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Finally, it arrives, Chuck Schuldiner's crowning achievement of all that is metal. The buzz for this
disc was huge, TFAOE supposedly being THE album to herald in the millennium and lead as the new face of
metal. Wrap this around Chuck's discovery of a brain tumor and how could this not be a complete victory
for "Evil" chuck and the boys? Well, honestly, I HATE Time Aymar's vocals, this whole album being one
gigantic tease to me, existing as a "not" Death album that could have been. I know, average stupid
metalhead's knee jerk reaction to something new. Err, maybe, but "power" metal vocals have always bugged
the crap out of me, ruining many a metal experience, and here seems to be no exception. I can't argue though,
the musicianship is absoultely superb, but something also seems flat, the guitars just kind of being there,
not leaping out as they should. Richard Christy's drums (yes, incredibly played, even overplayed) are way
to the forefront, sometimes detracting from the overall picture (as they did at times on TSoP). Yes,
he is an incredible drummer, and hopefully there is no feeling of having shoes to fill anymore. Maybe
it's in the mix, but the wrong things seem accented at the wrong times. Every time I play this, and
yes, it is growing on me with time, I just ask myself, "Why don't I like this as much as I should?" Maybe
my senses are dulled by too much death metal, but in the end, I'll take Death. No disrespect intended, the
record's just not catching on yet...
6 1/2 out of 10
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