Individual Thought Patterns

"Individual Thought Patterns" was my first Death album, and one of the first death metal albums I ever bought. Looking back, this might have marked the point when I stopped ‘orbiting’ death metal and got sucked into its gravitational field. I purchased this record when it came out. I remember seeing the video for "The Philosopher" on late night TV and liking the imagery as well as the song. It is important to have a few cornerstone records from your childhood where you can say “I was there”. I was a fraction too young for the original death metal scene in its prime, but 1993 was when I started paying attention to metal bands beyond the obvious ones. Records like this were not mainstream, but they were easy enough to find in record shops in provincial towns, such as my own.

I played this one to death, no pun intended. I know almost every word of these songs because my teenage sponge/brain absorbed the lyrics in a way that no adult brain can hope to replicate. Nowadays, this is still one of the Death albums I return to. It isn't my favourite of their albums, but it has plenty of depth and catchiness. I would argue that it is a more subtle record than either of the two albums that straddle it ("Human" and "Symbolic"). Chuck Schuldiner was joined by three new guys who were unknown to me at the time, but are easy to recognise in retrospect. The three previous guys from "Human" had gone (and were recording “Focus” of course). They were replaced by Andy LaRocque from Mercyful Fate on lead, bassist Steve DiGiorgio from Sadus, and ex-Dark Angel drummer Gene Hoglan. There are no weak links here.

The musicianship is predictably brilliant. Every song has a highlight solo or a jaw-dropping bass-line. What is most impressive is that Schuldiner didn’t forget how to write songs. Most of these have stomping, invective-driven choruses. The likes of "Trapped in a Corner" and "Mentally Blind" have plenty of challenging rhythms and sharp melodies, but always come back to a central hook. Chuck’s guiding principle seems to have been that song-writing should come first, with musical embellishments second. This is the same philosophy that Rush had had on "Moving Pictures" (which must have been an influence). In Chuck's hands, this philosophy results in a claustrophobic, intense record that never lets up. The melodies here are full of emotional catharsis. I feel that Chuck’s contributions to melodic death metal are a little underrated, given that this album was released before "Heartwork" and "Terminal Spirit Disease".

Musicianship and song-writing aside, this album is tied together by anger. There is little ambiguity in any of these lyrics. Chuck seems to have been pissed off with everything. Each song is a withering critique of something or someone. This makes for some memorable lyrics, many of which are extended over two or more lines (e.g., "What would you do without your pathetic narrow-minded approach to life, that reflects your lack of abilities?" or "In time, you will find yourself trapped in a corner. These four words my friend, I promise you will not forget."). Chuck wanted his enemies to know who they were. The intensity of the album comes from the feeling that Chuck may be judging you, the listener. As a young teenager seeking guidance from elders, these kinds of lyrics can have a profound effect. The message equates to something like: “don’t be a dick”. This is good life advice.

I am glad that "Individual Thought Patterns" exists. This has been an important record for me since I bought it. There is a reason why it has stayed in my rotation ever since. The production is vibrant in a way that you don’t always associate with Morrisound (although the studio had plenty of expertise with death metal by 1993). I prefer this production to the relative muddiness of "Human", and to the technicolor approach of "Symbolic". This might be the chief reason why I listen to this album more often than either of those. Overall, I can’t say that “Individual Thought Patterns” is the best Death album; “Nothing is Everything” is a dud, “Out of Touch” is the only fast song, and the first two albums were more important and more bludgeoning. Still, it is good. This is the album where Chuck's emotions were laid bare, so take heed.