Penetralia

Here we get good vocals, notably on the harrowing highs. We get fairly modern-sounding drums, with clicky kicks and overall tight with a sense of space given to the other instruments; also an aggressive, balanced guitar tone with good presence, and not blatantly overcooked like its countrymen of the early nineties' scene. And interestingly in spite of it being substantially a fat bowl of meat and potatoes in heaviness, we hear some hints of their later sound: 'Left to rot' (choir part) as one strong instance where a full-bloomed melodic Hypocrisy makes a surprising cameo before its time.

Let's cut to the chase now. This is a poor man's early death metal album: dumbed down, far simpler and less potent, lower quality material. This couldn't possibly hold a candle to contemporaries Napalm Death and their heinous sonic violence, Carcass' moribund stench, Morbid Angel or Immolation's subtly implied divine vibes, or Suffocation's explicit brutality. Contrary to those, this doesn't do any one thing particularly well. It's simply a whole level below in composition, like students attempting to emulate the masters, which notion isn't outlandish considering the fact Tägtgren lived in the U.S. then and this record is in essence directly inspired by the American scene, but more like a cheap copy rather than an innovative twist contributing a plausible added value. Compared with the real thing, this feels distinctly weak and primitive, often bordering on tasteless and nearly amorphous.

It's like run-of-the-mill, grey drabness to what the true innovators were fomenting. A bland knock-off that comes across as very flat artistically; awfully linear, nearly expressionless. Every fan can hum the catchy tremolo lick from 'Impotent God', and some sections work (just only a couple, though), but not nearly often enough. The rare melodic parts show little to no emotion. It's like they're just there because, well, it was an idea to include a part that was in minor. The harmonization in the riffs brings nothing: it's just a random song-writing device here. The heavy parts are generally bland nearly to the point they're like textbook lessons. Some parts seriously sound like the band were not trying. Power chords tossed around for the sake of power chords, random gallops, insipid tremolo picking...a feeling the guitar work is quasi-aimless, and the songs sometimes vacant, despite the ongoing activity, like window-dressing. Trying to grasp what's going on here, this sounds like the guys were so focused on execution, they forgot to work out quality sections to include in it.

Just a comparison before concluding: 'Soul of a new machine' by Fear Factory came out that same year. Whether one thinks that album is literal trash or not is besides the point, as it speaks volumes as to where a band like that was, and where Hypocrisy was. The first was in the process of inventing a new sound, furthering the metal experience and pushing the envelope hard, while the second was passively settling for a limited version of a sound that had already been conceived, developed, and was gradually evolving towards a second phase already.

This band would become so much more interesting later when the melodic element blossomed into something unique, and they figured out their identity with the sci-fi/alien aesthetic and that trademark atmospheric doom-like sorrow.

Hypocrisy's debut album is definitely...not one of the spectacular debuts! The only question is whether it's anything wrong. In my opinion no! Personally, I think that without this breakthrough and genius (the time will come for that), Peter Tägtren's band was so impressive at their beginnings that their music had this "something", referring to which it was able to keep listeners for longer - and most of all, there was real passion in it. "Penetralia" showed that even without going beyond the standards of death metal (in more American style), the whole music can sound its own way, despite the simple measures.

Okay, first I should clarify what is mentioned "in its own way". I have already noted that "Penetralia" is primarily death metal that can be loosely associated with the early full-lengths of Morbid Angel or Malevolent Creation, although what quite clearly distinguishes Hypocrisy from that style (or rather makes the band not sound 1:1 like others) refers to much simpler riffing, other vocals (with a predominance of low growl) and occasional, keyboard inserts adding a mysterious atmosphere, more associated with Swedish death metal (sic!). Only this and, as you can see, without any madness, but it's enough to get to know as such the own idea of ​​Tägtren and the company for playing death metal. Simple riffs have their charm, the dose of brutality is quite decent, the atmosphere is captivating, and in the terms of "rarities", "Penetralia" can boast interesting solos by Peter and Masse Broberg's vocals that conquer the overall brutality - not much, but in this edition bigger attractions seem to be unnecessary. As confirmation, I will mention "To Escape Is To Die", "God Is A...", "Take The Throne" or "Nightmare" as the best and best representative of the whole.

