Sound: One might say that on this album, Psycroptic put together a perfect blend of grooves and technicality. I'd rather describe the experience as hearing a chainsaw rip through the flesh of your worst enemy, so gruesome it's brilliant! The 2 brothers (Joe (guitar) and Dave Haley (drums)) show that they play extremely well together. I've never heard a band that was so good at being able to go from blast beats and hyper speeds to stopping on a dime into short choppy riffs only to rip your face off again with the speed. The sound created is very hard to compare to another band. In fact, if someone did find a similar sound, I'd bet it was derived from Psycroptic. Also, the guitars are in drop D tuning, much like most Hardcore-ish bands. However, with the spectacular riffs going on, you'd never guess it. They prove that drop D isn't only for people that have problem's creating riffs in standard tunings, they actually have a purpose for tuning that way, and shred with it like no other. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Let me just say, WOW! What Matthew "Chalky" Chalk did on this album with the vocals is simply unfathomable. One second the guy can growl with the best of them, the next he's busting out gutturals. The best thing about the lyrics are that they don't conform to the typical death metal style. Sure they talk somewhat about gore and murder, but it's much more than that. When reading the lyrics of what Chalky is really saying, you'll find great stories about things not of this world. The Scepter Of Jaar-Gilon, for example, talks of a distant planet and how evil was eradicated. Each song does a fantastic job of keeping the listener hooked. // 10
Impression: When I first heard the album, I must've listened to the first track 5 times before moving on to the rest. I also tried to find something that just wasn't right about the album because of all the hype I had heard prior to listening. I could find nothing that seemed out of place or turned me away at all. I don't think we'll get another classic like this from Psycroptic seeing how they've gone more in the technical direction a la Necrophagist. I would list my favorite tracks, but there really is no need to list every song since they all are great. If you've heard this band before but never this album, it's time you find out what a real juggernaut this really is. Instant classic among the underground metal scene. To me (and I'm sure many others), most bands will never be capable of coming close to doing what these Aussie's did back in 2003. Do yourself a favor and stop neglecting the pure ownage this album delivers! // 10
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