THE FRAGILE ART OF EXISTENCE

I've been listening to this album a fair amount over the past week or so, and I think it's slowly but finally sunk in. Legendary Chuck Schuldiner had planned to start the Control Denied project as a way to further other musical outlets which couldn't be satisfied in his band Death. The Fragile Art of Existence's release was delayed due to the release of Death's The Sound of Perseverance and wasn't available until 1999. But given the quality of this release, such an issue is easily forgiven.

This music is in the style of later Death (think Symbolic and The Sound of Perseverance) but with two distinct differences. There is much more of a power metal influence on TFAoE and Tim Aymar replaces Chuck's screeching vocals. Although this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Aymar has an incredible range and power to his voice. It really opens up many new doors for where the music is able to flow. As others have said, this is a fairly technical album, but it isn't by any means tech metal. It has a very classic heavy metal sound, which should be something fans of such music would enjoy. To really add some icing to the cake, this album has no filler as far as I'm concerned. Ever single track opens itself up and sounds very unique to my ears. Except for the vocalist, everyone else on the album was either a current or ex-Death band member, and each one of course makes the songs sound very Death-like. But the real treat comes from the way Chuck and former Death bassist Steve DiGiorgio really play off of each other on here. If you need proof, listen to the intro for the songs What If...? or Expect the Unexpected. Man, that's some really high-quality stuff right there.

I'm really tempted to give this 5 stars, and the lack of filler and excellent guitar and bass duels really makes it hard not to. Therefore, this is in my eyes a masterpiece of progressive metal. Highly recommended to fans of Death and those who enjoy technical metal that doesn't necessarily need to be flashy.

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