CoC : Theory in Practice - The Armageddon Theories : Review

Theory in Practice - _The Armageddon Theories_
(Pulverised, 1999)
by: Brian Meloon (9 out of 10)

Theory in Practice return with the long-awaited follow-up to their 1997 debut, _Third Eye Function_ [CoC #23]. Although this album has a lot of similarities to their previous effort, it shows them moving toward a more unique sound, somewhat similar to that of their black metal side project Mutant [CoC #40], but still distinctly death metal. The music is very technical, filled with fast and challenging riffs, quick time changes, and a good dose of melodic guitar leads. In fact, they use melody very effectively throughout their music, from the harmonized guitar parts to the subtle keyboard parts, which add a touch of atmosphere to some carefully selected sections. The melodic sections also provide a nice counterpoint to the chunky syncopative ones. The songs are typically complex, featuring a lot of changes -- some of which are smooth, and some of which aren't --, but the band handles even the most difficult changes flawlessly. The vocals are pretty standard shouted/rasped death/black vocals, and somewhat intelligible. The production is excellent: very clear, and appropriate for the music. In fact, my only real complaint with the album is that they didn't really put together one great song. All of the songs on the album are good, but there are parts of each song that I don't particularly like. Still, technical death metal fans should enjoy this immensely. I look forward to their next release, and hope they continue to improve. This album is apparently going to be re-released by Listenable in February 2000.

(article published 5/3/2000)

ALBUMS
7/3/2002	D Rocher	9	Theory in Practice - Colonizing the Sun
10/12/1999	A Wee	8	Theory in Practice - The Armageddon Theories
8/12/1997	B Meloon	7.5	Theory in Practice - Third Eye Function