Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken (Nuclear Blast)
by Scott Hefflon

Wacken refers to the annual Wacken Open Air Festival. And, evidently, when Hypocrisy released their “last” album, The Final Chapter, fans around the world howled in despair. Yours truly included. So here’s a live album, a greatest hits of sorts, to tide the ravenous masses over ’til later this year when their self-titled record hits stores. The irony of releasing your last album, followed by a self-titled album (usually a band’s first) is probably not lost on many. With 11 live tracks (gorgeously produced, I might add) and four studio tracks, Hypocrisy Destroys Wacken is a must for die-hard fans and a good overview for folks who’ve been under a rock for the last seven years and have never heard these guys. From death to melodic sorrow, from bloodthirsty demons racing through the night to the mournful plodding of a lonely monster with frightening clarity of mind and awareness, Hypocrisy runs the gamut of beauty and horror.
(PO Box 43618 Philadelphia, PA 19106)