Fragments of Insanity

The second full-length of the Italian pioneers showed that the band had changed its style. Already the artwork indicated the new direction in view of its cool practicality. It goes without saying that their uncompromising debut had been a good start for the talented guys. Nevertheless, they tried to present themselves in a more mature way. While being still fast and furious, they did not any longer try to shock the audience at all costs. The black metal elements had been erased. In view of the seemingly irreversible downfall of the black genre at that time, this was a comprehensible decision. But did it really lead to the desired result? The enthusiastic band had too much potential to deliver a mediocre product, but "Fragments of Insanity" did not represent an improvement on the previous album. Quite the opposite, a slight deterioration was detectable. The main reason for this was the fact that the production did not reach the necessary degree of penetrative power. In particular the relatively feeble guitars were not able to create a sound that knocked your socks off. They sounded rather like my electric shaver. That was a real pity because the songwriting itself was anything else but amateurish.

On the one hand, Necrodeath had a lot of exciting riffs in their repertoire. On the other hand, they also knew how to write morbid melodies. The title track supported this thesis. After a short intro, the song delivered violent straight guitars as well as a haunting guitar line during the middle-part. It did not lack of tempo changes and its atmosphere was additionally emphasized by a briefly occurring background choir. Finally, a prominent riff accentuated the fairly catchy chorus. This song was followed by the best tune of the album. "Enter My Subconscious" was bursting with strength. Its explosive chorus and the abrupt break which led to the less harsh yet highly fascinating middle-part proved that the Italians had a knack for designing conclusive pieces. "Stillbirth" marked the third (and last) highlight, not at least due to the contrast of rarely surfacing mystic guitars and the harsh overall appearance of the song. The remaining pieces were not able to compete with the described tunes. They delivered a big portion of customary thrash metal, neither boring nor overwhelming. The guitar solos, for example, did not lack of power, but they failed to develop a long-time effect.

The lead vocals constituted a minor flaw in view of the fact that they lacked of variety. The constantly aggressive barking did not create any kind of suspense. But I do not want to be too harsh. The vocals did not ruin the general impression, quite apart from the fact that the other musicians played their parts without showing any signs of ordinariness. Taking all these aspects into account, "Fragments of Insanity" marked a strong, but not an outstanding album. Necrodeath did not feature any exceptional elements, but they mastered their trade in an appealing manner.