Psyopus - Bad Senses (2009)

Tweedle tweedle bwonk bang dwong dwong tweedle tweedle chugga eee chugga eee chugga eee skreeeeee.

What the fuck did I just listen to?

No, I don't mean I didn't understand Chris Arp's raging noodle-wall of guitar voodoo, accompanied by meth-riddled tangental bass noodle from Michael Horn, and the almost mechanically precise drumming from Jason Bauer. I love me some technical worship, and of all the bands on earth (Even you, Origin), nobody defines technical-for-technicals-sake quite like Psyopus. What I mean by “What the fuck did I just listen to” is that, after each listen of Bad Senses, I completely forget what I just listened to... but I kinda think it was pretty cool... I think.

It could be argued that Chris Arp is the most technically proficient guitarist in the world, and I wouldn't disagree with that statement. It could also be stated that on this album, the single best technical bass and drum performances ever have been laid down, and I could see some merit in that assessment. The dextrous and precise way these three gentlemen display their dedication to their craft of instrumental virtuosity is self-evident, and anyone who worships at the Altar of Li or Malmsteen because of their callous-chipping stringplay has yet to hear this band. The ridiculously fast tremelo picking leads way to chunks of ether shot out at all angles to dissonant bits being played off of sections of the fretboard I don't think anyone has used yet, ever, all at light speed with barely anything resembling a break. Bass and guitar often play off each other like some off-kilter sonic game of Hot Potato. Snare rolls are ungodly-tight, and the variety of drum beats here is superhuman. The result? Caustic, alkaline hardcore and technical death interwoven and covered with an avant-garde sheen.

What's most interesting is the dynamics used on the album. Instead of quiet/noisy, or melodic/dissonant, or even fast/slow, there seems to be a gradient scale of just how fucked up they can make sections. The intro to “X and Y”, for instance, would be a weird piece for any other band to use in their songs... for Psyopus, it's the closest thing to sanity they get to on the entire recording. After that? Ever seen the movie Eraserhead?

What has been sacrificed to the gods in order for these people to play like this? Well, in a word: Songwriting. There are numerous bands out there who fall under the same umbrella as Psyopus. Behold... the Arctopus, Capsule, The Dillinger Escape Plan. All of them are noisy and inaccessible (to varying degrees), all of them have unconventional song structuring and tooth-chipping, immediate ferocity, but I can recall things from the other three. If I'm trying to recall something from Bad Senses, despite over a dozen spins, I have to put the album back on. And even then whatever I just listened to slides out of my head when I put something more interesting on.

Psyopus continues to amaze people by their ability to shred where no one has shredded before, and as long as that's their schtick I can see them continuing to be a novelty act. Listen to this album for the amazing skill, I recommend you do so. However, like a kid who can do six hundred flips in the air off of the uneven bars but is unable to stick the landing, I'm going to have to go with a...

Verdict: Indifference [5/10] (Whiz bang!)

www.myspace.com/psyopus

Egoist - Ultra Selfish Revolution (2009)

Egoist is the solo project of Stanislaw Wolonciej, drummer for fellow Polish progsters NewBreed and death metal band Angerpath. Whereas those bands manage some semblance of familiarity in their style and structure, Stanislaw handles all instruments and throws all pre-defined notions out the window for his solo work. The debut Dead Egg raised a few eyebrows when it was released, but Ultra Selfish Revolution goes even further into the realm of the bizarre with its complex fusion of math & groove metal, funk, melancholy multi-layered vocals, and...well, whatever other spare parts were lying around. This is the audio equivalent to building a go-cart out of the random detritus in your garage and basement.

At its worst, this approach could become jarring and annoying. Fortunately, Wolonciej delivers a captivating work which is often times HYPNOTIC in its unusual, unexplored atmospheres. "The Rest Will Follow" is a fitting pun for an opening track, but not one of the best. Imagine if Korn decided to go fusion rock after tripping on a lot of doses. "Lifeless Love" fares much better with its cruising fundamental rock riff smothered in spacey guitar funk, almost conversational lyrics and a bridge which alternates from a total freak out to some catchy chorus-like vocals. "On" is mired in a slower paced groove/funk, each chord accented by slight noises and glitch, and the voice has some interested layers to it. "Just Ones" borders on Mike Patton's spastic vocal experimentation, in fact Mr. Bungle is one of the only other bands you could compare this to. Strange and random yet successful. Other surprises on the album include the catchy indie rock groove of "Near Warm Fireplace" and the jumpy prog epic "Bright Shift".