The conclusions are simple. "Penetralia" is just a foretaste of Hypocrisy and the beginning of their style, although made at a good level and based on decent inspiration. As for those years, although some, other bands achieved much more devastating effects (as can be seen from the volume of this text and the discussion of the music in it), but "Penetralia" is just so great to listen to and take longer. After all, such things are not often discussed in the case of not very spectacular albums...

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2020/07/hypocrisy-penetralia-1992.html

Penetralia is the debut full-length from Sweden's Hypocrisy. It marks the only time that the band functioned as a five-piece. Released in October 1992, on Nuclear Blast, this album displays a strong influence from American death metal. This is credited to Peter Tägtgren's time living in the states. He played with Malevolent Creation for a short time, and it seems it affected his mentality as it regarded songwriting. Still, there is enough here to prove that this Satanic death metal album is the work of Swedes.

Despite bearing some characteristics that were already becoming a little too common and generic, by that time, this album features a good number of interesting riffs and manages to keep its head above water. Peter's solos were already distinctive, as he had found his own style. That is one of the things that brings some identity to early Hypocrisy. As far as riffs go, Penetralia is a very dynamic album. There are a fair amount of thrash riffs to be found and, of course, tremolo picking throughout the songs. Already, as would become more evident as time went on, there were some riffs that had more of a black metal feeling. It was this combination that really helped establish the dark atmosphere. Most importantly, as is heard on songs like "Impotent God" and "Nightmare", there are slow doom riffs that really create a dismal feeling. Even at this early stage, it is clear that Hypocrisy's moments of brilliance are, often, during the slow parts. This was something not uncommon in the Swedish death metal scene, but there was something darker in the way that Tägtgren structured his songs and his lead solos added to this, quite well.

Whereas most bands choose to lead the album off with their strongest song, Hypocrisy's debut appears to build momentum as it goes along, increasing with quality as you get deeper into it. "Jesus Fall" is a good example of this, with a great tremolo riff that would have worked just as well in a pure black metal song. The production and deep vocals are the main things that even give this song a real death metal feeling.

The vocals are another thing that set Hypocrisy apart from many of their Swedish peers. Masse Broberg didn't utilize the typical style found in bands like Entombed or Dismember, nor really that of Unleashed or Grave. Masse's voice is very rough and, though his vocal style is quite deep, it still possesses a very raw feeling. Compared to albums like Shadows of the Past, by Sentenced, or even Covenant, by Morbid Angel, those vocalists have more of a refined sound to their voices. Interestingly enough, Peter handles vocals on the title track and doesn't sound too far off from Masse, though his efforts prove even more raw and uncontrolled. It's clear why he didn't feel that he would be a suitable vocalist, and only took over once Broberg was kicked out of the band a couple years later.

The production of the album isn't necessarily unique. It's rather standard, almost reminiscent of the Morrisound production style, at times. However, it's a little rougher and this suits it just fine. The fact that so many death metal bands were trying to sound exactly the same, around this time, still fails to make sense. In the case of Hypocrisy, it may have been a combination of preferring the American sound as well as not wanting to follow the crowd and record at Studio Sunlight. Based on the style of songwriting, it's quite possible that Penetralia would have sounded similar to Necrophobic's The Nocturnal Silence, if they had gone there. In truth, it might have been an improvement, but there are no real complaints. Speaking of Necrophobic, it is with bands like this that Hypocrisy had more in common with, as opposed to the more popular Swedish bands. Penetralia also shares some characteristics with Nothing But Death Remains, by Edge of Sanity, and Dark Endless, by Marduk.

The song arrangement is another interesting facet of Hypocrisy's debut album. Particularly, the second half of the album really begins to showcase their abilities. One of the highlights has to be the slow section of "Left To Rot", where a doom riff is joined by a cold tremolo riff, coming together to create something very dark and menacing. "Burn By the Cross" builds on this; after some memorable thrash riffs, yet another slow section draws the listener in and really envelopes them in darkness. "To Escape Is To Die", immediately, catches your attention with the melodic lead guitar riffs and dynamic tempo changes. "Take the Throne" is very similar, in that it features some of the most memorable riffs on the album and serves well to create a sense of tension that builds to the climax of the album.

