Death – Individual Thought Patterns – 1993

Individual Thought Patterns is the fifth studio album by Death. As usual, it’s led by Chuck Schuldiner on vocals and guitar. It also features Andy LaRocque, perhaps best known from King Diamond, on guitar. I don’t claim that I can really hear that it’s him playing or what his style contributes, but it’s clear that there is quite a different sound on Individual Thought Patterns compared to the previous albums, with Human being the most recent one prior to this.

There were more nuances than before, and the compositions use harmonies in a totally different way than before. The song structure is also more complex. Some may say that Chuck (and Death) departed from “the pure path” with Individual Thought Patterns, but I personally like the more progressive approach. There are surely bands that should stay away from it and that indeed should keep on doing what they’re doing, but in Death’s case, I think it’s really fitting.

But what stands out most to me isn’t the guitars. The most revolutionary difference between Individual Thought Patterns and Human ( and all the previous albums) is the Bass. It’s much more active than it has been previously. Apparently, Steve Di Giorgio used a fretless bass if you are to believe Wikipedia as a source. I couldn’t tell, but it’s really something other than the usual root notes that my prejudices keep telling me that so many bassists use far too frequently.

This is our course also due to the fact that the album is nicely mixed and that there are no problems differentiating the instruments from each other. Some albums can be pretty muddy, but that is certainly not the case with Individual Thought Patterns. Gene Hoglan handles the drums on this album.

To me, it’s a tie between Individual Thought Patterns and Spiritual Healing being the best Death album so far in their discography. They’re a notch better than the other albums in my mind. Spiritual Healing’s cover art is kick-ass compared to this, though.