INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT PATTERNS

Death, often said to be the pioneers of death metal, released their fifth studio album Individual Thought Patterns in 1993. The album was released in the part of Death's career that's said by many to feature their best albums. It struck me on first listen what an unique album Individual Thought Patterns is. Chuck Schuldiner's unique growling style obviously is very important for the sound of Death, so is Gene Hoglans highly regarded drumming. What I might even love most about this album, is the addition of fretless bass by Steve DiGiorgio. Death metal combined with the elegance of the fretless bass, what a combination!

The album opens in the best way possible, with the astounding "Overactive Imagination". The song takes the listener through various mezmerizing rythms and riffs, that never tend to get dull or uninteresting in any way. I don't think any of the other pieces on the album reaches the brilliance of this track, though some get very close. "Jealousy" is one of those songs. On this particular track the fretless bass makes the music sound very curvy. Also the following track "Trapped In A Corner" is among the very best of this album. The title track deserves a mention as well. "Individual Thought Patterns" must be one of the most aggresive songs on the album, with it's ominous intro and aggresive drumming.

The only track that I think brings this album down is "Out Of Touch". The track is pretty complicated like many pieces on the album. Unlike those, this one sounds somewhat messy and therefore perhaps even out of place. Fortunately, I can't think of any other songs on Individual Thought Patterns that aren't good at all. The tracks I didn't mention in this review all are great songs, like the vast majority of music on the album. One more thing that has to be said is that the song Death probably is best known for is featured on this album. "The Philosopher" closes the album in a great way. It proves what the fretless bass is worth for the final time on this album, with an intense ending featuring variated guitar and bass solos.

Individual Thought Patterns is a brilliant album. I'd reccomend it to anyone who is interested in a fantastic death metal album and to anyone who might agree with me that fretless bass and death metal are a great combination.