 
HYPOCRISY was formed in Ludvika, Stockholm by
guitarist Peter Tägtgren in October 1991. As
well as HYPOCRISY, Tägtgren has carved out a
considerable and esteemed catalogue of work with
other musical concerns such as the industrial
solo concept PAIN, LOCKUP, THE ABYSS and
BLOODBATH. He also does dual duty as a producer
in constant demand, operating from his Abyss
Studios base racking up recognition on the other
side of the desk with acts such as CHILDREN OF
BODOM, DIMMU BORGIR, THERION, CELTIC FROST, DARK
FUNERAL, DESTRUCTION and IMMORTAL amongst many
others.
HYPOCRISY were
initially known as SEDITIOUS. Long before this
venture, both Tägtgren and drummer Lars Szöke
had previously been members of CONQUEST, an act
dating back as far as 1984. HYPOCRISY was
established when Tägtgren had returned from
North America where he had put in tenures as a
member of both MALEVOLENT CREATION and MELTDOWN.
SEDITIOUS was set
to debut as a solo concern with the 1991 demo
cassette 'Rest In Pain'. This would not see
distribution though as Tägtgren was unsatisfied
with his vocal performance. A second attempt to
re-cut the same tracks, adding 'Nightmare' and
'Left To Rot', emerged as the first public
airing of HYPOCRISY.
HYPOCRISY's
line-up was augmented by bassist Mikael Hedlund,
EPITAPHVOTARY vocalist Masse Broberg. As
HYPOCRISY the band soon secured a deal with
Germany's Nuclear Blast Records issuing the
debut 'Penetralia' album in 1992. Stylistically
HYPOCRISY pursued a narrow path of Florida
styled Death Metal, laden with ripping guitar
chaos and uncompromisingly blasphemous subject
matter. That same year Österberg and Szöke
released the 'Tranquility' album from their
other act EPITAPH. The following year US label
Relapse Records put out the EP 'Pleasure Of
Molestation', these four tracks then being
re-recorded for the next album. By this stage
HYPOCRISY were whittled down to a quartet, with
Peter Tägtgren handling guitars. guitarist
Jonas Österberg and erstwhile.
For the second
album, 'Osculum Obscenum' released again by
Nuclear Blast during October 1993, HYPOCRISY
covered VENOM's seminal 'Black Metal'. Tour
dates included shows with DEICIDE and CANNIBAL
CORPSE. However, on tour vocalist Masse Broberg
was reported to have suffered a breakdown,
necessitating Tägtgren taking over lead vocals.
Subsequently, Broberg hooked up with DARK
FUNERAL, taking the alter ego persona of Emperor
Magus Caligula.
Following the
dates HYPOCRISY decided to carry on as a trio,
of Tägtgren, Hedlund and Szöke, releasing the
'Inferior Devoties' mini-album, which included
the SLAYER cover 'Black Magic'. This track also
appeared on the SLAYER tribute compilation album
'Slatanic Slaughter Volume One'.
In 1995 HYPOCRISY
toured such far flung places as Mexico and
Portugal promoting their 'The Fourth Dimension'
album. This record had been laid down in March
1994 at Park Studios in Stockholm, observing a
band exploring new directions, wresting
themselves away from the Satanic lyrical content
and replacing buzzsaw riffage with more
melancholic chord patterns. 'The Fourth
Dimension' was also the first Hypocrisy body of
work to prominently highlight keyboards.
Japanese versions added the 'Inferior Devotees'
material.
During 1995 the
band released the 'Maximum Abduction' chicken
(!) shaped CD mini-album, which included a cover
of KISS' 'Strange Ways'. In 1996 Tägtgren
fulfilled duties as stand in guitarist for
MARDUK on their European tour as well as working
on a solo project PAIN. Tägtgren, Hedlund and
Szöke, curiously all swapping instruments for
the occasion, also pursued a side project act
entitled THE ABYSS, releasing two albums; The
Other Side' and 'Summon The Beast'.
The alien themed
'Abducted' album, recorded at Tägtgren's own
Abyss Studio complex, arrived in February 1996.
A notable HYPOCRISY release would be the
'Roswell 47' 7" single shared as a split
release with MESHUGGAH. For concerts, the group
expanded with the introduction of second
guitarist Mathias Kamijo, known for his roles in
PAIN, THE ABYSS and ABEMAL. Kamijo would
regularly reprise this role on future tours.
The fifth album,
October 1997's 'The Final Chapter' included a
cover version of 'Evil Invaders' originally by
Canadian Thrashers RAZOR. As 'The Final Chapter'
saw the light of day, Tägtgren announced that
this would signal HYPOCRISY's final fling,
citing that he wished to concentrate on PAIN.
However, this announcement combined with the
resulting good reviews granted to 'The Final
Chapter' persuaded Tägtgren to change his mind.
HYPOCRISY issued
their first live album 'Hypocrisy Destroys
Wacken' in March 1999, recorded as a quartet
including second guitarist Matthias Kamijo. As
well as the thundering live set captured on tape
at the world famous German festival on August
8th 1998, the album closed out with four studio
tracks, 'Time Warp', 'Until The End', 'Fuck U'
and 'Beginning Of The End'.
