TYRANNY OF THERAPY

"Tyranny of Therapy" is the debut full-length studio album by Polish progressive metal act Division By Zero. The album was released through Insanity Records in May 2007. Division By Zero were formed in 2003. Their original run ended in 2013 when they disbanded. They released two studio albums during their 10 years together. "Tyranny of Therapy" and "Independent Harmony (2010)".

In regards to the material on this album the progressive metal term doesn´t mean progressive metal in the vein of Dream Theater and their ilk. Division By Zero are one of those eclectic progressive metal acts which also include extreme metal elements like occasional growling vocals and they are generally in the harder edged end of the progressive metal scale, although they certainly don´t shy away from melodic moments and more traditional progressive metal traits like tempo- and time signature changes and fast guitar/keyboard harmony runs. Sometimes they remind me of a very heavy version of Riverside.

They are obviously a skilled bunch of guys, who can handle their instruments and lead vocalist Slawek Wierny has a strong and pleasant clean vocal delivery. I´m not as impressed by his extreme vocals, but they get the job done. The material is adventurous and quite dynamic with both loud heavy parts and mellow atmospheric parts. While the song structures extent beyond the regular vers/chorus formula, the tracks are generally still accessible and memorable. So Division By Zero are the type of band who use technical playing and progressive ideas as a means to an end and not to show off or as the central part of their sound.

"Tyranny of Therapy" features a powerful, detailed, and well sounding production, which suits the music perfectly. So all in all it´s a high quality release by the band. Personally I could have done without the extreme metal vocals, when they aren´t more convincing than they are here, but it´s really a minor issue and probably an aquired taste too, so I´d say that a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is still deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)