Doctrine 2011

"Pestilence have received a lot of flak for both "Resurrection Macabre" and "Doctrine" from both fans and critics - I think that a lot of the critique has been way too harsh.

"Resurrection Macabre" was perhaps not the glorious comeback that everybody hoped for, but it was a valiant effort, and one that grows on you with time. The problem for many people with "Resurrection Macabre" was that it was not jazzy and experimental like "Spheres" was, but there are two things to keep in mind here: 1) Everybody hated "Spheres" when it came out because of its jazz influences (the world wasn't ready for it it) and 2) the point of "Resurrection Macabre" was primarily to make brutal music, according to and interview with Patrick Mameli, and not necessarily to make the next "Spheres" album.

So, is "Doctrine" the next "Spheres"?

No, it is not.

It is musically different from "Spheres" in several respects, but it does share more features with "Spheres" than any other release by the band. The music is much more experimental than "Resurrection Macabre", and the jazz influences are definitely present in several aspects of the music. First off, there are plenty of jazz-based chords and harmonies, some of which even sound a bit dissonant - which suits the tense music quite well. Secondly, many of the guitar solos have the same weird jazz fusion fusion quality as on "Spheres", Thirdly, Jeroen Thesseling's fretless bass action adds a definite jazz fusion feel to the music on "Doctrine". Personally, I really enjoy this jazzy and progressive aspect of the album. But "Doctrine" is also quite brutal, which is something it has in common with "Resurrection Macabre" and, to some extent, with Pestilence's early releases. The guitars have a dark and brutal sound, and a lot of the tracks involve blast beats and other elements from modern extreme metal. This combination of brutality and jazzy progressiveness works pretty well, I think.

"Doctrine" has received some severe criticism on account of the vocals. I have never been a big fan of Patrick Mameli's vocals, and I feel the same about them on this album as on Pestilence's other releases, but I kind of like all the weird things that Mameli does on this - all the screams, weird sounds and Shakespearean rolling Rs.

I think this is a very good death metal release, and it is clearly a true Pestilence release and features their trademark compact and intensive riff styles. In a way, it draws both on the jazzy progressive death metal of "Spheres" and the more aggressive death metal of releases like "Resurrection Macabre" and "Consuming Impulse", for instance.

The negative critique that this release has received is, I think, undeserved. It is a solid death metal release which stays true to the core of all things Pestilence, but at the same time move the band's style in a new direction.

(review originally posted at metal musicarchives.com)"