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Hypocrisy
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Line Up:
Peter Tägtgren: Vocals, Guitars, and Keyboards
Lars Szöke: Drums
Mikael Hedlund: Bass
From the bowels of Stockholm came an alliance; a force of harrowing mystery that would inevitably claw at the ears of unsuspecting metal fans worldwide. The band was conceived by vocalist/ guitarist extroirdinaire Peter Tagtgren in 1987. Cryptically dubbed HYPOCRISY, Tagtgren formed the band in his homeland following his three year residency in Florida, at the time the seemingly death metal/ grind-core capital of the world.
Fueled by the influence of Florida's finest in underground brutality and Tagtgren's own unparelled ability to pen some of the most bludgeoning tunes known to man, the band began as a pillaging five-piece. Featuring Tagtgren on guitar, drummer Lars Szoke, ex-Votary vocalist Masse Broberg, guitarist Jonas Osterberg and ex-Repugnance bassist Mikael Hedlund, HYPOCRISY bred a distinctly malicious sound unfathomable by most. It wasn't long before the band had forged a strong following within the realms of Stockholm's underground metal scene. It was the band's earliest work, coincidentally written, recorded and performed exclusively by Tagtgren, that won the attention of Germany based Nuclear Blast Records.
By 1992 the band's debut of Penetralia had crept its way into the cassette and CD players of metal fans world wide. The sound was nothing short of refreshingly distinct. Gripping, convulsive, and smeared with rabid potency, HYPOCRISY had unwittingly carved a name for themselves.
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Personal issues forced Osterburg to flee his guitar position leaving the band as a four-piece operation. Only a year later the release of Osculum Obscenum saw the band in a more mature light. Churning their already patented blend of assaulting guitar riffage, thunderous blast beats and pit-ready break-downs, the tunes breathed with far more depth and intricate instrumentation. Same crushing grooves with far more bite. Such songs as the now renowned "Pleasure Of Molestation" and "Necronomicon" provided listeners with an entourage of sadistic bewilderment. With its menacing aura, dismal song titles and lack of any lyrical transcriptions, the album provided fans with a curiously dark need to explore the tunes. "Attachment to the Ancestors", "Inferior Devoties": song titles alone signaled that HYPOCRISY, even at such an early stage in the band's development, transcended far beyond the average death metal confines of lyrical trash. Every lyric penned has a motive in Tagtgren's mystical mind.
Stricken with illness that would leave him unable to keep up with his singing position, Broberg fled the band leaving Tagtgren to take on all vocal responsibilities. Ironically, each trim in the line up resulted in an even more explosive follow-up record. As a furious three-piece, a line up that would shine on to the present, HYPOCRISY recorded Inferior Devoties and later The Fourth Dimension, the LP which essentially posed as the band's claim to fame within the realms of the vast metal community.
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Fittingly titled, the LP explored a whole new dimension of demonic energy experimenting with atmospheric undertones, slowed rhythms, and an over-all jolt of doom-ridden despair. The LP's dark, delightful appeal won enough support to bring the band out on their first U.S. tour and with the ultra intense crowd reaction to their set at the infamous Milwaukee Metal Fest, HYPO CRISY had experienced one of their finest moments in their careers.
A studio mastermind in his own right, Tagtgren opened his own recording studio around the same time the band was unintentionally forging a relentless troop of fans with the continuous sales of the Fourth Dimension LP. Christened The Abyss, Tagtgren's studio, already a legacy in its own time, has seen the creation of metal's most extreme releases from the likes of Immortal, Dimmu Borgir, Marduk, Pain (Tagtgren's very successful solo project) and many more.
It was prior to the release of The Final Chapter that Tagtgren began to gravitate towards calling it quits in hopes of dedicating more time to his new studio and Pain. Thus the name was meant as a final eulogy to the band's existence. Coincidentally the LP proved to be their finest creation yet. Showcasing an offering that meticulously fused technical performance, grueling heaviness and mind altering moods, the band had officially entered brutality's winners circle.
The band's Destroys Wacken release was sheer proof that HYPOCRISY surpass the masses performing at the peek of potency both on stage and off. Last year's self titled full length was the first chapter of volume II of the HYPOC RISY library. Originally titled Cloned, Tagtgren's subtle reference to a world of scientific innovation gone awry, the record furnished a feel nothing short of overwhelming.
And surging fourth like the piercing pain of a rusted razor blade through the eye ball comes the band's latest release. Appropriately titled Into The Abyss (a moniker referring to Tagtgren's studio) the band's tenth offering is a clear display of diabolic excellence. Into the Abyss breathes a wildness as if death metal has just made its second coming. Returning to their roots of speed induced fervor, the LP was written and recorded in just five weeks. A collective assault of aggressive wonder, Into the Abyss is full of spontaneous interaction between three creative forces. Bizarre riffs lie twisted above manic drum cascades, ghastly screams, and sinister growls giving birth to a shadow world of horror and violence. Haunting and technical yet bombastic and wholly wrath-inspired, the LP is fully equipped to set new standards for contending acts to follow.
- March 24, 2001
Blackwinged
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