Hypocrisy main man Peter Tägtgren is a busy guy. He's produced countless albums. Provided drums, guitars, keyboards and vocals as a guest on MANY different occasions. He has two bands, Pain being the other one. And he owns his own village three hours away from Stockholm, called Pärlby, that is home to roughly 120 residents. As I said, he's a busy man. Such busyness is bound to have some affect on his musical output. Hence End of Disclosure, Hypocrisy's 12th studio album full of rage, speed, epic themes, and total mayhem. Hope you're ready...
Right off the bat the title track starts with epic keys sounding like a grand hall entrance. Not long after, the CRUNCH is brought down on that hall and you're dodging pieces of the ceiling. Drummer Reidar "Horgh" Horghagen (also of black metal Hall of Famers IMMORTAL) and bassist Mikael Hedlund play as Tägtgren's evil henchmen, attacking right behind their leader all throughout. And this is just track one!
'United We Fall' comes a bit later on and has you tricked that the crew might be lightening up. Alas, you aren't that lucky. As the trio is in a very "all out bludgeoning" mood. They do lighten up a bit at the end to give way to an epic bridge of chorused out guitar harmony. Then they bring the onslaught right back down for the last 30 seconds so you don't forget who you're dealing with. 'Hell is Where I Stay' is...well...read the title again. The tempo is slowed down a bit on this one. Allowing for a strong lock-step groove. The kind that tells your neck to move up and down. There's some evil sounding guitars in this tune. Out of the whole album, this song sounds the most "death metal" of them all. Not a lot of melody to get in the way. Nice and dirty, just how I like it (don't judge me).
'When Death Calls' is another basher of a tune. Colored with stop and start riffs then blast beats that are unforgiving, this song is the perfect setup for album closer 'The Return'. As I listen to it, it feels as though the entire eight tracks before this were a sort of trip home. A return to the throne to speak. The vocals are slower and bellowed. The bass is thunderous. The drums, like mountain ech(((o)))es. And the guitars sound almost like they're mourning the trip, but praising a homecoming. Amazing finish to a great album.
I'll be honest, I wasn't much of a Hypocrisy fan coming into this album. I liked them fair enough, didn't mind when they were on the stereo. But this album is one I will seek out. Its already received multiple listens. And I know it will continue to get more. For the music's sake, and for the fans sake, let's hope Mr. Tägtgren and his cohorts stay busy and keep a hectic schedule. And let's hope no buildings happen to crumble around them in the process.
This album comes out March 22 in Europe and on April 2nd in the US via Nuclear Blast. Support music and bands you love, go buy a copy. HAIL!!!!!!
