Virus is an album by the Swedish death metal band Hypocrisy. It is archetypal of the so-called Gothenburg metal, which is essentially a very melodic type of death metal. By the standards of death metal, Hypocrisy is fairly popular. Hypocrisy makes melodic death metal. This essentially means you combine the brutal, distorted guitars, powerful drums and lyrics about anything wrong, evil or rotten of regular death metal and then add very complex melodies. A very common theme for Hypocrisy, apart from the standard death metal themes of violence, death, sex, disease and society going to hell, is alien abduction. Aliens and the alien, distorted sound of metal combine very well, and the theme is quite prominent on the album before Virus, The Arrival. However, the alien theme is not very present on this album.
I'll now attempt to describe and review the album, and also describe how it fits into metal in general.
1. XVI (0:16)
XVI is essentially 16 seconds of near silence. It consists of the sound of blowing wind and ends with the crack of lightning. Gimmicks like this are not uncommon in metal.
2. War Path (4:23)
The album begins in earnest with this track, and what a start! The song immediately opens with a flurry of guitars, fast, complex and merciless. Then, Peter TÃĪgtgren's vocals rip through the maelstrom of sound, with a scream lasting 12 seconds. This is one of the longest screams on any metal album-the man must have great lungs. Fast, heavy singing mixes with the background guitar. Then, suddenly, the background music all but stops, moving the focus from the instruments to the vocals. This is exactly the kind of trick that makes death metal death metal (apart from the nasty bits). The instruments and the vocals move through the chorus in perfect harmony, as the song continues in a slightly slower pace, interjected with clever riffs. The song continues alternatively stressing the brutal lyrics and the equally brutal instruments. In short, this is one of the best examples of a modern death metal song. If you want to sample one song and see if you like death metal, you might try this one.
3. Scrutinized (4:25)
Scrutinized is about the widespread spying of especially Western governments on their own citizens - something that I grew up with believing was typical of the former Warsaw Pact states. The emphasis here is on the lyrics, and the supporting guitars and drums are relatively simple, as if they don't want to distract you from the message. The theme of political criticism is common in death metal, which is one of the differences with perhaps more well-known black metal. This track is a very good example of this.
4. Fearless (4:23)
This track starts slowly, with deep grunts and is pretty much a "standard" death metal song. It doesn't contain clever gimmicks or complex melodies, it's just straight, pure rage put into music. The relatively pure and raw style of the song combine of course very well with the subject matter.
5. Craving for another killing (3:50)
Very, very fast song, with lyrics that are almost unintelligible due to the speed with which they are sung. After the brutal start, the speed goes down a little, and the song becomes more melodic. This also allows the chorus to stand out a little better. While it's fast and aggressive, it lacks the sophistication of the previous songs, making this one of the more forgettable tracks on this album.
6.Let the knife do the talking (4:19)
In my opinion, this is simply a brilliant song title. While letting the gun do the talking is already pretty brutal, knives make matters quite personal and hence even worse. The song doesn't disappoint. The start is slow, layered, and very melodic. This makes it contrast very strongly with the previous song. After the into, clean vocals are used to convey the lyrics. The theme is murder and the salvation of death, and the lyrics go into all the gory details. Twisted to the core, this song reminds why there is death in death metal.
7. A thousand lies. (4:52)
This song is about heroin abuse. It starts ephemeral, with a voice luring us to the drugs. Then, a cacophony of vocals and instruments thunder over the luring voice, calling the promise of hard drugs what it is: a thousand lies. The song then continues ad mid-tempo, condemning the evils of drugs, after which the chorus is repeated in full force. While the way of delivering the message is unconventional, I think this is a very good way of warning for the dangers of drug abuse, especially because a metal singer probably knows what he is talking about.
8. Incised before I've ceased (4:28)
Simple instrumental beginning that contrasts strongly with the previous track. The the song is probably about alien abduction, but it might also be about surgery in general - modern medicine stretching lives further than they should be stretched. As noted, alien abduction is a common theme for Hypocrisy. The song is typically death metal in style, with a rather simple structure. There are a few tempo changes, though.
9. Blooddrenched (3:43)
Fast, brutal song. The theme is, again, murder, and this time, it is accompanied by fast, aggressive singing, drumming and guitar riffs. The song sounds like a little, compressed ball of anger: it hits like a brick wall. In this song, the complex melody further amplifies this effect: it's almost as if your brain has to work overtime to be able to "process" the sound. This effect is not uncommon in death metal, and this track is a very good example.
10. Compulsive psychosis (4:14)
Somewhat slower than the previous song, the lyrics of this song are sung with a deep growl that is difficult to understand. After about 1 minute, the music becomes slower and less complex, and the singing turns into something resembling an alien scream. This underscores the song's theme, which is insanity. The song contains some clever riffs that form a perfect intermezzo between the singing.
11. Living to die (5:39)
Apart from fast, brutal songs, Hypocrisy occasionally makes slow, ballad-like songs. This is one of of them, and perhaps the best. The song is about wanting to die. The beautiful, slow pace makes it seem as though you just "fade" out of existence. The sadness and ennui is simply overpowering, being permeated by the languid tempo the instruments, the lyrics and the voice. The clean lyrics are very easy to understand and deliver the message with almost surgical precision. I can't think of any song that can change my mood as strongly as this one. This is, in my opinion, a masterpiece of modern melodic death metal.
Overall, this album clearly is among Hypocrisy's best. Lacking the bombast of the self-titled album or the overpowering alienness of The Arrival, it manages to touch the core of death metal. Because it manages to explore so many facets of this genre, I would recommend this album to people who are curious about death metal, and melodic death metal in particular.