Ultra Selfish Revolution sound fantastic, this guy is truly a talent when it comes to dragging out the sounds he wants from each of the disparate elements in the sound. The bass and guitar sound suitably funky, the vocals distinct and unique, and the ambient/noise tones delivered at just the proper level. This is a far more ambitious project than any of his other bands, and it should definitely turn the heads of any metal/rock fan seeking out something truly unique. It's not perfect and many of the songs lack memorable qualities. However, I prefer this album to his previous Dead Egg and certainly recommend it to any fan of avant-garde metal like Ephel Duath, Mr. Bungle, Headcontrolsystem, or even Fredrik Thorendahl's Special Defects project.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://egoist.metal.pl/

Trepalium - XIII (2009)

Alright, let's look at that cover art. It's terrible. Absolutely, irredeemably terrible. What kind of a band would choose something like that? Strangely, a goddamn great one. Although it's my first exposure to them, XIII is Trepalium's third album, a killer medley of technical malevolence and a fresh new argument for the richness of France's current metal scene.

Trepalium play a unique take on tech death that contains as much stoner grooviness as it does brutality. Winding riffs playfully, ominously shift their way around odd tempo changes; the guitars peer from angles of uncertain reality, beckoning violently. Thankfully, Trepalium eschew the spastic seizure approach, choosing instead to create well-balanced, flowing songs full of prog, jazz, death metal, metalcore, and grind elements. Gojira is an obvious reference point, although the style isn't that easily compared. "Addicted to Oblivion" looks into an alternate dimension where Clutch became a death metal band - Keke's filtered roaring and the buzzed, off-kilter riffing bring the smell of spacegrass instantly to mind. Melodeath is taken on an inebriated tumble down a flight of stairs with "World Plague", even pausing for a metalcore breakdown that not only isn't terrible, but actually fits naturally into the song. As a one-time occasion, "Glowing Cloud" dampens the tech elements down while it struts out some Morbid Angel brutality, much like a French version of Aeon. Trepalium cover a bewildering span of styles, made all the more sweet by their impressive ability to knit them together seamlessly. The musicianship here is extremely tight and organic feeling - there is never a dull or (unplanned) awkward moment on XIII.

A shining gem for any tech death stalwarts, XIII should prove equally entertaining for fans of more progressive metalcore acts like Between the Buried and Me. Hopefully this album garners Trepalium the attention that they deserve, because it's too damn good to be passed up.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (half point lost for cover art)

http://www.myspace.com/trepal

Ephel Duath - Through My Dog's Eyes (2009)

While Ephel Duath have ever been an interesting and original band, I have never been much of a fan of their jazzier, mathematical progressions over the past few albums. For me, the more avant-garde black metal leaning of the first full-length Phormula remains the band's best material.

Through My Dog's Eyes is an interesting listen. As usual, you can't be quite sure what to expect; the album combines such wide ranging influences as blues, jazz, math metal, sludge and indie rock into a far-reaching but functional morass of poetic angst. The album starts with the bluesy slide of "Gift", complete with country guitar jangle, angry and aggressive hardcore vocals, and progressive explorations. Unfortunately, it's just not very good. "Promenade" and "Breed" are somewhat better, with some really strange riffs and a kind of driving alien atmosphere that often evoked the feel of a Voivod, yet taken to a new extreme of oddity. The sludge-driven experimental doom of "Spider Shaped Leaves" (great song title) is also pretty captivating, but the rest of the album gave me little to remember, even after a subsequent playthrough.

The album has a unique mix just as it has a fusion of expressive styles. The guitars are not too distorted, but bring just the right brunt of punky sludge to keep the album within the borders of a dark and playful tone. Guillermo's vocals are angry yet slip right into the confusion as a unifying force. If you are a fan of the past few albums, this one goes even further out into territory all its own. You may find quite a lot to engage you. I was certainly engaged by the stylistic choices, just not enough by the actual riffing. If you're new to the band, but favor the extreme avant-garde fringe metal ripples of bands like Ulver, Maudlin of the Well/Kayo Dot, recent Dillinger Escape Plan, etc, then give it at least a listen.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/ephelduath

Gojira - The Way of All Flesh (2008)

One of the more interesting bands to emerge from France in the past decade, Gojira return with their fourth album, a stunning work of hypnotic, grooving metal which I simply cannot get enough of. This is a pretty unique band, and they've gotten more so as they've progressed, but if I had to compare this to anyone I'd say it occupies a middle ground between Neurosis, Meshuggah and Prong. You could call it post-metal or post-hardcore and probably be just as accurate, but I am not writing a dissertation on scene semantics, so let's cut to the album itself.

