It was roughly a month ago that I received a promo for Recollections of the Insane, the debut full length from Belgian death/thrash horde Schizophrenia. As if hailing from perhaps the most consistently excellent country in metal history wasn’t enough, the band listed their influences as “Morbid Angel, Demolition Hammer, Dark Angel, early Sepultura, and Death”. I thought to myself, “That’s promising.” However, the icing on the cake here is that Schizophrenia’s drummer, Lorenzo Vissol, also plays drums for Bütcher, who was responsible for one of the finest releases of 2020, 666 Goats Carry My Chariot. Now I HAD to check these guys out.
Much like Bütcher, Schizophrenia plays blatantly 80s inspired metal. Though whereas Bütcher is a blackened speed band with traditional metal flourishes, Schizophrenia is straightforward death/thrash (as you probably could’ve figured from their influences). Recollections sure nails that era between ’86 and ’89, when thrash metal was getting heavier and death metal was finding its way. The production, songwriting, and arrangement within bring to mind such landmark releases as Sepultura’s Beneath the Remains and Slayer’s Reign in Blood.
This “Slay-pultura” approach can be heard on cuts like “Divine Immolation”, “Cranial Disintegration”, and “Inside the Walls of Madness”, to name a few. The drumming is unrelenting, the riffs are fierce, the solos are savage, and the speed is breakneck. The incorporation of violent Demolition Hammer fashioned breakdowns add to the intensity of it all. These full force thrashers are balanced out by knuckle dragging death metal assaults like “Onwards to Fire” and “Souls of Retribution”, both of which display a strong Altars of Madness influence.
The most interesting thing about Recollections, however, is its use of technical musicianship and progressive textures. Many bands have trouble going this route without sacrificing extremity. Schizophrenia does so in a way reminiscent of Sadus and Hellwitch. Guitarist Marty van Kerckhoven lays down intricate lead passages on “Sea of Sorrow”, as well as the second halves of the aforementioned “Onwards to Fire” and “Souls of Retribution”. He does so in an impressive manner, yet without being overly flashy or diluting the brutality like a C grade Yngwie Malmsteen clone.
Recollections of the Insane hits an extreme metal sweet spot that few releases in its vein have. It’s thrashy enough for the thrashers, deadly enough for the death metallers, and techy enough for the nerds, all without overly relying on one style more than the other. Such attention to detail is rare. Schizophrenia continues Belgium’s 40+ year tradition of cranking out the truest metal on the planet. The American “Let’s ape Entombed, Bolt Thrower, or Mortician” death metal scene and whatever’s left of the pizza thrashers can take a note or two from these purveyors of fast, fatal metal!
8 out of 10
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal
For fans of: Sepultura, Slayer, Morbid Angel