DOCTRINE

"Doctrine" is the 6th full-length studio album by Dutch death metal act Pestilence. The album was released in April 2011 by Mascot Records. "Doctrine" is the 2nd full-length studio album released by Pestilence since their comeback after a 16 years recording break. The first album release after the comeback was "Resurrection Macabre (2009)". "Resurrection Macabre (2009)" saw Pestilence return to a more brutal death metal sound although the high technical level of playing from "Testimony of the Ancients (1991)" and the jazzy elements from "Spheres (1993)", are still present albeit in much smaller doses.

..."Doctrine" turns out to be a very different album compared to "Resurrection Macabre (2009)". After listening to only a few tracks it´s obvious that Pestilence have turned up the knob on the progressive/technical tendencies again. We´re presented with fiercely aggressive technical death metal with a lead vocalist in Patrick Mameli who delivers his most intense and caustic performance yet. The playing on the album are really strong too. New drummer Yuma Van Eekelen needs a special mention for his varied and skillfull playing but also the 7-string fretless bass playing by the returning Jeroen Paul Thesseling adds a lot to the soundscape. The jazzy guitar solos which were about the only progressive feature on "Resurrection Macabre (2009)", are also present on "Doctrine". This time they feel a bit more natural and they blend in well with the rest of the music. Probably because the rest of the music are generally more progressive too.

The quality of the tracks is high throughout but tracks like "Amgod", "Doctrine", "Deception" and "Sinister" are definitely among the highlights. The lyrics feature some pretty strong anti-religious themes. We´re not talking blasphemous/satanic lyrics but rather critical anti-religious lyrics. I think the lyrical themes work well together with the caustic vocal delivery and it´s one of the greatest assets on "Doctrine". Of course the well played and quite intricate heavy riffs are also one of the assets. There´s a definite Gorguts, ("Obscura (1998)"-era) influence in the most dissonant riffing on "Doctrine", but as always Pestilence sound like Pestilence. They are one of the few extreme metal acts that actually have a unique sound and although they´ve experimented and developed their core sound throughout the years (with varying degrees of success) all albums they´ve released unmistakably bear the distinct sound of Pestilence.

I enjoy just about every aspect of "Doctrine". The sound production is sharp and powerful, the musicianship is excellent and the songwriting clever yet packs the right amount of death metal punch. "Doctrine" would certainly have made a much more effective comeback album than the more mediocre "Resurrection Macabre (2009)", but better late than never. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.