The Way of All Flesh has a masterful mix, in fact it's the best mix I've heard this year. Amazing guitar tone, plodding bass, and balanced percussion. Joe Duplantier's vocals sound intense here, harsh and clear simultaneously. The album begins with "Oroborus", and as if you were staring into its endless coils, the world serpent has you directly in its gazed, hypnotized by the groovy tapped guitar riffing and pummeling bridge. The song is capped off in the end with some scintillating ambiance. A truly amazing track, and it's only the first. "Toxic Garbage Island" begins with a post-hardcore slugfest before slamming into you with this slower paced, simple progression of notes which once again hypnotizes. "A Sight to Behold" begins with some synth-like groove, mesmerizing vocal verse and then another of those sickeningly good tapped riffs. There's almost a shuffle in the band's gait here. "Yama's Messengers" is a heavier, mathematical groove with some lovely chords. "The Silver Cord" is an atmospheric, instrumental. The latter half of the album is consistent in quality, dominated by heavier tracks like "Esoteric Surgery", "Wolf Down the Earth" and the percussive "The Art of Dying".

Lyrics are also decent with this album, some good, some not so great, reminding me of a midpoint between Neurosis' pensive rumination and Meshuggah's awareness and precision:

Flesh bodies mute and blinded
Roaming uncertain, lost
Infected misinformed
Releasing a black enormous insect
Out from the chest
Archaic from disease

Some tangible poetic insight, if not every inch the peer of the music. The Way of All Flesh is the total package for this band, easily eclipsing their earlier albums in style and replay value. Never aping a particular influence. Never less than intriguing. It's one of the most important metal albums this year and a must for anyone who values creative quality. Sure to be a year's end favorite for myself and many other snobs.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (I'm of this kind that kills all day)

http://www.gojira-music.com/

Meshuggah - ObZen (2008)

The. crystal. oscillator. circuit. sustains. oscillation. by. taking. a . voltage. signal. from. the. quartz. resonator. amplifying. it. and. feeding. it. back. to. the. resonator. The. rate. of. expansion. and . contraction. of. the. quartz. is. the. resonant. frequency. and. is . determined. by. the. cut. and. size. of. the. crystal. When. the. energy. of. the. generated. output. frequencies. matches. the. losses. in. the. circuit. an. oscillation. can. be. sustained.

A. regular. timing. crystal. contains. two. electrically. conductive . plates. with. a. slice. or. tuning. fork. of. quartz. crystal. sandwiched. between. them. During. startup. the. circuit. around. the. crystal. applies. a. random . noise. AC. signal. to. it. and. purely. by. chance. a. tiny. fraction. of. the. noise. will. be. at. the. resonant. frequency. of. the. crystal. The. crystal. will. therefore. start. oscillating. in. synchrony . with. that. signal. As. the. oscillator. amplifies. the. signals. coming. out. of. the. crystal. the. signals. in. the. crystal. frequency. band. will. become. stronger. eventually. dominating. the. output. of. the. oscillator. Natural. resistance. in. the. circuit. and. in. the. quartz. crystal. out. all . the. unwanted. frequencies.

The. output. frequency. of. a. quartz. oscillator. can. be. either. the. fundamental. resonance. or. a. multiple. of. the. resonance. called. an. overtone. frequency. High. frequency. crystals. are. often. designed. to. operate. at. third. fifth. or. seventh. overtones.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (mute witnesses to the game)

http://www.meshuggah.net/

Terminal Function - Measuring the Abstract (2008)

Willowtip has always had a good ear for signing brutal and technical new talent in the death and grind fields, and Sweden's Terminal Function is no exception. Not the easiest band to describe, but imagine a hybrid of math metal ala Meshuggah, abstract fusion jazz similar to the interludes on the later Pestilence albums, and the wild technicality of Theory in Practice. Of the three, I'd say the band is closest to the third. I even hear a little of the later Death style, especially with the solos and some of the riffing under said solos.