It has to be said, again, that one may think that the higher quality songs should have been spaced out a little better, to give the record more balance. However, the first half is good enough to keep you interested so that, by the time you reach the second half, you are dragged into the abyss and mercilessly assaulted. As you reach "Penetralia", you are weakened and vulnerable to the most intense song of the whole album. After an eerie intro that features some clean guitar and keyboards, the furious riffs are unleashed and Peter's harsh vocals slice into you. The tremolo riffs are incredible and the drumming pounds through your skull. As mentioned earlier, Hypocrisy always had some black metal feeling present in many of their songs. By the midway point, another slow riff is introduced, with distant vocals that soon turn into something otherworldly. Some other, demonic, voices then rise up from the depths and are joined by a haunting riff that seeps into your subconscious. There is a brief return to the sounds from the intro, before the speed picks up again and you are exposed to some great lead solos. As the song continues on toward the end, it picks up in speed and you feel as if you might explode. And then, all collapses and it is over... for now.

Looking at it now, the song arrangement was very wise, as it leaves the listener with a very good impression. What Hypocrisy began on Penetralia, they perfected on 1993's follow-up album, Osculum Obscenum. They soon became more comfortable in their sound and found their style, going on to create one of the best Satanic death metal albums, ever. It all began here. This is highly recommended to any fan of early 90s death metal, as well as those interested in the early works of this band.

(25 June 2010)
http://www.morbidcurse.com/

I remember being a teenager and picking this up, based on seeing the video for Left to Rot on one of Nuclear Blast’s early VHS compilations, as well as the atypical, haunted artwork that adorns the cover. And this, among a few other monumental points in time, really shaped what I felt about death metal… and more so, what I was utterly obsessed about in it.

But enough of my personal experience with the album… I first heard it in 1993 and was utterly blown away. But the vital questions remain: how does it sounds, why would anyone want to listen to it in the days of the MySpace & FaceBook generation, and how did it hold up?

To answer the last question, it has held up remarkably well! This is essentially the blue print of Swedish death metal, borrow minor bits and pieces from the American death metal scene, and injecting faint bits of thrash and (gasp) groove into the mix.

The overall name of the game is brutality and speed for the majority of this album, but there are occasional moments of slow, doom-inspired bits and pieces scattered throughout, yet no one song depends on one sole dynamic to carry the whole song.

Also present are very faint hints at where Peter Tagtgren would take this beast later in their career. Darkened synthesizers are present, but definitely add to the overall atmosphere instead of serving as a distraction. These are not Pain synthesizers: they are darkened synthesizers designed to add to the whole of the song, making the impact that much better. Prime examples are sections in Nightmare, Left to Die and the stunning intro to Penetralia. There is nothing weak about these passages – they fill the listener with an uneasy feeling at first, especially to the uninitiated. Upon repeated listening, however, and you’ll understand that these passages fit in perfectly, and that the songs would be missing something.

Realize that, by this point, many early death metal bands didn’t dare to pull this on their listener. Hypocrisy not only dared to experiment, but they did so in a manner that made the music that much more uneasy, dark and (forgive the cliché’) evil!

On other elements within the song, all instrumentation is solid, but two of those elements steal the show. Masse Broberg’s vocals are guttural, yet decipherable. They don’t change too much, but you can get the point of what the lyrical content is about, even without the lyric sheet. And for the record, the original album didn’t come with a lyric sheet – a downside to some, but to those who wish to discovery the arcane, interpreting the messages can be a satisfying experience.

The other element, which steals the show almost as much as the synthesizers and the vocals, are the leads. I am guessing that Tagtgren is responsible for most, if not all of the leads (as it was, is and always will be his band – the demos written before this album were a one man show – with Peter’s skills on display). And the leads, within a death metal context, are something to behold for a debut album. Peter accomplishes on one single debut a level of greatness that other, lesser musicians attempt for their entire careers to accomplish, often failing.

In summary, this is a definite Swedish old-school death metal album without the “melodic” bullshit that would later flood the scene. This album is highly recommended for those itching for some old-school Swedish death metal, played with skill, with little flairs to keep things interesting. For recent fans, this is where it all started. And for the few uninitiated into the cult of Hypocrisy, this is a good first step to see what you’re getting into with later releases.

