Infernal in Bloomington, MN

After dedicating most of their existence to defying death metal templates with a string of form-challenging albums that culminated in 1996's truly unprecedented, uninterrupted 40-minute prog metal landmark,
Crimson
,
Edge of Sanity
would arrive at the crossroads of their career with 1997's
Infernal
, their sixth album. Here at last, the ever-questing imagination of vocalist/guitarist/workaholic
Dan Swanoe
was put in check by his heretofore mostly complicit bandmates, who, apparently led by guitarist
Andreas "Dread" Axelsson
, put their collective foot down and demanded a certain amount of "traditional" death metal flavor be reinstated for sanity's sake (or at least their sake). As a result,
was recorded and even sequenced like some sort of manic compositional tug of war between
Swanoe
and
Dread
, with the first's still frequently eclectic contributions alternated almost tit for tat with the latter's generally more straightforward and uniformly violent offerings, making for a very uneven listening experience -- one that wasn't without its rewards, however, including
's aggressive opening gambit,
"Hell Is Where the Heart Is,"
featuring a startlingly melodic guitar solo; the intriguing cryptology exercise
"15:36"
; and the latter-day
Carcass
-inspired
"Forever Together Forever"
(co-written with
Mikael Akerfeldt
of
's creative heir apparent,
Opeth
). For his part,
and his habitual co-writer, drummer
Benny Larsson
, delivered the refreshingly basic and brutal
"Helter Skelter,"
a decent rot & roller in
"Damned (By the Damned),"
and a nostalgic mini-epic mood-swinger in
"Burn the Sun."
But
Larsson
also struck out as frequently as they connected a good shot, and even the normally infallible
met with embarrassment when his alternative rock dalliances yielded the
Gin Blossoms
-gone-metal of
"Losing Myself."
So as the shadows grew long on
and the group launched into the obviously named, piano-led
"The Last Song,"
one can see the remnants of
's once imposing musical legacy evanescing into the ether along with this inconsistent LP -- a must for die-hard fans only.
would quickly move on to other creative pursuits both as an artist and producer, while his bandmates foolishly tried to carry on without him for one more album -- that same year's
Robert Karlsson
-fronted
Cryptic
-- but they quickly realized that, love him or loath him, there could be no
without their former singer. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia