Individual Thought Patterns

Individual Thought Patterns is the fifth studio album by American death metal band Death, released on June 22, 1993, by Relativity Records. It is the only album by the band to feature guitarist Andy LaRocque, the first to feature drummer Gene Hoglan and the second and last to feature bassist Steve DiGiorgio. The album expands upon the Technical death metal of the band's previous album, Human, and has been described as "one of the genre's most forward-thinking pieces," by Invisible Oranges.^[1]

Individual Thought Patterns
Studio album by Death
Released	June 22, 1993
Studio	Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida
Genre	Technical death metal
Length	40:12
Label	Relativity
Producer	Scott Burns, Chuck Schuldiner
Death chronology
Fate: The Best of Death (1992) Individual Thought Patterns (1993) Symbolic (1995)
Singles from Individual Thought Patterns
"The Philosopher" Released: 1993

The album has received both contemporary and retrospective acclaim, and contains the track "The Philosopher", for which a music video was made that received significant airplay on MTV.

Background and release

The band's previous album, Human, proved to be a major success, selling nearly 100,000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan and netting the band their first airplay on MTV with the track "Lack of Comprehension". After embarking on a tour of America and Europe to support the album, frontman Chuck Schuldiner recruited Gene Hoglan of Dark Angel and Andy LaRocque of King Diamond to record the band's next album.^[2]

DiGiorgio recalled working with LaRocque as a notable experience: Schuldiner only wanted LaRocque to play solo sections, so he only sent LaRocque the few bars of the songs where the solo would be. LaRocque would then arrive at the studio without much preparation, and largely improvised the solos, impressing everyone.^[3] In a 2021 interview, LaRocque would downplay this account, saying that he did prepare multiple ideas and alternate melody lines for each solo.^[4]

Music and lyrics

Individual Thought Patterns was seen as a progression from its predecessor Human, showcasing "more progressive and sophisticated" songwriting and instrumentation. Chuck Schuldiner's vocal performance on the album has been described as "comprehensible," and the album has been said to be "[not] brutal" by traditional death metal standards.^[5] According to Matt Mills of WhatCulture, "the calibre of the musicianship on [the album] is off the scale [...] packing prog into tight and fast death metal tracks."^[6] Despite the band's progressing technical prowess, the closing track "The Philosopher" has been described as one of the more accessible cuts from Death's later catalog,^[7] and has been called "Death’s biggest hit".^[6] The album's guitar riffs (some of which have been called "deceptively tricky") make use of staccato rhythms, tapping, arpeggios, and odd time signatures.^[7] The album also features fretless bass playing provided by Steve DiGiorgio, who had previously played with the band on their previous album.^[8] The album employs shred guitar solos, and lead guitar duties are split between Chuck Schuldiner and Andy LaRocque of King Diamond.^[6] According to MetalSucks, "Trapped in a Corner", the album's fourth track, "[bridged] the gap" between the melodic death metal of Europe and the scene emerging in America.^[9] Manager Eric Greif described the album as "an angry record, angry lyrically", attributing it to his conflict with Chuck Schuldiner at the time.^[10] "The Philosopher" is about "questioning the guidance and judgment of others".^[8]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	7/10[12]
Kerrang!	[13]
Metal Forces	9.5/10[14]
Record Collector	[15]

Jason Arnopp of Kerrang! in his positive review considered Individual Thought Patterns the band's best album since Leprosy from 1988, attributing it in parts to band leader Chuck Schuldiner's choice of personnel. Arnopp noted especially Gene Hoglan's drumming and the guitar work of Schuldiner and Andy LaRocque, concluding that together with bassist Steve Di Giorgio "they create an altogether heavier din than was the case with last year's 'Human' album, while still adding Trad Metal/Progressive touches in an almost surreal fashion."^[13]

The album is included in Guitar Player Magazine's Metal Guitar albums top 20.

The music video for "The Philosopher" appeared in the TV show Beavis and Butt-Head, where the duo mistake the boy in the video for "Jeremy" from the Pearl Jam video and mock Schuldiner's vocals.^[16][17][18]

The album was reissued and remixed by Relapse Records in October 2011.^[19]

Track listing

All songs written by Chuck Schuldiner.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Overactive Imagination"	3:30
2.	"In Human Form"	3:57
3.	"Jealousy"	3:41
4.	"Trapped in a Corner"	4:14
5.	"Nothing Is Everything"	3:19
6.	"Mentally Blind"	4:49
7.	"Individual Thought Patterns"	4:01
8.	"Destiny"	4:06
9.	"Out of Touch"	4:22
10.	"The Philosopher"	4:13
Total length:		40:12

2011 reissue bonus disc 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Leprosy" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	6:03
2.	"Suicide Machine" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	4:29
3.	"Living Monstrosity" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	5:12
4.	"Overactive Imagination" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	3:40
5.	"Flattening of Emotions" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	4:27
6.	"Within the Mind" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	5:45
7.	"In Human Form" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	4:02
8.	"Lack of Comprehension" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	3:55
9.	"Trapped in a Corner" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	4:27
10.	"Zombie Ritual" (live in Germany - April 13, 1993)	4:32
11.	"The Exorcist" (studio outtake)	4:26
Total length:		50:59

2011 reissue bonus disc 2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Overactive Imagination (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	3:39
2.	"In Human Form (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	3:44
3.	"The Philosopher (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	4:05
4.	"Trapped in a Corner (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	3:29
5.	"Individual Thought Patterns (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	4:03
6.	"Jealousy (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	3:45
7.	"Nothing is Everything (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	3:21
8.	"Destiny (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	3:54
9.	"Mentally Blind (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	4:23
10.	"Out of Touch (instrumental)" (four-track demos - December 1992)	4:21
11.	"In Human Form (instrumental)" (Chuck's riff tape - 1992)	3:40
12.	"The Philosopher (instrumental)" (Chuck's riff tape - 1992)	3:35
13.	"Trapped in a Corner (instrumental)" (Chuck's riff tape - 1992)	2:29
Total length:		48:29

Personnel

All information is taken from the CD liner notes of the original 1993 release and the 2011 reissue.^[20][21]

Death

• Chuck Schuldiner – guitars, vocals
• Andy LaRocque – guitars
• Steve Di Giorgio – fretless bass
• Gene Hoglan – drums, guitars on "The Exorcist"

Additional musicians

• Ralph Santolla – guitars (on Live in Germany performances)

Production

• Scott Burns – production, engineering
• Chuck Schuldiner – production
• René Miville – artwork
• David Bett – art direction
• Kathy Milone – design
• Jacob Speis – layout
• Alan Douches – mastering, remixing (2011 reissue)
• Jamal Ruhe – remixing (2011 reissue)

Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[22]	30