 3 stars.