Review of the Album "the Final Chapter" by Swedish Death Metal Band Hypocrisy

The Final Chapter released in 1997 was originally supposed to be the last album released by Swedish death metal band Hypocrisy but due to intense responses from the fans, these guys decided to continue. And it is good that they did because by this time, we hear Hypocrisy entering the phase where their sound is like the melodic death metal bands of the late 1980’s through much of the 1990’s.

The years 1995 through 1998 not only saw quite a few great melodic death metal albums released but these were the years that this writer really started to explore the melodic death metal genre.

“Dominion” is where these guys really get heavy with that late 1990’s Arch Enemy sound. The song lyrically is about living life while in pain as the brain can be sometimes dominated by the force called the black hole. However, it is actually more accurate to say that Arch Enemy was influenced by Hypocrisy. The melodies really get exotic here! “Inquire Within” musically gets even more creative as it starts out soft. Musically, there is a very dark feel in this song and sounds like something like the band Eternal Tears of Sorrow would experiment with in 2001. Last Vanguard is really chunky in terms of the riffing and it is FAST! The song lyrically is about someone that goes out at night but he drinks so much that he doesn’t make it home. Request Denied is a song that tries to tell us that the government tries to control our lives and our choices. It is described as an institution that people are stuck in for the rest of their lives. The song slows down and this sounds like something that the band In Flames would experiment with just two short years later in 1999. Does anyone remember the song called Zombie Inc.? “Through the Window of Time” is a song that really sounds like in Flames because of the melody and riffing. We must always advocate for what is right otherwise what will be left? That’s a great fundamental question for our existence as human beings.

When we get to the song called Adjusting the Sun, the technique and riffing is what influenced Finnish band Kalmah. Listen closely and you will be able to make that determination because it is present in the song structure and even I find myself being in awe that this is the case. “Lies” starts out in this sort of heavy, yet atmospheric kind of way that The Fourth Dimension began and the song is about living in a world where you are surrounded by lies everywhere you go. The Final Chapter is a decent release from Sweden’s Hypocrisy and they can only go forward in the right direction after this. There is a title track that is slow and heavy as Peter lets out a growl here and then there is narration to go along with the heavy guitar. Stylistically the song isn’t too different from what we heard on The Fourth Dimension. The riffing is dark in a way but not so dark that people will have a hard time handling the music. Finally we hear the rough growls that we have always heard from this band. :