There are a lot of bands that are actually the one man project of a super-active musician that also has dictatorship talents. But the number of people, who can pull off being in that position in more than one band and in the same time manage to be one of Europe’s most sought after and busy metal producers, sums up to one - Peter Tägtgren. Now, when the cycle of albums and tours for all his side projects is complete and four years after “Virus”, Tägtgren finds time to put out a brand new Hypocrisy record. And we don’t have to fool ourselves – a band with such a long history and so many albums behind its back has the right to be predictable and not experiment that much. The last time they tried it with “Catch 22”, the result was quite controversial. Such bands release best of and b-side albums and make a triumphant tour or two.
But re-releasing a bunch of old songs in order to present yourself to a whole new generation of potential fans is too low for the great producer. Instead of this we have “A Taste of Extreme Divinity”, where we can find brand new songs, each one of whom would have been at home on this or that past album in the band’s quite varied discography, without sounding awkward next to each other.
You want fast and heavy death metal? You get “Valley Of The Damned” and the title track. You want something heavy, yet melodic? You have “Alive” and “Sky is Falling Down”. You want something mid tempo and crushing like the self-titled album? Here are “No Tomorrow” and “The Quest”. Tägtgren sure know how to write songs like that. He probably could pull it off in his sleep.
So, the case here is that we have something like a best of album that features brand new songs instead. And if you are new to this band that would be a splendid starting point for your future addiction. But if you already are a Hypocrisy fan – well, dude, one of your favorite bands just released a killer new album!
Verdict: 5.5 / 6
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