Death - Individual Thought Patterns
A
personal reflection on Individual Thought Patterns
This
year it will be 10 years (Dec. 13 2001) since Chuck passed away: A force in
metal that is still missed. Not only by his relatives but also by his numerous
fans all around the world. In the 1990s I was lucky enough to make his acquaintance
and meet him in the real world (strolling through Amsterdam) and interview him on several occasions.
First
time we met was on the Wâldrock festival in 1993. The
line-up of Death for that festival was Steve, Chuck, Gene and Ralph
Santolla. In one of the next posts I get to that special day with the
guys. Death were there to headline
the festival and present the new material of Individual Thought Patterns. It
was (and remained) one of the very few albums I bought as an audio cassette
(kind of tells my age). The material on Individual Thought Patters (ITP) got
hold of me from the very first spin of the cassette reel.
The
material was even more technical than the ‘Human’ stuff and had an urge that
kept me listening with full attention every time (which was quite a lot, so I
stopped counting). The lyrics had a more personal feel and were audible due to
Chucks typical vocal style. ITP was also a landmark for the bass in death
metal. Steve Digiorgio outdid himself going up and down the fret(less)board and
showing that a bass player can do more that just follow the bass drums. Just
doing that on the songs of ITP would have been a challenge for most players
anyway as Gene ‘God’ Hoglan was playing so complex that it sounded like his
drums were falling down the stairs (his words, not mine). But this complexity
made that album stand out even more. Just listen to the section after the first
chorus of “Metally Blind” and you’ll catch my drift.
And
with the drums I’ve touched the only weak point of the original release of ITP
being the thin sound of the bass drum. Due to this it was more easy to hear the
complex rhythms but it also made that ITP sound a bit too sophisticated for my
ears. But it’s 2011 now and Relapse have released a completely revised edition
of ITP. And what a release it is!
Some
months ago I was contacted by Yvonne of www.emptywords.org
if I could provide photos taken at the above mentioned festival to Relapse to
be used in the re-release. Considering it an honor I did, as it would be a
first-timer for me to have my photographic work in a cd booklet. So November
came and I ordered the three disc version (limited to 2000 copies) which arrived
a week ago. It holds the remixed album, a live recording of April 13th
1993 and a disc with demos and riffs. The latter is very interesting for
historical purposes to see where the songs originate from. The second is ideal
to have in your car if you don’t have to worry about the speed limits. But I
will look into the first disc here.
Opening
the gatefold booklet resulted in me exclaiming a genuine “WOW!” as the picture
on the left was a classic b/w version of one of my pictures. The live shots in
the booklet are also for the main part from my collection, so I must have done
a good job J. Whoever did the editing of
the pictures deserves a big thank you from my side! The original feeling
belonging to the pictures wasn’t touched and in b/w they make a very nice
addition to the other artwork. Combined with the extensive liner notes the
packaging is nothing short of excellent, or to put in Chucks words “killer!”.
But
ITP is more about the inside, being the music! And if this re-issue proves
anything then it’s that all 10 songs have stood the test of time (and still
graduate with flying colors). Opener ‘Overactive Imagination’ kicks in better
then ever as the remix has lifted the drums to the level where they belong. Blimey!
Crack up the volume and compare the original to this. And there the improvement
doesn’t stop. Also the odd cymbalish things (ship propeller) used by Gene
Hoglan are finally here in full glory (it’s for instance the typical ‘clang’ you
hear 50 seconds into ‘Overactive..’). Don’t know for sure if Gene already used
the canon shell here. Whatever, ‘In Human Form’ continues and here the bass
fills any gaps left by Gene. This songs also hosts a typical Shuldiner/LaRoque
solo and I could go on and on.
Just
when I thought I was finished I gave both the original and the remix another
spin and the last thing that struck me is the way the (video) song ‘The
Philosopher’ was remixed. In the original the intro is split on both (stereo)
channels. On the remix it’s only on the right channel. Nothing disturbing, just
thought provoking why it was done.
Having
said already that the songs stood the test of time this album deserves the term
classic more then ever. It will for sure give me another 20 years of listening
pleasure as it outshines the original (and that’s quite an achievement!).
“Let
the metal flow!”
Hendrik Attema - Nov. 17 2011
