Individual Thought Patterns

For Individual Thought Patterns Chuck Schuldiner recruited once again another line-up. DiGiorgio was still left in the bass but Masvidal was replaced by Andy LaRocque of King Diamond fame and Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel etc.) was brought in to replace Reinert. Both worthy instrumentalists but Masvidal's style of guitaring did fit Death's style better than LaRocque's more orthodox style of soloing. Hoglan on the other hand is a good replacement for Reinert and does an excellent work on the album.

The songwriting has usually been the strongest part of Death but I find it a bit lacking on Individual Thought Patterns. All of the songs are short but most of the songs tend to fall into the trap of being overtly technical. A very technical, yet boring, part can be repeated a few times in a song and since the songs are all quite short, the songs don't get much room to build up and gather strength. Some parts are pure throwaway, the whole In Human Form-song for example, and instigate only boredom. The songs also tend to wander in strange directions which sometimes don't make much sense in the context of the song. There are some killer material in here too though like The Philosopher or Trapped In A Corner.

The problem of the album lies in songwriting which surprisingly has always been the strongpoint of Death. The songs miss a general direction and don't deliver efficient enough a punch.