Schizophrenia – Recollections of the Insane

Release date:  15.02.2022
Label:  Redefining Darkness Records

Schizophrenia burst onto the scene two years ago with their Voices EP. They took the world by storm with their brand of death/thrash metal which is very reminiscent of bands like Demolition Hammer and early Massacra. The leather-clad four piece hail from Belgium and were previously performing under the moniker of Hämmerhead with Ricky (vocals and bass) and Romeo (guitars) as founding members. Lorenzo (drums) and Marty (guitars) joined Schizophrenia in 2017 and since then they’ve garnered a good reputation around the globe.

The band has now released their followup to the Voices EP and it’s their debut full length called Recollections of the Insane. If you are acquainted with Voices, right off the bat you will notice that the band has tweaked their sound a tad. They’ve upped their death metal quotient (in their death/thrash style) several notches higher. This change in direction is not surprising when you get to know that the band members are avid fans of death metal, primarily early Morbid Angel. I heard this in a live stream of their interview and even posed a question or two about the new album. Schizophrenia veers off in a more death metal direction and that is certainly not a bad thing at all.

Recollections of the Insane opens with Divine Immolation and after a thirty second intro, they waste no time in hitting you hard with pummelling blast beats and fast guitar riffs. The vocals feel harsher as well and the chorus is laid over some exquisite guitar noodling. This is also heard on other tracks like Fall of the Damned. Cranial Disintegration is slightly on the thrash-y side but equally hard-hitting. There is a “vocal breakdown”, for lack of a better word, which is like a hammer hitting the anvil. So prepare yourself for some intense head nodding with a stank face. Sea of Sorrow wouldn’t have been out of place on the Voices EP and feels like the older Schizophrenia.

As I progressed through the album, I was getting some serious old-school Vader vibes on tracks like Monolith, Onwards to Fire and Souls of Retribution. Something about tremolo-esque death metal riffs over blast beats screams Vader to me. Onwards to Fire is a relatively mellow-er track where the band does slow things a bit in certain parts of the song. It gives the album a slightly different flavor. Souls of Retribution also showcases a one minute guitar solo in the middle of the track between the verses. There’s some immaculate musicianship on this album from all members. My favorite track is Inside the Walls of Madness and captures all the elements of what this version of Schizophrenia offers. The riffs are chuggy and very headbang-inducing. It is blast beat central and the vocals sound menacing.

Schizophrenia are doing a “reverse Sepultura” wherein they’re getting heavier and more brutal from their previous record. It’s funny because the band probably borrows its name from Sepultura’s second full length with the same name. And after Schizophrenia, Sepultura took a more thrash-y and groovy route. I feel like a knob for having to explain what I meant by “reverse Sepultura” but I hope you get the drift. Like I mentioned earlier, this change in the sound is not a bad thing.

Overall, Recollections of the Insane is well produced, a tad more polished than Voices but the intensity of the music comes right through. The guitar work effortlessly glides from chuggy riffs to melodic solos. The songwriting is tight and doesn’t feel like there are any loose ends or B-side-y material creeping into the album.

If you enjoy death/thrash and can stomach something even heavier, then this album is for you. Remember when Sodom released Tapping the Vein and it blew people’s minds with its heaviness? This is THAT album by Schizophrenia!

 

Line up:

• Romeo Promos Promopoulos – Guitars
• Ricky Mandozzi – Vocals, Bass
• Lorenzo Vissol – Drums
• Marty van Kerckhoven – Guitars

Links:

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