Also of note – the last track (Penetralia) is simply the Peter Tagtgren show: he does the vocals, guitars, keyboards and the drums. Quite a feat, and one that is a glimpse into the future of where Peter would take the band in later years. This is actually a highlight for me, and as close to perfection as one would want.

This is a personal favorite of mine, and comes highly-recommended for casual fans as well as rabid Hypocrisy maniacs.

Buy or fucking DIE!

I admit that these older Hypocrisy albums weren’t my cup of tea, but Hypocrisy were one of the forerunner bands in getting me into metal. Ever since I heard “Slaves To The Parasites” back in 2004 I felt like the path to metal was the way to go. It didn’t take too long to settle into the melodic death albums, but these pure death metal ones are really where the cake tastes the best. From first to last, this album is packed like a warship and holds a very persistent attitude. It somehow keeps getting forgotten among early 90s death metal albums, yet manages to still be seen as popular.

Death metal is a sound that is easy enough to replicate, but Penetralia really has an atmosphere and tone of its own that I don’t hear anywhere else. It’s got a sense of style, unmatched aggression, and just a colossal wall of sound that can’t be destroyed. Broberg is a fucking beast on this; his vocals here are insanely deep – kind of like a cross of inhales and gutturals. I myself can replicate this style pretty effectively, but the important thing to know is that these vocals relish in the evil nature of this album - all the compositions take heart in bonding with such despicably demonic roars.

Tagtgren gets his share at vocals with the title track – a song that I myself deem as the best on the album. It’s got everything in a death metal song: arcane melody, hostility, malevolence, and the most haunting backing synth/acoustic melody in any song. His growls aren’t as deep as Broberg’s, but they aren’t out of place either; I gotta give him props on the heavily distorted demonic growls during the middle, as well.

Riffwise, this album mutilates; nothing is simplistic or contrived here. Nay, every riff has qualities that add so much depth that just keep you engrossed as hell. They all sound colossal and crispy, with more backing power from Hedlund who makes sure the blood is always pumping. Production allows everything to stay completely balanced in the mix, but there seems to be some debate as to whether the drums are artificial or not. The playing is incredibly vigorous, charging, and fast; double bass is in motion and blast beats are the norm, but other styles add extra flavor to already crushing songs. They sound a tad bit mechanical and loud, but the playing sounds much more natural.

There’s no shame in denying that this album is damn heavy but varied at the same time. It truly left a mark in the scene, but gets shrouded by Hypocrisy’s later and more accessible output. I must come forth and say to get the latest pressing, since it likely added to this production boost and two extra kickass tracks. I’d like to end this by telling you to look at the cover art… look at it, god damnit. If you haven’t heard this album, then let the sadistic artwork be your glimpse into this album.

Here’s well it all started. Hypocrisy’s debut, Penetralia, is without a doubt their most brutal album along with the follow-up, Osculum Obscenum.

One thing you’ll notice with Penetralia from the moment you start listening to the first track is that this is fucking brutal. It’s got some of the heaviest drumming I’ve heard and although that might not mean much since I don’t listen to THAT much death metal…the drums are still massive. Blast beats upon blast beats fill this album.

The opener, Impotent God, starts the album amazingly and with total intensity…and this is kept up until the last second of the last track. Peter’s riffing (as well as Jonas Ostenberg’s, but he’s not the mastermind here) is, as we can expect from him, genius, and as I mentioned earlier, Lars Szoke’s drumming is incredibly powerful. I can safely say this is his best performance with the band, as on future releases he has considerably less presence at the kit.

Mikael Hedlund does an awesome job as bassist and it’s even more amazing when you realize that he was 16 years old when this was released. As you can imagine, the bass is quite heavy throughout the album.

Now I want to mention Masse’s vocals here… I believe that he did an incredible job both here and on Osculum Obscenum and that he’s a good vocalist even though what Dark Funeral I’ve listened to bored the shit out of me. He’s probably better off as a death metal vocalist I guess…he sounds very brutal on this album, with a lower voice than Peter, even though I think Peter’s a superior vocalist by a long shot.

Some of the tracks that stand out the most would be Impotent God, Suffering Souls, To Escape is to Die as well as God Is a Lie and Left to Rot (these two are also live favorites). And let’s not forget the crowning achievement of the album, the title track. It’s the only track including vocals by Peter and it’s incredible. It has that melodic keyboard intro which might seem out of place at first glance although it’s perfectly well suited to the track…very reminiscent of the band’s later work, especially The Fourth Dimension.

