Theory In Practice
The Armageddon Theories

Except for some particularly curious deathsters, the name Theory In Practice will mean absolutely nothing to many of you. If their fame were proportional to their technique, inventiveness, and the quality of their music, they would be headlining Wacken this year!!!!!!!!!

Hailing from Sweden, formed in 1995, dedicated to excellent quality Death Metal, among the major influences we cannot fail to mention sacred monsters such as: Atheist, Cynic, Pestilence, Death, and Nocturnus or our own Sadist. In short, all those bands belonging to that techno-death line that churned out countless masterpieces in the 90s.
The sounds of Theory In Practice are very interesting: the technique of the individual elements is impressive! They have released only three albums so far: "The Third Eye Function" from 1997, "The Armageddon Theories" from 1999, and "Colonizing The Sun" from 2002. Unfortunately, from this year on, there is no more news about the band, so much so that some have thought of a disbandment due to poor sales and the band's lack of notoriety, in years when the millionth clone of In Flames was selling a ton and absolutely personal bands like them were being ignored by most.

And it is precisely about their second work, The Armageddon Theories, that I want to talk to you. Released in 1999, it can be considered our most varied work, where Death Metal influences are combined with Progressive and Thrash sounds. What catches the ear from the first listen is the technical perfection, achieved through difficult passages, impossible tempo changes, solos, and riffing that require considerable preparation and drum patterns at the limit of human comprehension. Keyboards are obviously not lacking, which with their never overly intrusive interjections manage to give the songs that extra gear, also managing to stick in the head almost from the first listen. Another peculiarity of the Swedish combo is the particularly acidic scream (which cannot help but remind us of the great Chuck Shuldiner's) by singer-drummer Henrik Ohlsson, and the guitar solos by Peter Lake worthy of the best exponents of the great Techno Death Metal tradition, not forgetting of course Mattias Engstrand who divides excellently between bass and keyboards.

The album kicks off with "Dehumanized" which immediately makes clear what our guys are made of, between guitar phrasings of great impact and alluring melodies a powerful rhythm section advances with difficult-to-execute patterns, while Henrik's abrasive vocals stick the listener to the wall and Peter Lake's dynamic and intricate riffing gives him a series of punches to the stomach of unheard-of proportions. Tempo changes are obviously the order of the day and it is impossible to imagine what will happen in a few seconds, but the beauty is that on no occasion will the thread be lost: everything has a sense and a logic within the structure of the songs, from the smallest refinement to the most massive and disruptive riff. Between intricate riffs and more monolithic ones and headbanging, it will not be difficult for the listener to be captivated by the beauty of this album. After a The Visionaire that follows in the wake of the opener with a greater presence of keyboards (still never intrusive, after all, we're not talking about a power band!!!!!!), you reach the grandiose title track split into five movements: the first movement is titled "Departure" and welcomes the listener with gentle keyboard notes and almost dreamy melodies, but then suddenly the electric instruments of "Prophecies" burst in, which, with their unpredictable weave, once again assault the listener and make him want to grab his instrument and throw it out the window, because never in his life would he manage to match the skill of these three crazy lunatics. Notable are the guitar and keyboard duets, which launch into truly successful solos in full prog metal style, then give way to a moment of great sweetness and introspection achieved through the use of synths. The extraordinary "Carnage Earth" follows, a prog-death blow to the head and neck that, with its 6-plus minutes of playtime, always manages to keep the listener's attention high and amaze him note after note, melody after melody. "Embryo" makes interwoven guitar and overflowing solos its main weapons, while the concluding movement of "The Armageddon Theories", "Posthuman Era", is a sonic maelstrom from which it is impossible to escape, between a thunderous double bass drum, vitriolic riffs, and rhythms worthy of the best Atheist. It closes in beauty with "Embodied For War" which gives the final touch to a picture that in a perfect world would be displayed at the Louvre, but in this world of crap gathers dust in some dark basement.

To conclude, a special mention for the artwork which depicts a sort of Vitruvian Beast-Man holding a flame (Promethean symbol of progress and knowledge) in the human hand, and a sword (symbol of war and destruction) in the beastly hand, symbolizing the eternal duality of Man's spirit "whose dreams walk hand in hand with his nightmares".