© Listenable 2002
THEORY IN PRACTICE
Colonizing The Sun
Colonizing the Sun was my most anticipated CD release of 2002. (I am assuming that WATCHTOWER won't actually release Mathematics this year, you understand.) Why, you ask? Because THEORY IN PRACTICE's previous release, The Armageddon Theories, is second only to CYNIC - Focus in the annals of Technical Death Metal, in my opinion. The Armageddon Theories deserves every bit of the 9.5 rating Chris gave it in his review. Only MARTYR and the mighty CYNIC themselves (and perhaps ESICASTIC, if they can release a full CD as good as their Atman EP) have recorded Technical Death Metal CDs as intricate and catchy as THEORY IN PRACTICE. So it is not surprising that I had very high expectations concerning THEORY IN PRACTICE's next disc.After I put the promo disc into my CD player for the first time, I read the back of the slipcase which contains a quote from Peter Lake (guitarist, main songwriter). The quote states that the new album is more straightforward. My first thoughts included much swearing, but the bottom line was that I suddenly became very apprehensive. Obviously, Metal musicians need to do what makes themselves happy and keeps them interested in their work because they certainly do not make much money from playing the music we all love. However, I cherish the select few highly skilled bands that create intricate and technical works of art, and I hate to see them reduce any of the musical complexity that I so appreciate.
Don't get me wrong, the new THEORY IN PRACTICE does not sound like CANNIBAL CORPSE or any other purveyors of musical simplicity. Colonizing the Sun is still relatively technical. However, I would now lean toward calling them Progressive Death Metal, as opposed to Technical Death Metal. The riffs are still impressive, and time changes occur on a fairly regular basis. However, the riffage is not as manic or complex as it is on The Armageddon Theories, and there are significantly fewer time changes in the songs. The drumming is still quite good, but it definitely is a step down from their previous release. It would be easy to blame their new drummer, Patrik Lake (Peter's brother) for this, but I don't think it is his fault. The band made a conscious effort to tone down the technicality on this disc, and the simpler (although by no means simple) drumming is one result of that effort. I find it rather odd that Henrik Ohlsson, who formerly handled drums and vocals, gave up drumming to focus on singing for the band. I don't mind his vocals, but his raspy shouting definitely is an acquired taste. I would think it would have been easier to get a new vocalist and have Henrik just play drums, but what do I know?
Another surprising aspect of Colonzing the Sun is that, although there is a much greater focus on melody and repetition of riffs within songs, this disc is somehow not as catchy as the insanity on The Armageddon Theories. However, Colonizing the Sun does feature the best use of keyboards of the band to date which adds to the accessibility and catchiness of several of the tracks. The keyboard work is really the only improvement over what can be heard on The Armageddon Theories.
As far as the actual songs go, I think tracks 1 through 4 are very good. Track 5, "Asken Apocrypha", is relatively average, and it is the worst song on the disc with the exception of the rather pointless cover of THE SPARKS' "This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us" which sadly ends the disc. Tracks 6 through 8 have their moments and are definitely worthwhile, but are not as good as the first four songs.
I really should have known better. Very rarely is a followup to an incredibly good disc as good or better as its predecessor. Of course, CORONER (Punishment for Decadence followed by No More Color), SCEPTIC, MARTYR, and GORY BLISTER did it, but they are the exceptions to the rule.
So the bottom line is that everything is relative. Colonizing the Sun is a good disc (hence the rating), but it is a disappointment compared to THEORY IN PRACTICE's previous work. When writing this review, I realized that my opinion of the current form of THEORY IN PRACTICE parallels some of my thoughts on NEVERMORE. Although I think NEVERMORE's discs have declined in quality after the awesome The Politics of Ecstasy, Dreaming Neon Black and Dead Heart in a Dead World still made it into my top 10 lists for their respective years of release. Both of these bands are too damn talented to actually release an average disc. It is very likely that Colonizing the Sun will end up being in my top 10 for 2002. It is just too bad that I don't expect it to be in one of the top slots.
Editor's rating: 8.5
Contributed by John Frank