The lyrics aren’t printed but from what I’ve seen on the album’s metal-archives page they’re not overly complicated stuff…death metal standard really. But why should that be a problem? It’s Masse growling most of the time and you can’t understand a bloody word he’s growling except maybe the song titles during the choruses.

So you like death metal…if you don’t, why are you still here? This album is incredible. It has that evil atmosphere one rarely sees in this kind of record. This is essential to any serious death metal fan’s collection. Hell it’s essential even if you’re just passing by and want to have a glance at death metal. Get it at all costs.

Hypocrisy, in my eyes, are gods of death metal and this is where their incredibly successful musical careers began. Penetralia begins with Impotent God, a pretty good song which you can easily headbang to, although it does get a bit repetitive, the lyrics get boring (the usual 'rah, i hate god..' kinda stuff). Also, it's very easy to be put off early Hypocrisy because of Masse Bromberg's 'cookie monster' lyrics, if you don't like these then check out anything post-Osculum Obscenum.
The second song, Suffering Souls is a pretty poor song in my opinion, although the opening riff is quite catchy, the drums seem to sound dreadfully out of time with the guitars, probably one of the weakest songs on this album.
Nightmare is another let-down on this album, the drumming is a tad better than the drumming on Suffering Souls though, yet again Bromberg seems to wreck a perfectly good song with his terrible vocal works.
Track 4, Jesus Fall, is yet another mediocre track with boring guitars and immature lyrics, nothing special here.
This is where things start to get good: Track 5 is God is a Lie, the intro is pretty poor but things just get better from here.
Track 6 is Left to Rot, a brilliant song with excellent drumming and fairly cool guitar work, Bromberg's vokills are slightly more tolerable in this song but the lyrics are still pretty childish (die for me in hell.. so I can get rid of your smell!)
Burn by the Cross is an awesome song with really cool guitar work, I love headbanging to this song - it gets even better once Lars Szöke unleashes his double-kick part way through the song.
Now for the real gems of this album:
To Escape is to Die, the intro to this song is absolutely STUNNING. It somewhat resembles Slayer's 'Raining Blood' but then the song heads in a different direction (not in a bad way). This is a standout track for sure!
Take the Throne is a pretty wicked song, I love the double kick that Lars Szöke introduces shortly after the beginning. The song starts off quite slowly but gradually becomes faster and faster, nice riffage.
Penetralia... where to start?! First of all, it must be noted that Peter Tägtgren recorded every instrument AND the vocals for this song. The intro to this song sends shivers down my spine and when the full on DM arrives, there's no way you will be able to resist the urge to headbang until the end of the song. There are synths in this song which I find really interesting and gives the song a kind of creepy atmosphere to it. From around 3:23 onwards, Tägtgren begins to experiment with his voice, creating a really weird demonic noise which I find truely amazing. It must be said that the drumming in this song is also outstanding.
If you were lucky enough to find a copy of the re-released digipack then you will have received bonus tracks 'Life of Filth' and 'Lead by Satanism'. Both of these songs (esp. Lead by Satanism) are incredible, god knows why they didn't put these songs on the first release of Penetralia.
In conclusion, this album is not a must-have. It did not shape the sound of death metal for years to come but if you're a true Hypocrisy fan you will see the amazing talent and effort that was put into this album. The title track Penetralia almost makes this album worth buying by itself.

Stand out tracks:
To Escape is to Die
Penetralia
Impotent God
God is a Lie
(bonus tracks Lead by Satanism and Life of Filth)

The year was 1992, and the Extreme Metal scene was just seething. In Northern Europe, both Black and Death Metal were graced by the efforts of glorious bands such as Darkthrone, Entombed, At The Gates and many more ground-breakers. Peter Tägtgren, who would later become the underground Metal legend, didn't want just to sit and watch. So, after a very useful trip to Florida (where modern Death Metal was born), he laid down a couple of cult demos almost all by himself (only with the help of Masse Bromberg who performed vocals on the second one), before finding a full line-up and unleashing Hypocrisy's first creation upon mankind... "Penetralia".

