A Battle Cry for the Deranged

Led by one of the most prominent voices in metal during the ’90s and early ’00s, Philip Anselmo, The Illegals are back for round two with Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue. The album is rife with the anger and general brashness in the vocals that made Anselmo a household name in his Pantera days, but lies in uncharted territory in comparison to what music he has written previously. To put it plainly, this installment from Anselmo and The Illegals is an amalgamation of several different styles; there lie obvious hardcore, thrash, and death metal elements at various points throughout the album but it is something entirely unique in and of itself.

The album spans 10 songs over a 46 minute run time, which is enough to not give the impression that the album was rushed through but not long to the point where interest in the material wanes. The introductory track “Little Fucking Heroes” does a great job of opening quickly and heavily, setting the standard for what would follow it. The opening guitar riff accompanied with choked cymbals and quick, lacerating notes demand the listener’s attention and pull them through the maelstrom that is the product of Phil Anselmo’s aggressive and chaotic writing style.

The ride pushes forward through the bellowing roars, deep growls, and robust instrumental sections where the band experiments with different tempos, guitar phrasings, and percussion arrangements. Nothing about the album seems manufactured, as no two songs give the slightest impression of similarity to one another aside from the sheer force that they were recorded with. The variety in the album us surreal as some songs range from slower and more focused works such as “Delinquent” while some take the redline approach throughout such as “Choosing Mental Illness” and others such as  “Photographic Taunts” choose to meld both styles together.

Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue is truly excellent from both an artistic point of view as well as its ability to incite a figurative riot in the mind of the listener as it progresses, it is a representation of all the elements that made metal music garner such a strong fan base and a battle cry for the deranged soul that lies within each member of this fan base.