On the face of it, this is just weird. Psychotropic Transcendental is a progressive band from Poland purveying “narcotic porn metal”. The band history seemingly saw them split up in 2008 after one album release and now re-appearing with another one 17 years after the first. To complete the obscure picture as far as is known, the lyrics are in var-inath, an invented language, which brings a “harsh German atmosphere spiced up a Slavonic accent”.

As I didn’t know what to expect, there couldn’t be any room for surprises. What I heard at first was a kind of melodic indie rock with tinges of spooky atmosphere and a growly central/eastern European accompaniment. A warped chant and repetitive rhythm is broken up by raucous growling on “… Luvan daar Quorkugh”. The haziness of it all recalls Tiamat, as we seem to drift in and out of consciousness. But if anything was clear, it was that Psychotropic Transcendental were operating on a different planet from the one I inhabit. The dreary indie chant goes on with the hippie-like clank, but I am none the wiser as to where I am. Now and again it bursts into something furious but the words mean nothing and the atmosphere is so hazy that I couldn’t get to grips with this. It’s like I was missing something. I guess there’s a spiritual side to this, and I was impressed with the moody “Lavor ni Termaned”, which exuded haunting power and colour, at least until it changed direction completely to a harsh, growly scene half way through its 13 minute lifespan. Then suddenly we are launched into a flamboyant rock solo before being plunged back into unknown territories. There was great potential in this track but whilst progressive music doesn’t operate in straight lines, this was slightly clumsy. Yet it has powerful, hypnotic passages. There’s an element of rock opera about “Lavor ni Termaned” but I have no idea whatsoever what its theme might be. It is a collection of metal, rock and generally sinister and peculiar sounds. “Iin Varandhaar iin Badenath Mahad Karvil” breaks the mould a bit by comprising raucous, screeched black metal. I don’t know what happened to warrant this, but it didn’t add anything at all to what was already a mystifying and largely desolate experience. The response is more woozy psychedelic chanting. Progress is typically dingy. Dark and harsh worlds dominate the ritualistic “Zig Il-Saghar Iin Il-Saghan”. It floats up and down ferociously and mysteriously, but while the duo that is Psychotropic Transcendental clearly give it their all, it increasingly became 77 minutes of wasted effort as no new barriers were being broken here. “Wid Arra Float” has a tribal air of post metal about it but I found I was clutching at straws looking for something that I couldn’t identify. I wasn’t getting it out of the listening experience, which whilst not monotonous is deliberately gloomy and dismal. Whistlings of a psychedelic experience can faintly be heard at the end. This was a missed trick, I thought, but at least its continuation “Hoxahilag” perpetuates the experience with a series of intriguing sounds in the distance. There’s no way of knowing where these quiet discordant sounds of lapping water and cascading guitars are going to take us. In fact it takes us nowhere but the inside of a confused mind and our worst nightmare. Now that was better.

Conceptually this is an interesting album. As a listening experience, apart from odd sections I didn’t find “Lun Yolina Un Yolina thu Dar-davogh” very interesting at all. It goes on for too long. Grey and dismal clouds overshadow the transcendental haze, which I imagine was supposed to have a hypnotic effect. For me, it just didn’t do that.

(5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/PsychotropicTranscendental

https://psychotropic.bandcamp.com/album/lun-yolina-un-yolina-thu-dar-davogh