Pathology
Legacy of the Ancients


2.5
average

Review

by ExplosiveOranges USER (72 Reviews)
May 13th, 2014 | 8 replies


Release Date: 2010 | Tracklist

Review Summary: An ultimately lackluster album from a well-established death metal outfit.

The vicious cycle of mediocrity is a trap that many bands fall into far too often, and the narrower the genre of music, the more likely an artist is to become stuck in the cycle. Pathology is a band that has, for most of their career, managed to stay out of this cycle, but have ventured dangerously close towards on several occasions. With their 4th album, “Legacy of the Ancients”, Pathology deliver a mixed bag that is sure to impress hardcore fans, but probably won’t blow away most others.

The album begins with a strange orchestral-ish intro, which feels very out of place and awkward compared to the rest of the album, and there are no further attempts to deviate from traditional brutal death metal. Guitarist Tim Tiszczenko is both a strong and weak link on this album. He does manage to conjure up some pretty impressive death metal riffs, but his slams and breakdowns lack aggression, and he doesn’t ever try to add in any major guitar leads, forcing the listener to go through a painfully average experience. Another major problem on this album is Dave Astor’s drumming. Sure, it isn’t too varied from his usual style, but his tone is much worse than usual, and there are moments where he sounds like he’s smashing a tin can. The production on the album is also noticeably shoddy compared to Pathology’s later work, and while it’s certainly an improvement over “Age of Onset”, it’s still a bit of an annoyance.

Fortunately, there are definitely some positive aspects to the album. Vocalist Matti Way’s performance is excellent, going for a more brutal, guttural style as opposed to later vocalist Jon Huber’s odd gurgle. His lyrics are also surprisingly good, especially by death metal standards, focusing on sci-fi and apocalypse themes as opposed to ultra-gory horror tales. Also, the band plays off of its usual style of keeping songs fairly short, which helps make the experience a little less monotonous.

In conclusion, while there are some merits to this LP, it fails to live up to the standards usually set by the band, and probably isn’t worth checking out unless you’re a diehard fan of the genre.



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user ratings (65)
3.2
good

Comments:Add a Comment 
ExplosiveOranges
May 13th 2014


4408 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Final Pathology review. Turned out a helluva lot shorter than I'd have hoped it to, and it's probably my worst review so far. As always, feedback and constructive criticism welcome.

Shuyin
May 13th 2014


14976 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

good review, i kinda liked this album tho so i kinda hate you right now

ExplosiveOranges
May 13th 2014


4408 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Eh, fair enough. I just wish there were better guitar leads and more memorability behind this one.

Shuyin
May 13th 2014


14976 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

yea i know, but its still a pretty fun album imo



also maybe they went too far with the breakdowns, kills the pace at some points

ExplosiveOranges
May 13th 2014


4408 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

It's not a bad album, I just feel like they could've done better.

SharkTooth
May 14th 2014


14937 Comments


I'd say your ATTW review was your worst, and even that was a good review, +1

ScuroFantasma
Emeritus
May 14th 2014


12203 Comments


Good review, man!

"Another major problem on this album is Dave Astor’s drumming. Sure, it isn’t too varied from his usual style, but his tone is much worse than usual, and there are moments where he sounds like he’s smashing a tin can."

If he sounds like that, then it's a production probloem; not the drummer fault. Your review was good though, it's cool when people can condense reviews since my reivews are always gigantic, even when I try to shorten them.

xstaytrue18x
July 10th 2014


583 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

good review and this is my favourite album by them.



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