When it comes to technical death metal, there are few who match the Tasmanian devils Psycroptic. Hobart natives Dave Hayley and Joe Hayley founded the band in 1999 and from there, the four piece have put out stunning works of technical minded death metal. With vocalist Jason Peppiatt’s commanding presence and Guitarist Joe’s phenomenal skills, the band have continued to amaze all who hear and experience them live. Seeing them in a tiny venue in Liverpool back in October 2015 was my first introduction to this powerhouse and from there my appreciation of their talent has simply grown over the years. Add in that this release also features some guest vocal work from Amy Wiles and the legendary Jason Keyser of Origin, “Divine Council” which is the bands 8th release promises to be their best yet. So, let’s see what this council has decreed.
From the opening assault of “Rend Asunder”, you know what to expect. The crushing, precise grooves intertwined with flowing melodic riffs and intimidating roars sets the tone and you know that more of the same is certain to follow. “A Fool’s Errand” opens with a blitz of technical guitar licks, demonstrating the ease of the complexity Psycroptic brings with their music. Tight and intricate fills effortlessly flow into riffs with minimal effort and they don’t sound out of place in the slightest. From crushing, rapid fire riffs to rapidly ascending and descending runs augmented by some clever synths in the background, adding an extra atmospheric edge to the proceedings, it doesn’t let up. If the hypnotic guitar work doesn’t distract you, the all-encompassing rhythmic assault will knock your senses without a doubt!
“This Shadowed World” is a fine example of the work which Keyser has put in on this release. The vocal arrangements of Peppiatt and Keyser compliment each other, the raw and the intense going hand in hand to create a sheer wall of ferocity. The dual layered roaring atop the sea of technical intricacy creates the perfect storm and it’s hard not to be swallowed up by the waves it generates. “Enslavement” has more of a groove driven approach with its catchy hook and again, the dual vocal lines add a fierceness to a track which is musically less demanding than the previous one. The simplicity of the composition (simple by Psycroptic’ standards!) works wonders, allowing for the subtle synth nudges to help fill in the gaps in the lighter sections and they help give the chorus sections a lift, bringing the vocals to soaring heights as the screams batter you down.
“Ashes Of Our Empire” ups the pace significantly. With its crushing groove loaded rhythm section and thundering bass, the rapid fire chug riffs which are littered with numerous fills add a sense of urgency and an intense edge, along with the fierce vocal snarling and you end up with the resulting track being a phenomenal musical attack. The extra synths and female vocals which surface in the later parts of the track just help to bring an epic air to the track and the way it all builds to a stunning climax before slamming back to the intense riffing caps the track nicely. Without a doubt, this is one of the strongest tracks on the release! “The Prophet’s council” changes things up significantly. With its tribal/exotic instrumental opening it brings echoes of fusion death metal icons Cynic as it begins to swell in presence and volume before it finally kicks in to life, stripping away the intricate clean melodies and replacing them with the relentless vocal roars upon a tide of double kick and freely flowing riffs which slither and contort with minimal effort exerted. It is yet again a fine demonstration of just how tight Psycroptic are and when it hits the chorus, the subtle synth augmentation gives it that extra lift to bring more prominence to the section. By the time we hit the 3:47 point, it all changes, going from the exotic technical death metal offering to a more progressive style composition which paves the way for an intense vocal and riff dominated breakdown before surging back to the chorus again for that big closing run moment. A truly fantastic track!
“Awakening” is a slower paced number loaded with an ominous vibe. The haunting air works well with the precise shifting riffs and the thundering sound of the drums and bass backing up the accented guitar fills to add that extra impact. The crushing feel of the track goes hand in hand with the alternating vocal delivery, allowing for a rawness and fierceness without needing to double up the parts. In all, it might be less complex than some of the tracks on this release but it doesn’t stop it from being as heavy. “A fragile existence” is the penultimate track and from the start you get a sense of things nearing their end point. The female vocal melodies in with the synths help build a sense of anticipation before the huge death metal riffing comes in. Angular and dissonant in places, it surges forwards along the drumming which still refuses to yield in its onslaught at this stage of the release and from the solid groove in the verse, we get a frantic paced chorus which is a whirlwind of buzzing guitars, double kick blasts and male and female vocals working together to give a melodic quality to the raw screams. This pattern repeats through the track and it has a haunting beauty to its ferocity, setting things up for the final track of the release.
“Exitus” closes the album in style. It’s fast paced opening gives way to a more controlled riff and the general feel and atmosphere of the song seems to pair up with its predecessor rather well. The clever synth moments and Amy’s vocal accompaniments go hand in hand with the core Psycroptic sound on the track to give a grand finale feel to the release. From its blistering paced, razor sharp verses with the cutting guitar and vocal delivery to the big sounding epic choruses with the soaring synths and three pronged vocal attacks, it’s an absolutely massive musical beast. By 3:30 we shift to a heavy chug/riff refrain before it begins to slow down to a dramatic tail off, wrapping things up nicely.
It should come as no surprise to you dear readers that I feel this is a magnificent album. Psycroptic are known to be phenomenal musicians and the work put in on this release simply highlights just how good a band they are. Technical death metal at its finest, matching complexity, intensity and atmospheric dynamics with minimal fuss, “Divine Council” is a solid contender for Album of the year.
(10/10 Fraggle)
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