UMUR
"Pathetic Being" is the second full-length studio album by Polish death metal act Sceptic. The album was released through Empire Records in April 2001. It´s the successor to "Blind Existence" from 1999. There have been two lineup changes since the debut album was drummer Kuba Kogut has been replaced by Maciek Ziêba and lead vocalist Marcin Urbaś has been replaced by Micha Senajko.
Stylistically the material on "Pathetic Being" continues the technical death metal style of "Blind Existence". It´s still a music style which is strongly influenced by mid-90s Death (the band) and if you enjoy an albums like "Symbolic" (1995) and especially "The Sound of Perseverance" (1998) this could be a release down your alley. The vocals are high pitched screaming/snarling (spiced up with the occasional lower death metal growling moment), the drums are fast-paced, precise, and technical, the riffs very between technical death/thrash styled riffs and technical death metal riffs. Guitar solos are a part of the soundscape, but they aren´t anything out of the ordinary for the style, although they are relatively well played.
The tracks are as such well composed, but Sceptic don´t vary their songwriting enough and the songs often sound too similar. The sound production is decent, but not great and the odd dry snare drum sound from the debut album also marres "Pathetic Being". On the whole more variation in the songwriting department and a sharper sound production would have made "Pathetic Being" a more inviting listen. The performances are pretty strong so it´s not like this is an album without quality. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.