Hypocrisy - The Fourth Dimension
Review: On this album Hypocrisy slow from their trademark style of fast and feral Slayer-influenced Swedish death metal, dropping into its place refinement and simple elegance in the embrace of the classic speed metal/heavy metal that is at the core of this band (undoubtedly from youthful influences). As if making peace with the past, the band are not attempted savage death metal but aiming for a more conventional audience through powerful pop song compositing and the enlightening inventiveness of melody that has been the trademark of previous albums.
Songs build toward a dominant rhythm, express it in a riff, issue a few structural points such as bridges or solos, and then recede quietly (relatively, for death metal). Speed thrills come out in anthemic tracks, and architected tempo and tone work to find unique hooks and phrase shapes for the pop music of this time. As part of an increasingly visible trend of Swedish musicians to drop extreme music for their influences, this album will not please those who rose with the spirit of earlier black metal-influenced releases but will be a favorite of those who appreciate the growth and refinement of heavy metal.