This album would be the first and last Hypocrisy would release as a five-piece: along with Peter (performing guitars, the occasional keyboards, the vocals on the title track and even drums on some songs!!) and his faithful mates Mikael Hedlund (bass) and Lars Szöke (drums), the album also stars Masse Bromberg (later known as Emperor Magus Caligula in Dark Funeral) on vocals and Jonas Õsterberg on guitar. The usage of two guitarists instead of just one doesn't really show, but this may be down to the nature of the songs themselves, much more raw and basic than future Hypocrisy classics would be. Basically, "Penetralia" tries hard to be Florida sounding, adding old school Thrash and even Black Metal influnces to the mix. The result is still pretty far from unique, but everything flows very well.

From the beginning of the first song, "Impotent God", we know what to expect: fast and furious string picking, pummeling drums, heavy bass and low grunting vocals. Masse doesn't sound like he would later do in Dark Funeral at all, sporting a typical Death-style guttural growl rather than his (by now) trademark possessed screams; sadly, his voice lacks the variation that would spice things up a bit.
I meantioned the bass: yes, you can hear it! Although it wasn't recorded in the legendary Abyss Studio (I don't think it even existed back then anyway), this album was produced by Peter himself, for a guaranteed great sound (although the drums and vocals drown the guitars a bit at times). Talk about forebodings...

Most of the first half of the album speeds by in typical Death Metal fashion, with nothing really standing out as revolutionary, even if tracks like "Nightmare", "Suffering Souls" and "Jesus Fall" definitely show Hypocrisy's knack for coming up with one memorable riff after another. Luckily, "Left To Rot" kicks in before things get too repetitive, quickly followed by the likes of "Burn by the Cross" and "To Escape Is To Die". Here Hypocrisy dares to step outside the save Death Metal territory, by including Classic Metal influenced guitar harmonies and generally more variation. However, they save the best for the closng track, "Penetralia". This jewel of a title track opens with a slow clean guitar riff combined with haunting keyboards, before exploding in a Thrash/Death deluge with Peter himself handling the raw, tortured vocals. The tempo slows down again in the middle, with Peter running his voice through some weird effects, before blasting once again and gradually speeding up to a frantic pace in the grand finale. This song alone would make the album worth a purchase. Hell, just the opening riff would! Words can't describe the unique atmosphere this song evokes, and mind you, keyboards in Death Metal were something nobody had ever thought of at the time. It works, and how.

The re-release of the album also comes with two more bonus tracks. "Life of Filth" is a very nice addition to the furious character of this first chapter, while "Lead by Satanism" shows the band experimenting a bit with slower tempos. Due to the absence of liner notes, I don't know where these songs come from, neither why they were left out of the original version since they are so good.
Oh yeah, and the cover artwork is amazing, too. It somehow reminds me of Resident Evil; maybe the programmers saw this cover too when they designed some sections of the game...?

All in all what we have here is a very good start, not really groundbreaking but far from forgettable.. Listeners willing to be introduced to Hypocrisy should aim for one of their latter releases such as "Abducted", while long time Hypocrisy and Death Metal fans probably known (and own) this already anyway.

Before Peter Tatgren was underground metal's "it" thing, Hypocrisy played relentless old school death metal. Hypocrisy themselves downplay the significance of Penetralia and Obsculem Obscenum, writing both records off as shameless Florida death worship. Actually, Penetralia carries a rather unique sound, possibly due to Tatgren's trademark production (then in it's infancy). A healthy dose of 80s thrash and black metal influence seperates early Hypocrisy from their swedish contemporaries.

Unfortunately, vocalist Masse Bromberg is wholly irritating, moreso than most cookie monster singers. His "gargling razors" wall of guttural noise drowns out alot of excellent riffage, and the "satan rahhhh i hate god" lyrics (later continued with Dark Funeral) are too childish to be taken seriously.

This irk aside, Penetralia has some great songs... the title track for one, a blackened thrash classic (later rerecorded on Ten Years of Chaos and Confusion) that marks Tatgren's first foray into keyboard experimentation. "Nightmare" and "Impotent God" blend traditional death metal riffs with a unique production and a focus on single note picking. A few Destruction/Kreator influenced passages (bridge to Nightmare) pop up, a pretty pleasant surprise

Hardly essential but definitely worth owning for the early 90s death head... Hypocrisy's early works are usually overlooked, but hold their own.