Nel 1991 il Thrash Metal era in ritirata, i Metallica, che gli diedero i natali nel 1983 con "Kill 'Em All", sanciscono con "Metallica" (meglio noto anche come "Black Album") la sua definitiva fine. Sopravanzato dal Grunge e dal Crossover (nelle vendite e nelle classifiche ma mai nei cuori dei veri metal kids) il Metal classico e il Thrash finirono nel dimenticatoio (nelle vendite e nelle classifiche ma mai nei cuori dei veri metal kids).
A questo stato di cose ogni band reagì a modo suo, i Metallica abbandonarono il metal dandosi ad uno scialbo Hard Rock-Blues-Country, i Megadeth seguirono la scia dei "cugini" Four Horseman abbracciando un Hard Rock sempre più melodico e da classfica, gli Anthrax sperimentarono con sonorità Hardcore e rap, gli Slayer continuarono a comporre album con alterni risultati che vanno dal buono (Divine Intervention) al pessimo (Diabolus In Musica), e i Testament si misero a giocare col death (Demonic) con risultati disastrosi.
In questo desolante panorama un gruppo seppe tirar fuori, nel citato 1991 (disastroso per l'Heavy e il Thrash ma una vera annata d'oro per il Death), un album che nulla aggiungeva a quanto gia fatto dai gruppi succitati ma che si può considerare, col senno di poi, un ottimo platter. L'album si caratterizza per una spiccata componente tecnica, debitrice dei Metallica di "Master Of Puppets" e in misura minore di "And Justice For All", per una velocità sostenuta, per l'ottima voce del cantante David White e dai pregevoli soli dei chitarristi Terry Lauderdale e Lee Altus.
"Hypnotized" apre le danze con un intro recitata che sfocia in un brano spaccaossa, seguono ottimi brani come "Opiate of the Masses", "Prisoniers of Fate", la cover dei Rainbow "Kill The King", e la strumentale "Guitarmony", chiusura col botto con la t(h)rascinante e furiosa "Timeless Cell of Prophecy".
Dopo questo disco la band si scioglierà ritornando nel 2004, ma non con un lavoro di inediti, ma con una sorta di best of condito da covers di Queen, Thin Lizzy e altre band. Quest'album è consigliatissimo a coloro che nel 1991 furono delusi dal black album, se amate i Metallica (quelli veri, ubriachi e incazzati) quest'album vi riserverà piu' di una gradita sorpresa.
KEEP THE METAL FAITH ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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01 Hypnotized (08:35)
[Altus/White]
Masses form into religion to fulfill their lives
Seeking answers in the bible, hear their helpless cries
Mindlessly, no thought, they follow false prophets of the flesh
Depend on the spirit of the One to grant their every wish
[Pre-Chorus:]
It's not too late to change your fate
You must control your own mind
You're the only one that can release you
It's yourself you've got to find
[Chorus:]
Fools give money to the church to earn their place with God
In our eyes it's contradiction and religious fraud
Hypnotized by what they say
Your mind is under their control
Hypnotized you will obey
Your fate will soon be called
You must make your own decision of what you think is real
Your soul was given on to you and not for these thieves to steal
Don't be fooled by these hypnotic forces, they will rob you blind
There is no excuse for their actions
Making a mockery of mankind
[Repeat Pre-Chorus & Chorus]
Masses form into religion to fulfill their lives
Seeking answers in the bible, hear their helpless cries
Don't be fooled by these hypnotic forces, they will rob you blind
There is no excuse for their actions
Making a mockery of mankind
[Repeat Pre-Chorus & Chorus]
02 Opiate of the Masses (07:51)
[Altus/White]
The future is scarred by the bloodstained past
Haunted by disgrace
Holy wars that are never ending
Forever fight of faith
Don't accuse these meaningless symbols
Created by mankind
Will they recognize their own creation?
Can they be so blind?
Fools manipulating all they see
Cruel as the world can be
Cries of pain as the tortured souls
whither away into the dust
Power is the fix
And man is drawn to it
The illness and the lies
The virus never dies
To captivate the minds of the masses
Tell them what they want to hear
And for those who will oppose you
They will live in fear
Domination your favorite sensation
Operated by remote control
In your hands are the lives of the helpless
Their fate they'll never know
Fools manipulating all they see
Cruel as the world can be
Cries of pain as the tortured souls
Whither away into the dust
Power is the fix
And man is drawn to it
No matter the cost of what's won or lost
Addiction planted the seed
That sprouted the tree of greed
The illness and the lies
The virus never dies
Control your own destiny
Get rid of insecurity
There's little truth in what they say
Don't let 'em steal your life away
Power
To this world brings death and destruction
Leaving the earth in decay
Money
Breeds organized crime and corruption
Who says that crime doesn't pay?
Greed The green-seeking virus that spreads
And manifests your selfish needs
Spreading the addiction
Man's own contradiction
When it's themselves that they deceive
05 Fear of the Unknown (07:08)
Superstition creeps within
They alter what we hold in our perception
Our subconscious stores the clues
To what is in our mind and what is real
Pre-Chorus:
No one knows the reason
No one has the key
To unlock the door of this mystery
Will we ever find out?
Will we ever see?
What's behind the curtain of perplexity?
Chorus:
So many things in life we just can't explain
There is so much that's still unclear
If we dare to enter the forbidden zone
We'd no longer feel the fear of the unknown
Images of the unseen
Wander through our imagination
It's all so strange, the wonder of it all
Our hopes and fears, the rise and falls
Repeat Pre-Chorus & Chorus
This unseen power mystifies the hour
Transforms the blue skies to red
The howling moon is calling
As the dead of night is falling
These spirits dance upon our souls
Sometimes you can feel it
You might not believe it; but things happen that
we can't control
Nothing has changed
It's still the same
Unanswered questions will remain
06 Prisoners of Fate (06:21)
[Altus/White]
There's got to be a solution
There must be a cure
Something to get me through this confusion
What will it take to set me free?
The time that's passed is full of frustration
So much to tell, but no words to say
I've suffered enough and my dues are paid
No turning back now
I'm on my way
When I look back I see
A time of misery
At times it seemed that it would never end
[Chorus:]
Life is a gamble
No matter how you play the game
Roll the dice and take your chances
Win or lose it doesn't matter
'Cause there's no escape
When you're a prisoner of fate
Anything is possible
But nothing is ever really sure
Not always knowing what's wrong or right
Your only choice is to decide
I stand alone in the pouring rain
I just had to say
Capture the moment before it's gone
You've got the strength to carry on
I was condemned to feel
This pain that's so unreal
The chains that bind me are behind me know
[Repeat Chorus]
Once I was lost in the abyss
No longer could I go on like this
[Repeat Chorus]
Prisoners of fate <i>[4x]
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Altre recensioni
Di Lorenx
Victims Of Deception non è affatto un album di Thrash Metal canonico e tradizionale; si tratta di un disco complesso, intricato, tecnicissimo e dannatamente coinvolgente.
Non perdetevi assolutamente questo capolavoro che consiglio a tutti gli amanti del Thrash e non.