The band has an excellent grasp of dynamic riffing and instrumental proficiency, and Victor Larsson's aggressive vocals are quite ensnaring when you first hear it. The first track "Spawn" is a great example of their frenetic riffing and the morphing nature of their compositions, interspersed with soft, progressive jazzy guitar breaks. "Tactile" and "Cloning Assembly" were two of the other tracks that really captured me as fine examples of this style, winding exercises in mathematic tempo-shifting metal.

Yet, for some reason, the album didn't capture me as fully as a Theory in Practice or Meshuggah record. The virtuosity of these musicians is hard to deny, they are capable of quite a stir among the tech metal community, but the songs themselves didn't stand up to repeated listens for me. It was more of a situation in which I listened, appreciated, then moved along. I doubt I'll return, but if you're a tech metal fanatic then give it a listen to make up your own mind.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.terminalfunction.tk/

Outcast - Self-Injected Reality (2008)

The French have been offering quite a few quality offshoots to the Meshuggah-inspired brand of mathematical metal. You've got the excellent Gojira with their brooding, organic flow to the formula. You've got GTI who are a pretty impressive clone of the Swedes with a few riffs that could even show them up. And now you've got the sophomore effort from this band, which is, frankly, un fucking real.

Lavish the mathematical chug and groove of that 'M' band with excellent solos and technical thrashing riffs which recall the excellent German scene of the late 80s and you might formulate an idea of what this band is capable of delivering. Rinse all that in some meaningful, decent lyrics, and dry it all off with a re-formatting of groove and musicality that will have you listening over and over, many times.

Yes, this is THAT good. It's as technically impressive as it is memorable. The guitar work is insane, which might not be that much of a surprise if you consider Nicolas also plays in the French progressive death metal band Symbyosis. I could go into a lot of detail on this record, all the songs are so good and have so much depth, but I'll pick out a few for now lest this last for pages on end. "Allegiance" begins with a complex, grooving thrash riff which instantly draws the ear. Erupts into a sick math/death metal groove, then the vocals arrive and it gets even denser as an all out Meshuggah-like, yet faster section enters. And then the breakdown...gods what a breakdown. Wilfried's vocals, while the most monotone aspect of the album, are that perfect math metal bark which roots the entire album in aggression.

Most of the songs have this consistency of welding together the perfect elements of aggression. "Hysteria". "Autonomy in Progress". "Denial of Elapsed Time". All fucking scorchers. Even the breaks in the action are great, like the blissful "Materia Prima" and its subtle guitar textures. Perhaps the most glorious track "Deviance" is saved for the very end, it's incredible.

Any fan of extreme, progressive metal need check this band out immediately, it's one of the most impressive things I've heard this year and one that I won't stop replaying for quite some time.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (jesus christ, listen to this already)

http://www.outcast.fr/

Lecherous Nocturne - The Age of Miracles Has Passed (2008)

With a line-up culled from members of such death metal luminaries as Nile, Monstrosity and Capharnaum, you know you're in for something seriously brutal and technical. What you didn't expect is frenetic death metal with quite this level of polish and flair. The Age of Miracles has Passed is really, really fucking fast. It's like a drive-by decapitation, but before murder charges can be pressed they've already decapitated the judge, the jury, your police department, your lawyer, and your lawyer's lawyer.

However, unlike many bands who just tear along their warpath with chaotic and technicality at the expense of all else, Lecherous Nocturne actually write some damn good riffs, and are not shy about toning it down ever so slightly to provide an extra level of depth. "We Are As Dust" is a good example of this strategy. The song begins by stripping all the paint and siding off your house like a razor blade whirlwind, but then takes a panoramic view of the destruction in the last minute. Then it fucking kills you.

But wait...in the midst of this modern, technical blowout, they never forget their roots! This is fucking death metal. Listen no further than the intro to "When the Single Shines the Tripled Sun" to hear some great, infectious old school riffing, and then they unleash. There are enough riffs across this record to fill up a dozen albums done by lesser bands, yet you never get lost within this labyrinth, appreciating each new turn or minotaur that presents itself. "Edict of Worms" is brutal. "Death Hurts Only the Living" puts the entire Hate Eternal discography to shame.

This is simply an unbelievable album that should be heard by all fans of technical death metal, it's one of the best examples of such this year. Especially fans of hyperkinetic death like Origin.
It will be the talk of the town for every deathgrind scenester disappointed by the latest Cryptopsy, as it should be. Hats off to you, gentlemen, for a pretty killer and destructive effort, and a clear winner for Unique Leader records.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.myspace.com/lecherousnocturne