They followed up
quickly with another critically acclaimed studio
album in June, given a provisional name of
'Cloned' but eventually delivered simply titled
'Hypocrisy'. This tour de force, which benefited
enormously from an increased songwriting input
from both Hedlund and Szöke, transported the
trademark Hypocrisy rawness into all new vistas
of sound, generating the most richly atmospheric
outing to date. After summer festival shows, a
European campaign in September took out running
mates THE KOVENANT, GARDENIAN, DISMAL EUPHONY
and DISBELIEF.
Peter Tägtgren
also involved himself in the commercially
successful LOCKUPNAPALM DEATH bassist Shane
Embury and guitarist Jesse Pintado with DIMMU
BORGIR drummer Nick Barker. Although the LOCKUP
project with album sold spectacularly well in
Germany Tägtgren backed out of the project
before live work ensued.
2000 found Tägtgren
busier than ever with a further PAIN album
'Rebirth', which garnered a healthy and lengthy
placing in the national Swedish album charts, as
well as a fresh HYPOCRISY effort, the retro
flavoured 'Into The Abyss', released in August.
The band,
installing a new second live guitarist in
SCATTERED CORPSESVADER, CATASTROPHIC, DESTROYER
666, IMMORTAL, DISBELIEF, MALEVOLENT
CREATIONOBSCENITY. member Andreas Holma and
promoting the 'Catch 22' album, would figure as
part of the gargantuan European 'No Mercy'
touring festival package in March and April of
2002. Also on the billing would be and HYPOCRISY
cut a new album for 2004 release entitled 'The
Arrival'. Recording would not run smoothly
though and upon completion the whole album would
be remastered and remixed. Fan demand would
persuade the band to re-record 'The Abyss' for
this record, the song originally only included
as a bonus track on 'The Fourth Dimension'. A
rare outside influence found Silenoz of DIMMU
BORGIR co-credited as composer for the track
'New World' and a switch in drummers found the
IMMORTAL, LOST AT LAST, PAIN and GRIMFIST.
Peter Tägtgren
donated a guest vocal appearance for the 2004
KATAKLYSMJAMES MURPHY in honour of the late
DEATH mentor Chuck Schuldiner, and added to his
roster of official projects by joining the
Blackheim and DAN SWANÖ mentored BLOODBATH.
album 'Serenity In Fire', appearing on the track
'For All Our Sins'. He also contributed his
services to a tribute album 'Within The Mind',
assembled by guitarist.
HYPOCRISY put in
a run of co-headline gigs commencing 12th
February in Houston, Texas that had the band
traversing North America in league with EXHUMED,
CANNIBAL CORPSE and VILE upfront of a run of
South American gigs. They then formed up part of
the 2004 European heavyweight 'No Mercy'
festivals commencing 29th March, sharing billing
with SPAWN OF POSSESSION, CANNIBAL CORPSE,
KATAKLYSM, CARPATHIAN FOREST, VOMITORY,
PREJUDICE and EXHUMED.
Horgh
relinquished his GRIMFIST position in June in
order to prioritise HYPOCRISY. The band
performed an unusual concert dubbed the '34'000
Ton Metal Cruise' on 25th September, performing
onboard the Münchenbryggeriet car ferry in
Stockholm, Sweden alongside TANKARD, AMON
AMARTH, SKYCLAD, TAD MOROSE, STORMWARRIOR and
WOLF. US dates for January 2005 had the band
packaged with DARK TRANQUILLITY and SOILWORK. In
February Peter Tägtgren worked in the studio as
producer for German Thrash Metal veterans
DESTRUCTION. That August he would ensconce
himself in Horus Sound Studios in Hannover,
producing the 'Monotheist' comeback album for
CELTIC FROST then engage in promotion for the
HYPOCRISY 'Virus' record launched in September
before getting back to work on a new record for
PAIN.
'Virus' found
HYPOCRISY engaging in a more technical direction
and would prominently feature new guitarist
Andreas Holma, a man with a Jazz background.
Notably, Gary Holt of EXODUS guested on the
track 'Scrutinized'. European gigs that
November, allied with EXODUS, saw support from
KEEP OF KALESSIN. Live work breaking into 2006
saw the band teaming up with NILE, SOILENT
GREEN, RAGING SPEEDHORN, DECAPITATED and WITH
PASSION for a North American tour commencing in
early January. The band joined the 'Metal
Hammer' sponsored 'European Neckbreaker's Ball'
2006 tour, also featuring SCAR SYMMETRY,
SOILWORK and ONE MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD
QUARTET, commencing 11th April in Denmark.
Guitarist Andreas
Holma quit in September, the band claiming the
musician was "not motivated anymore"
as the cause. HYPOCRISY utilized the services of
DARKANE's Klas Ideberg as a session guitarist
for its North American "Machines At War
Tour" with FEAR FACTORY, SUFFOCATION and
DECAPITATED kicking off on October 26th, 2006 in
San Francisco, California.
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