Postcolonial Theory Prior to listening to Theory In Practice's third album, Colonizing The Sun (Listenable Records) for the first time, I would suggest taking a long, deep breath. Enjoy it. Savor it. For it will the last time that you catch your breath until the end of the album. With Colonizing The Sun, Theory In Practice has taken that great leap forward in terms of its songwriting, while holding true to the trajectory of hypercomplex mind-mulching extreme metal that made its previous album, The Armageddon Theories, a classic slab of technical brutality. While not quite as perplexing in its intricacy, Colonizing The Sun is more song-oriented in focus, featuring more structured arrangements, deeper vocals more reminiscent of death metal than the previously-utilized snarling, and a stellar production that adds additional bottom-end muscle to the sound spectrum occupied by the drums and guitars, providing Theory In Practice with an even more menacing demeanor. While the band's musicianship still manifests itself in a technical flurry, there is an increasing emphasis on song dynamics, with additional effort devoted towards streamlining the superabundance of excellent ideas and exploring them in more depth. As vocalist and lyricist Henrik Ohlsson recalls, the decision to create an album that was a bit different than The Armageddon Theories was very much a conscious decision. He states, "when we had finished recording The Armageddon Theories, I remember Peter [Lake, guitars and songwriting] saying that he would never do such a technical album again. "So, compared to The Armageddon Theories," Henrik continues, "the biggest change with the new album, Colonizing the Sun, is the approach that we had when doing the songs. I think the elements are the same; they're just more organized in structure. Some would call it more predictable, but that depends on what you aim for with the music. We aimed for doing 'real' songs this time. On The Armageddon Theories, we didn't really care about structures to the same extent - we just went from part to part without really knowing where it would lead. But basically I think we're using the same elements as before, some of which you could find on our debut album, Third Eye Function, and others are more in the vein of what we did on The Armageddon Theories." As with Theory In Practice's previous album, Colonizing The Sun possesses lyrics of a highly involved nature, appropriately complex in theme given the music against which they are matched. "I usually have some topics that I want to bring up, and I try to match songs with topics that I feel are in some way connected," Henrik notes. "A quick example: 'Replica Dawn' has a pretty machine-like verse in my opinion, pretty chopped up. So those lyrics deal with machines, which I always seem to be able to write about. But that topic doesn't fit with a song like 'Colonizing the Sun', which is a very fluid song with lots of melody and atmosphere - so the whole concept behind [literally] colonizing the Sun fit perfectly for that tune." As Henrik reveals, the inspiration for the latter concept "popped up out of nowhere" during a long walk in the woods surrounding his home, and he describes his logic behind this concept as such: "you can't colonize the sun when you're in the flesh, but when you're dead, it shouldn't be a problem. That was the first conclusion I had when I started working on those lyrics, and then I went on from there. I don't want to give it all away. But I had similar experiences where I would just be out walking and suddenly -BOOM- a title would be in my head. I also get inspiration from other people who have more extreme supernatural experiences, and I try to describe the world through their eyes. And then I also have the prophetic lyrics where I describe a possible outcome of our species' actions - those are mostly very dark as you may know already (laughs). I think it's important that the lyrical vision is similar to the musical vision." Among the most notable improvements between Colonizing The Sun and its predecessor is the far superior production quality. Recorded at Hangar 18, Henrik agrees that "the production is the biggest improvement with this album, in my opinion. Aside from some problems with the summer heat, everything went fairly smooth. But when we recorded the drums, we had such an incredible heat in the studio that the drumheads more or less melted - we had to take a break at that point! It was impossible to tune the drums high enough and keep them there because the drumheads downtuned themselves after a couple of beats. That was hot! Talk about colonizing the sun! That's what happens when the ventilation system breaks down, nasty indeed. It was also great to have Johan [Theory In Practice's original vocalist who sang on Third Eye Function] in the studio for some guest vocals on the first parts of the choruses on 'Shapeshifter'. He stayed at my place and we drank beers and discussed the good ol' times." So, given the challenging nature of Theory In Practice's music, and the demands that it places upon the listener, what would Henrik identify as the ideal setting for allowing the ears to absorb Colonizing The Sun in full. Henrik suggests a setting and a state of mind that is itself reflective of the band's music - intellectualized complexity and high-speed precision brutality. "The perfect mood would be some sort of balance between harmonic and insane, calm yet having a volcanic eruption just waiting to explode somewhere inside of you. In other words, go for a diet of painkillers and lots and lots of caffeine, and I think you'll get the message of what we're doing. And when you listen to our albums, make sure you're alone because the presence of others can be so disturbing. Listen to the music in the company of the unseen elements of the universe." Dr. Henrik's mixture of stimulants, depressants, isolation, and the psychotically intense sounds of Theory In Practice may not be particularly therapeutic, it certainly does make for a fine way to spend a particularly misanthropic afternoon.

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