The Final Chapter

The Final Chapter is more or less the album where Hypocrisy cemented their style for most of what was to follow. This is obvious already from the first two tracks of the album, showcasing the "fast, thrashy riff fest song/slow, melodic epic song"-duality that has become the band's signature. I would go so far as to say that this is Hypocrisy's best album, and it belongs to one of my favorite records in extreme metal. I will try to expand a little on why, since I can see that anyone discovering this band through one of the later releases might find this quite average in terms of production, intensity and songwriting. In my opinion, this album, and even the band Hypocrisy, were always somewhat underrated.

First and foremost, following the evolution of Hypocrisy was always very exciting up to and including The Final Chapter. From the OSDM onslaught of Penetralia, through the almost Dismember-gritty Osculum Obscenum, the doomy Fourth Dimension, and the melodic Abducted, Hypocrisy's sound was a constant development and exploration of their very own sound. This all culminated in the brilliant The Final Chapter, which seems to incorporate all the aforementioned qualities in one huge slab of a farewell (which proved to be a false one).

Throughout these shifts, Hypocrisy always maintained a pretty personal sound, anonymous to some since it didn't quite fit in with the Stockholm Sunlight DM sound, nor the west coast Gothenburg ditto. This is also one of the factors that make The Final Chapter stand out among Swedish contemporary releases. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon of almost jolly, galloping In Flames metal, the melodies of Hypocrisy seem more anchored in the melancholy side of Swedish folk tunes. This melancholic atmosphere paired with a rather mid tempo death metal groove rendered The Final Chapter an aura of a band who weren't willing to follow any of the current trends. Rather, they celebrated their own sound and took it to it's absolute peak.

The less Swedish-sounding aspect of the rather pure death/thrash bits of this release may be attributed to the fact that Peter Tägtgren spent some time in the USA, getting to know the metal scene over there before returning to Sweden to form his main project. This was audible already on Penetralia. The fact that Hypocrisy stem from Dalarna might also contribute to regional deviations from the Swe-Death sound people are accustomed to. Tägtgren also produced a significant amount of his contempories at the time (including all time classics from bands like Dark Funeral and Dimmu Borgir) which might have had further influence on how he wanted his band to sound.

When it comes to performance, Tägtgren really lets his voice shine in its full glorious range here. From deep growls, through blackened snarls, pitch high shrieks and impeccable cleans. The guitar work is perhaps not technically outstanding, but rather subordinate to the songwriting, which promises some tasteful as hell guitar solos, superb riffs and beautiful acoustic passages ("Request Denied"). This is not to say that Peter Tägtgren is not an accomplished guitar player, but rather praise for an excellent song writer! Lars Szöke was always a solid drummer, if not the most inventive one. But tight as a metronome (this was before digital manipulation became legion in death metal) and he always seems to bring exactly what each song demands. Through out The Final Chapter, we are being treated to a luxurious amount of d-beat and double kick drum carpets. Mikael Hedlund was always kind of in the background as a bass player, but I think he is credited with some of the song writing as well. This was always my favorite line-up of the band and I was sad to learn that Szöke left the band.

Although there is no lack of great songs here, the slower melodic ones seem to leave the strongest impression, at least for me. "A Coming Race", "Inquire Within", "Request Denied", "Lies", "The Final Chapter" and "Shamateur" all have remarkable staying power and highlight what I have written earlier - that the music, though melodic, has very little to do with the Gothenburg sound. Opener "Inseminated Adoption" rolls over the listener like a tank, manifesting that this isn't going to be an aimless blast beat party, but rather a Godzilla sized mid tempo moving beast with intentional and well oriented flattening of everything in its path. "Adjusting the Sun" is among the catchier tracks of the album, strongly connected to the hit factor of songs from later releases and the Hypocrisy-core sound that has always followed the band after the release of this album. The faster songs are leaning heavily on thrash metal induced death, save for "Through the Window of Time" which pushes the speed a little bit further and hints at what Hypocrisy are capable of, both in the past and on albums to come.

What new listeners to Hypocrisy might care to know is, when this album was released, there was no over saturation of melodic death metal, and Hypocrisy was really at the Vanguard of pushing the style forward. What may feel "generic" to a modern listener was truly breaking new ground back in 1997, which is why I maintain that this is Hypocrisy's peak, and whatever came after was to some degree a more or less successful variation of this sound.

Ultimately, I will break down my favorite song from the album for you. "A Coming Race" starts with a deceptively simple riff and laid back drumming only to explode in the ears of the listener with full majestic melodic splendor after 8 bars. When Tägtgren enters with low growls, the guitars spin a melodic thread that almost doesn't know repetition, and this goes over and continues in the refrain where the melody of the guitars pick up speed through harmonic oscillations, plunges further into the bridge with its half step down progression that rips the heart out of the listener (a trick used already in the Renaissance when Lamentos were composed for the opera), to flourish at the end in a breather of a guitar solo that could have stemmed from one of the sleazier moments of a Guns'n'Roses or Pantera song, but fits perfectly in the context of the song. What is so impressive is how Tägtgren stretches his composition in infinity, as opposed to what nu-metal bands were doing at the time, with mindless chugging repetitiveness.

So there it is, my review of an incredibly well written melodic death metal album. I was hesitant what score to give this, leaned towards 80-88%, but the entity of this album and the joy it brings listening to it all in one sitting speaks excellence in abundance.