Maximum Abduction

This album was the first shape-CD ever released by Nuclear Blast and it is possible to play it in a CD-Rom to rip it. Surprised? Well, the special edition of Hypocrisy’s The Final Chapter with its alien-head-like design has some aversions to my computer or vice versa… who knows. Perhaps the PC is actually able to recognize its shape and assumes some software from outer space might be installed if the disk will be read by the drive and thus this attempt is prevented in the first place. But why the hell is then this mutilated and abducted chicken-like CD accepted? Is there some subliminal communication going on between my PC and me which I have not been able to notice? Is my PC a chicken molester?

Anyway, the album starts with Roswell 47, one of Hypocrisy’s best songs, especially in the old version of the Abduction and not the clean version of the 10 Years of Chaos and Confusion record. The riffs of this track are easily recognizable out of hundreds and Peter Tägtgren was able to condense the strengths of this era in to one song. In a way it is a perfect opener for a live concert with its slow beginning and evolution into a very catchy Death Metal track. Should it be mentioned that the vocals have a good share on the atmosphere with their pending between growls and screams? It has become a trademark of the band to use different vocal styles to express the lyrics, which often end in some high-pitched screaming at the end of a verse and even though this attempt has been repeated in a huge number of songs, it never has become odd or the like.

Nearly gapless is the lead over to Carved Up, a much faster and more aggressive song than the predecessor. The riffs are denser, but still mid-tempo, as are the drums, even though the double-bass is used more intensively than on the first track. Different is the song also in the composition itself, as a break takes some momentum out of it and a short solo-like interlude makes it more interesting than the track-opener, yet comparing both Carved Up has not the overall quality, but it is still a good Death Metal track. It is hard to say of what the song is lacking of, perhaps it sound just too ordinary and has not the last kick it push it unto a higher level.

Taking from the Fourth Dimension record is the track Request Denied, a song a little bit in vain of Roswell 47 with its slower tempo and riff-structure. A sad atmosphere is created through the clean vocals at the beginning, which are later replaced by typical Death Metal growls. Like the first two tracks this one has been written in the very melody oriented style and would also work good live, with the slow, but intensive use of the guitar riffs.

Those who know Hypocrisy a little bit better and have followed them over the years will know that Peter Tägtgren is a huge fan of the band Kiss and with a cover of Strange Ways he presented to the fans on this record not only his admiration for them, but also how he would interpret their music. Every time I listen to the album, I am somehow irritated by the opening of the track, as it sounds not like a typical Death Metal one and so I have to remind myself that this is a cover and supposed to be this way. Do I like the track or not? In a way the song has some moments, but it also sounds rather odd, because the riffs are quite uncommon and simple written. It is really easy-listening music and Hypocrisy is not able to plaster even though they have a different musical background and I do think it was meant to be very close to the original.

The production is like all of Peter Tägtgren’s ones before and thereafter an excellent one and on the album there is nothing sounding out of place or strange in any way. All instruments have a lot of power and are clearly distinguishable on all songs. It is a nice and enjoyable album, even though it is rather short, but this is compensated by the eye-catcher of the mutilated chicken. If you friends always thought you were retarded because of your strange taste of music (long hair, short brain), a glance on this shape-CD will confirm them in their opinion about you. Finally only the question remains why my PC accepts this CD and not the other one.