Schizophrenia
Recollections of the Insane

Funny name, you would imagine that it is a band working with dualities and opposites in their musical style, but the Belgian band is mostly about traditional death metal. I read that their self-titled debut EP hit the underground like a bomb, they are probably warned this time if that is the case. It is a hard-hitting album, with a not so brilliant cover art. But it is supposed to cut through the death metal world like a scalpel cut through flesh, that is a sharp thing if that is the case. So how about it then?

No Schizophrenia in the musical style, it is death metal. Well-produced with more dynamics than most. The variation is less. The depth is good, the vocals are average. I fail to notice the elements of this album that will cut so sharply into the fabric of the death metal genre, it is quite a typical album of said genre. It will probably not stand out much, despite being fresher than a lot of the albums released within this genre. At least Schizophrenias held back aggression give the album lots of nuances and therefore makes it more interesting than most black metal that is usually just a copy of what came before.

Schizophrenia makes a pretty good album, and compared with the extreme metal genres in general they also make an interesting album. The problem is that most of the albums released in this genre is the same album with different title and band name, but it sounds the same most of the time. Not so with Schizophrenia, it is not like they break new ground or invent anything fresh or exciting but at least they took the time creating strong songs throughout the album, something it seems like most death metal bands fail to do.

I am not a fan of death metal, and I suppose most death metal fans enjoy the predictability of a genre where very few bands wants to make something of their own. They are pleased to hear the same album over and over and over and over again. I am not like that, I like new stuff, routines and repetitions is an annoyance for me. Most death metal annoys me, not because I dislike the concept as such, but because of musicians who fear being different, who does their utmost to just fit into their group. But to make good music you have to dare to be different, Schizphrenia doesn’t really do that, they master their craft and that makes for a pretty good album that you might want to give a spin as it is at least more interesting than most of the genre – but eventually they will just be as forgotten as almost any other death metal band.

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